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Change
ACTIVISM, DONALD TRUMP,
AND CREATING CHANGE
IN THE LGBTQ MOVEMENT.
CONTENTS
FEBRUARY 1, 2018 Volume 24 Issue 38
12 LEG WORK
With 10 Hairy Legs, Randy James strives to dispel the
myth that all male dancers are gay.
By Doug Rule
FACES OF CHANGE
Activism, Donald Trump, and Creating Change in the
LGBTQ Movement.
By Kate Wingfield
SPOTLIGHT: DRAGON FIRE p.7 OUT ON THE TOWN p 11 LEG WORK: 10 HAIRY LEGS p.12
WAY WITH MEANS: KRISTINE NIELSEN p.16 THE FEED: QUEERING THE HILL p.21
THE FEED: DANCING QUEERS p.23 FORUM: THE VANISHING p.24
COMMUNITY: PHILANTHROPIC FIFTIETH p.25 COVER STORY: FACES OF CHANGE p.29
SCENE: CREATING CHANGE 2018 p.40 STAGE: HAMLET p.47
STAGE: JEFFERSON’S GARDEN p.49 STAGE: 4,380 NIGHTS/UNNECESSARY FARCE p.51
MUSIC: THEY MIGHT BE GIANTS p.53 NIGHTLIFE p.55 SCENE: LURE 9TH ANNIVERSARY p.55
LAST WORD p.64
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Dragon Fire
An epic, culturally resonant Chinese ballet aims to dazzle
and delight American audiences.
A
SINGULAR THEATRICAL SPECTACLE OF CHINESE typical Chinese styles.”
culture, pageantry, history, and romance, the Performed without spoken lines or singing, the lavish
award-winning dance-drama Dragon Boat Racing piece features a cast of six actors leading the world-re-
arrives at the Kennedy Center for a limited engagement of nowned 38-person Guangdong Song & Dance Ensemble.
just four performances. Set during the 1930s Japanese occu- As Tan describes it, although the production focuses on
pation of China, the show depicts two star-crossed lovers, Chinese national heritage, the story and choreography
two opposing families, and a nation galvanized by song to explore universal values.
resist and overcome their oppressors. “I think the basic idea of the [program] is just to present
Although the historical backdrop is key to the tale, which the Chinese consciousness, particularly through dance, to
was inspired by actual events, the epic’s truest aim is to cele- show our social values, our traditions,” says Tan. “But in
brate the rich cultural expression of Chinese music and dance. general, we view these concepts to show that as human
“When we’re talking about Chinese folk dance and beings we have similarities. Everyone has their love.
Chinese classical dance, [they] actually have a very long Everyone has their family values. And everyone cherishes
history, over 1,000 years,” says Tan Ziqing, deputy director their history. That’s our original purpose for this.”
of the China Performing Arts Agency’s Cultural Exchange But it’s not the only purpose. Dragon Boat Racing also is a
Division, which is presenting the show to U.S. audiences. lush, colorful spectacle about the power of artistic creation.
“You have some signs of a ballet, gestures, tip-toe move- Simply put by Tan, “It’s a love story, but with very beautiful
ments. But most of [our] original productions have the very music.” —André Hereford
Dragon Boat Racing runs from February 2-4, at the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater.
Tickets are $30 to $110. Call 202-467-4600, or visit Kennedy-Center.org.
THE INSULT
One of five nominees for Best Foreign
Language Film at this year’s Academy
Awards, this powerful and reveal-
ing Lebanese film focuses on an insult
blown out of all proportion, exacerbating
already-high tensions between Muslims
and Christians in modern-day Beirut.
Kamel El Basha won Best Actor at the
2017 Venice Film Festival for his por-
trayal of Yasser, a Palestinian refugee
facing off in a media-hyped court case
against Adel Karam’s Tony, a Lebanese
Christian. Directed and co-written by Ziad
Doueiri (The Attack). Opens Friday, Feb. 2.
Landmark’s Bethesda Row Cinema, 7235
Woodmont Ave. Call 301-652-7273 or visit
landmarktheatres.com.
MARY GAUTHIER
In a career spanning over two decades, the lesbian
country/folk artist has had her songs covered by
everyone from Jimmy Buffett (“Wheel Inside The
Wheel”) and Blake Shelton (“I Drink”) to Bettye
LaVette (“Worthy”) and Candi Staton (“Mercy
Now”). A native of New Orleans now based in
Nashville, Gauthier returns to the area for an inti-
mate concert supporting her powerful new concept
album Rifles & Rosary Beads, a collection of 11 deep-
ly personal songs that she co-wrote with U.S. vet-
erans and their families. Saturday, Feb. 10. Doors at
6:30 p.m. Jammin Java, 227 Maple Ave. E. Vienna.
Tickets are $20 to $22. Call 703-255-3747 or visit
LAURA E. PARTAIN
jamminjava.com.
BURLESQUE-A-PADES
IN LOVELAND
New York’s Angie Pontani, billed as the
“International Queen of Burlesque,” presents
the 11th anniversary of a Valentine’s Day-themed
show mixing performances in the revived art
of striptease with magic, music and comedy.
New York drag king and transgender comedi-
an Murray Hill returns as host of an evening
featuring performances by Potani, Baltimore
performance artist Cherie Nuit, LGBTQ bur-
lesque artist The Maine Attraction, The Evil
Hate Monkey, Philadelphia’s Peek-A-Boo Revue
featuring Goldi Fox, Ginger Leigh, and Cherry
Bomb, and Cleveland’s musical husband-and-
wife super-duo Pinch & Squeal. Friday, Feb. 9, at
7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, 3701 Mt. Vernon Ave.,
Alexandria. Tickets are $29.50. Call 703-549-
7500 or visit birchmere.com.
GREENSKY BLUEGRASS
Known for fiery live shows complete
with a full light show that diehard fans
called the Campers travel far and wide to
see, the progressive bluegrass band from
Kalamazoo, Michigan, makes their debut
at The Anthem this weekend, with support
from fellow Michigander Billy Strings,
picked as one of “10 New Country Artists
You Need to Know” by Rolling Stone in
2017. Saturday, Feb. 3. Doors at 6 p.m. The
Anthem, 901 Wharf St. SW. Remaining
tickets are $40. Call 202-265-0930 or visit
DYLAN LANGILLE
theanthemdc.com.
Compiled by Doug Rule reflection on military culture from film critic Nell Minow says of the Ott’s timely play, in a world-pre-
Israeli filmmaker Samuel Maoz. film. “I think that a large part of miere production by GALA
Foxtrot examines both the strength why that is her best performance Hispanic Theatre. Performed in
FILM and the absurdity of military service is that she really was suffering in Spanish with English surtitles pro-
from multiple points of view, and real life. She really was very humil- jected above the stage. Abel Lopez
BILAL relates a terrible tragedy at its heart iated. And that comes across in the directs a cast including Luz Nicolas,
Billed as “A New Breed of Hero,” with many moments of mordant role.” The film screens as part of the Carlos Castillo, Karen Morales, Jose
Bilal ibn Rabah, the 7th century humor, irony, and sincere emotional Landmark Capital Classics series on Gonzalez, Samantha Rios, and Maria
companion of the Islamic prophet connection, in addition to beautiful Wednesday, Feb. 7, at 1:30, 4:30, and Peyramaure. Opens Thursday, Feb.
Muhammad known for his beau- cinematography. Tuesday, Feb. 13, 7:30 p.m., at the West End Cinema, 1. Runs to Feb. 28. GALA Theatre
tiful voice is the focus of this 3D at 7:30 p.m. The Aaron and Cecile 2301 M St. NW. Happy hour from at Tivoli Square, 3333 14th St. NW.
computer-animated action-adven- Goodman Theater, 1529 16th St. NW. 4 to 6:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 to Tickets are $30 to $45. Call 202-
ture film from, directed by Ayman Tickets are $13.50 for each film. Call $12.50. Call 202-534-1907 or visit 234-7174 or visit galatheatre.org.
Jamal and Khurram H. Alavi. Bilal 202-777-3247 or visit wjff.org. landmarktheatres.com.
won “Best Inspiring Movie” during IMOGEN
MILDRED PIERCE
Animation Day at Cannes. Opens
Friday, Feb. 2. Area theaters. Visit Joan Crawford snagged her only STAGE An adaptation of Shakespeare’s
Cymbeline by local artist Charlie
fandango.com. Oscar with this Michael Curtiz- Marie McGrath, Imogen is note-
directed classic from 1945. “She was #LAFOTO: A SELFIE AFFAIR worthy as one of the first pro-
FOXTROT a queen at MGM for many years, Two families are changed forever ductions of the second Women’s
The Washington Jewish Film and then they kicked her out very when a selfie is sent to one person Voices Theater Festival. McGrath, a
Festival presents the latest critical unceremoniously,” “Movie Mom” but shared by another in Gustavo directing fellow at the Shakespeare
IN SEARCH OF MY FATHER...
WALKIN’ TALKIN’ BILL HAWKINS
A one-man show tracing a bitter-
sweet journey of self-discovery,
writer/performer W. Allen Taylor
RACHEL NEVILLE
LEG WORK
Ellen Sebastian Chang helped the
Bay Area-based Taylor hone a show
that pays posthumous tribute to his
father by celebrating the rich cul-
tural legacy of black radio, with
With 10 Hairy Legs, Randy James strives to dispel the myth inclusion of standout tracks from
that all male dancers are gay. his father’s era. Taylor, who has
performed the work all over for
I
more than a decade now, brings it
T WAS A NEPHEW WHO SUGGESTED RANDY JAMES NAME HIS DANCE COMPANY to D.C. for a run presented by the
10 Hairy Legs. “I started laughing, and I thought it was perfect,” James says. “I knew I didn’t Atlas Performing Arts Center. To
Feb. 10. Lab Theatre II, 1333 H St.
want my name in the title, and obviously, I started with five male dancers, hence the 10 hairy NE. Tickets are $20 to $35. Call
legs. And we only ever tour with five dancers.” 202-399-7993 or visit atlasarts.org.
Starting an all-male modern troupe wasn’t exactly a long-held dream for James, who had
QUEENS GIRL IN AFRICA
previously led the mixed-gender Randy James Dance Works. But the New Jersey native was too Erika Rose plays a woman finding
inspired by his students at Rutgers University not to get back in the game. her place in war-torn Nigeria in
“I had this exceptionally talented group of male dancers,” he says. “I had choreographed a quar- this sequel from Caleen Sinnette
tet on these four men in their senior year, and after every rehearsal I would talk to a colleague about Jennings to Queens Girl in the
World, a New York Times-certified
how much I loved working with them. He suggested that I start another company.” hit from the first Women’s Voices
Now in its sixth season, 10 Hairy Legs is focused, in part, on dispelling assumptions about male Theatre Festival two years ago.
dancers. Part of the second iteration of
the festival, Mosaic Theater pres-
“If you watch two women dance on stage, you don’t normally assume that they are homosexu- ents a world premiere and its first
als,” James, himself a gay man, says. “But if you watch two men dance on stage, people do assume commission, becoming part of its
that sometimes. And hopefully, that is one of the things that we’re kind of educating audiences on.” series “Transformational Journeys:
The ingrained stereotype of the gay male dancer is what kept James from pursuing dance until Inspired Singular Explorations.”
Paige Hernandez directs. Closes
after high school. Sunday, Feb. 4. Lang Theatre in
“It’s one thing if you’re in the drama club — you’re suspect. But if you’re a dancer, you’re defi- Atlas Performing Arts Center, 1333
nitely ‘a faggot,’” he says. “I’m gonna be 60 in May, and I did not go to a performing arts high school. H St. NE. Call 202-399-7993 or visit
mosaictheater.org.
There was not Will & Grace back then. It was very, very closeted. So even though I knew I was gay,
that was certainly a roadblock in starting my career, just because of the judgment and the bullying SOMETHING ROTTEN
that I received as a child.” The fictitious Bottom brothers (Rob
Over the years, James has noticed an appreciable change on that front. “Certainly the number of McClure and Josh Grisetti) set out
to write the world’s very first musi-
male dancers that I’ve experienced teaching has continually increased, and I believe the stigma is cal in an attempt to finally one-up
slowly leaving.” Case in point: Alex Biegelson, the company’s associate director and the only dancer their astoundingly successful con-
currently touring from that original group of Rutgers students, is straight. temporary William Shakespeare.
Adam Pascal (Rent) stars as the Bard
This weekend, Biegelsen will perform with four other dancers in a mixed-repertoire program in the touring production of 2015’s
that James says offers “five different pieces by five different choreographers and five very differ- Tony-nominated musical by broth-
ent ideas of what modern dance is. Sometimes modern dance, people can find it inaccessible and ers Wayne Kirkpatrick and Karey
strange and bewildering, but I believe that at this concert, they will be — it’s not a bad word to say Kirkpatrick, with a book co-writ-
ten by John O’Farrell. Directed and
— entertained. It’s a very easy, accessible program.” choreographed by Casey Nicholaw
James also points out that the program is only 90 minutes in length, meaning Super Bowl fans can (Mean Girls, The Book of Mormon),
attend the Sunday performance and be out in time to catch the game. “I don’t know how many peo- New York Magazine referred to the
romp as “The Producers + Spamalot
ple love football and dance, but I do,” he says. “There must be another one in the world.” —Doug Rule + The Book of Mormon squared!”
Opens Tuesday, Feb. 6, at 7:30 p.m.
10 Hairy Legs performs on Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 4, at 4 p.m., at Dance Place, To Feb. 18. National Theatre, 1321
3225 8th St. NE. Tickets are $30. Call 202-269-1600 or visit danceplace.org. Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Call 202-
628-6161 or visit thenationaldc.org.
W
“I marched [in the Women’s March] a year ago,” she contin-
HEN THERESA REBECK SUMMONS, YOU HEED ues. “It was my niece and I, together, in New York. It was such a
the call. At least you do if you’re Kristine Nielsen. great experience. I would have done anything to do it again this
“There are very few playwrights that could get me to year, but I had two shows that day. I was, like, ‘I have a responsi-
leave home and my family at the holiday time, which was when bility.’ But I was there in spirit, because it’s a very great opening
we were rehearsing,” says the Tony-nominated Broadway up of doors — flinging them open, putting the fresh air through.”
actress of her friend Rebeck, one of the most prolific female —Randy Shulman
The Way of the World runs to Feb. 11 at Folger Theatre, 201 East Capitol Street, SE. Tickets are $35 to $79.
Call 202-544-7077 or visit folger.edu.
is also a regular attraction at cel- With Your Best Shot,” “Love Is Westmoreland Congregational to Stravinsky. The roster includes
ebrated area concert venues from A Battlefield,” and “We Belong,” Church, 1 Westmoreland Circle, soloists Alexandria Shiner, Eliza
the Hamilton to the Birchmere to among her standout hits. Monday, Bethesda. Tickets are free, donations Bonet, Alexander McKissick,
the Barns at Wolf Trap, where she Feb. 5, at 7:30 p.m. The Birchmere, welcome. Call 301-320-2770 or visit Michael Hewitt, Arnold Livingston
returns for a pre-Valentine show. 3701 Mount Vernon Ave. Tickets washingtonconservatory.org. Geis, Christopher Kenney, Allegra
Friday, Feb. 9, at 8 p.m. 1635 Trap are $115. Call 703-549-7500 or visit De Vita, Frederick Ballentine,
Road, Vienna. Tickets are $35 to birchmere.com. WASHINGTON NATIONAL Leah Hawkins, and Timothy J.
$45. Call 877-WOLFTRAP or visit OPERA’S YOUNG ARTISTS Bruno. Sunday, Feb. 4, at 2 p.m.
wolftrap.org. PRESSENDA CHAMBER PLAYERS: CONCERT Bette Rubenstein Grand Salon, 1661
GREAT ROMANTICS Opera buffs can see budding Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Free. Call
PAT BENATAR & NEIL GIRALDO The Ensemble-in-Residence of the next-generation stars — specifically 202-633-1000 or visit americanart.
Billed as “A Very Intimate Acoustic Washington Conservatory offers those from the WNO’s Domingo- si.edu/renwick.
Evening,” this concert featuring an early Valentine with a concert Cafritz Young Artist Program — in
the ‘80s hitmaker and her husband
and right-hand-man as band lead
highlighting two beloved piano
works from the Romantic period,
a concert now in its 15th year at
the Smithsonian’s Renwick Gallery. DANCE
guitarist is a different animal than Dvorak’s Piano Quartet in E-flat Staged and hosted by director
the powerhouse performances you Major and Brahms’ Piano Quartet Nicholas Olcott, this program, AMERICAN BALLET THEATER:
may have caught at Wolf Trap in in G Minor. Pianist Read Gainsford Transformations and Revelation, RATMANSKY’S WHIPPED CREAM
previous years. For fans, this will is joined by other Pressenda mem- focuses on excerpts from operat- The highlight of the New York-
register as an early Valentine’s bers violinist Aaron Berofsky, violist ic classics spanning three centu- based company’s annual run of
treat, the chance to sing-along to Amadi Azikiwe, and cellist Tobias ries as composed by five heavy- dates at the Kennedy Center is
stripped-down versions of “Hit Me Werner. Saturday, Feb. 3, at 8 p.m. weights, from Mozart to Rossini the D.C. premiere of a full-length
EXHIBITS
ballet from the company’s Artist Rebecca Weiss perform to music WASHINGTON IMPROV ADRIENNE GAITHER:
in Residence Alexei Ratmansky. by Mark Sylvester and David THEATER: ROAD SHOW HOW I GOT OVER
A “light-as-meringue” production Schulman at a free Happenings at D.C.’s leading company for long- Transformer’s 15th Annual DC
featuring a “lost ballet” score by the Harman Happy Hour event that form improv offers a “Wintry Mix,” Artist Solo Exhibition features
Richard Strauss, performed live by includes a complimentary drink at a series of vignettes featuring differ- paintings and collage works
the Opera House Orchestra, with the Forum bar. Wednesday, Feb. ent ensembles, with each plot devel- recounting the artist’s personal
sets and costumes by pop surreal- 8, at 6 p.m. Sidney Harman Hall, oped on-the-fly, spurred by a single recovery from traumatic events in
ist Mark Ryden, Whipped Cream Harman Center for the Arts, 610 F audience suggestion. Weekends to her life. A series of lively, varied,
follows the plight of a young boy St. NW. Tickets are free, but reser- Feb. 4. District of Columbia Arts and imaginative works, with under-
who overindulges in pastries and vations required. Call 202-547-1122 Center (DCAC), 2438 18th St. NW. tones of violence and trauma, and
has to rely on Princess Praline and or visit shakespearetheatre.org. Tickets are $12 in advance, or $15 at shapes and colors recalling specif-
her court to save him by whipping the door. Call 202-462-7833 or visit ic emotions. Artist Talk on Feb. 3.
On exhibit to Feb. 24. Transformer,
up a satisfyingly sweet ending.
Thursday, Feb. 1, and Friday, Feb. 2, COMEDY witdc.org.
1404 P St. NW. Call 202-483-1102 or
at 7:30 p.m., Saturday, Feb. 3, at 1:30 visit transformerdc.org.
and 7:30 p.m., and Sunday, Feb. 4, SASHEER ZAMATA READINGS
at 1:30 p.m. Kennedy Center Opera Best known from her stint as a writ- CONTEMPORARY PORTRAITS OF
House. Tickets are $49 to $249. er and performer on Saturday Night O.B. HARDISON POETRY THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
Call 202-467-4600 or visit kenne- Live from 2014 to 2017, Zamata is a SERIES: KWAME DAWES, SAFIYA Elements That Define Us is a new
dy-center.org. regular on the standup circuit and is SINCLAIR exhibition showcasing 21 art-
regarded for her work as an ACLU’s On the day before what would ists working in various medi-
JANE FRANKLIN DANCE: THE Celebrity Ambassador for Women’s have been the 73rd birthday of Bob ums and styles on display at the
MIGRATION PROJECT Rights. Friday, Feb. 9, and Saturday, Marley, the Folger Shakespeare Prince George’s African American
Explore human flight through sto- Feb. 10, at 7 and 9 p.m. Drafthouse Library features two lauded Museum and Cultural Center.
ries of relocation in a work part Comedy, 1100 13th St. NW. Tickets Jamaican poets to celebrate the Tomora Wright curated this exhi-
of a larger multimedia series. Jane are $20. Call 202-750-6411 or visit musician and his reggae music. The bition with works by regional art-
Franklin Dance members Emily drafthousecomedy.com. evening includes a reception and ists, among them Alonzo Davis,
Crews, Kelly Hogan, Carrie Monger, book signing after readings and a Gina Marie Lewis, Taryn Harris,
Amy Scaringe, Brynna Shank, and conversation with the poets mod- Ylysses Marshall, James Terrell,
A
S SEN. TAMMY BALDWIN STEPPED OUT OF THE For Hargrove, the chance to meet with Baldwin, share
Senate chamber and into one of the wings of the U.S. his story, and introduce her to his family was powerful. It
Capitol, she bent down close to the floor to greet helped him make the case that his family was worthy of
a young girl in yellow shirt, black pants, and animal-print protection, just like the family of any of her cisgender con-
shoes peeking out from underneath a heavy wooden table. stituents.
But 20-month-old Marietta Hargrove wasn’t ready to come “Senator Baldwin was very receptive and very sympa-
out just yet. thetic to my story,” he said following the meeting. “I think it
After several attempts to coax Marietta out of her hid- was really important for me, specifically, to have my family
ing place, Baldwin, with a smile on her face, turned to the here, because my family means so much to me and they’re
toddler’s older sister, Joella, 9, and her parents, Camden such a big part of my life.”
Hargrove, 28, and Minta Dwyer, 36, of Madison, Wis., to give Hargrove was one of more than 500 LGBTQ people who
them her full attention, while Marietta slowly clambered up took part in The Task Force’s “Queer on the Hill” advocacy
the table. day on Thursday, Jan. 25, where LGBTQ people — many of
“She’s stolen the hearts of everyone in this room,” said a whom were in town for the Annual Creating Change confer-
nearby Senate staffer, while observers cooed and smiled at ence — could lobby their elected representatives on behalf of
Marietta’s antics. pro-LGBTQ legislation.
The meeting with Baldwin was brief, but content-rich, “This is where it all happens,” said Debra Hopkins, a
as Hargrove and Dwyer chatted with the senator about 62-year-old transgender pastor and former secondary school
her sponsorship of several pro-LGBTQ bills, including the history teacher from Charlotte, N.C. “I’m actually feeling
Equality Act, which would prohibit anti-LGBTQ discrimina- good, and I think it’s the adrenaline working.” Hopkins and
tion, and the Do No Harm Act, a bill that seeks to ensure that a contingent of North Carolinians visited their senators,
“Religious Freedom” is not used to justify discrimination, Richard Burr and Thom Tillis, and several congressmen.
particularly against the LGBTQ community. For Hopkins, the chance to be “smack dab in the middle of
“It matters a lot to me to talk to the senator about the government” was a chance she just couldn’t pass up.
Do No Harm Act and the Equality Act,” said Hargrove, who “We didn’t come here to be passive, go to parties, or
works as a field organizer for the National LGBTQ Task eat,” she said. “We need to have purpose in this existence
Force. “As a black trans man, I know what it feels like to face we have. If we’re not doing that, you need to ask yourself at
intersecting marginalization.” some quiet moment, ‘What have I done to contribute?’”
To illustrate the importance of those bills, Hargrove told Elsewhere on the Hill, Ball State University students
Baldwin about how he was fired from his job as a nanny after Evan Schacherer, 19, of McCordsville, Ind., and Carli Kiser,
he decided to transition. 19, of Evansville, Ind., were attempting to visit the office
“I was nannying for some children, and we had made a of their senator, Joe Donnelly, a Democrat who is up for
bond,” he recalled. “But as soon as I started testosterone to re-election this year and is one of the GOP’s top targets.
transition, the mom said she didn’t think it was safe for them Both wanted to express their views to Donnelly about the
to be around me because I was trans, and then fired me.” importance of the Equality Act, but ended up speaking with
BAILEY VOGT
DANCING QUEERS
Hundreds convened on Trump International Hotel to protest
through the power of dance. By Bailey Vogt
D
ANCE IS NOT ONLY A FORM OF ARTISTIC then everyone can work on their own terms.”
expression, but also a powerful form of healing,” The protest, which started at President Trump’s hotel
says Fasir Nasr, founding organizer of Werk for before moving through the streets of D.C., took place on the
Peace. “Dance has always served as a base for the queer and one-year anniversary of the president’s attempt to ban immi-
trans community.... That’s why we feel dance is such a pow- grants from several Muslim-majority nations. At one point,
erful mechanism for social change.” a No Muslim Ban Ever march converged with the Werk for
And dance they did. Wildly. Outside the Trump Peace participants, becoming one grand protest.
International Hotel, where hundreds of LGBTQ people, many “It was a beautiful synergy of individuals with multiple
of them in town for the Task Force’s Creating Change confer- identities,” says Nasr. “Being Arab and queer, [I] felt that it
ence, convened to protest the current administration. Werk for was a very beautiful mechanism for highlighting our inter-
Peace staged the event, much as it had staged similar dances sectional identities and celebrating those identities.”
outside Vice-President Mike Pence’s D.C. residence and the The route took dancers past the D.C. Council offices on
Kalorama abode of Jared Kushner and Ivanka Trump. Pennsylvania Ave., which Rudden said was to highlight the
More than 1,200 people came to protest. Some, like Rissy importance of following LGBTQ issues on a local level, not
Berliner, were there to push back against the decision-mak- just national, including promoting bills that would decrimi-
ing of the Trump administration. “We’ve got to show reason nalize sex work and address hate-based harassment.
in this country,” she says. “We’ve got to show the rest of the “Keep an eye on what’s happening to LGBT issues in
world that we have sensibility, and that we have empathy.” town, what’s happening with the D.C. government, in terms
“This administration has completely undone a lot of the of legislation,” she says. “And just [be] aware that we are
good work that was starting to be made for the LGBT com- your neighbors and we need your help.”
munity,” says Mary Rudden, part of the Werk for Change That sentiment is one Taylor agrees with, adding that
team. “In reality, there’s still so much work to be done.” people should be mindful of other LGBTQ struggles and not
The protest’s official hashtag was #WerkForConsent, get complacent.
which Nasr said was to push local and federal governments “We may have things like marriage, but we also need
to stop taking away the bodily autonomy of the LGBTQ to fight for things like no job discrimination, no housing
community. discrimination, making sure that we have equal access to
“Our bodies are inscribed with social and political narra- healthcare. All those things that we are denied says that we
tives, and a lot of times the way that our bodies are inscribed do not belong in this society and that we will not be allowed
with that narrative is through violence, such as sexual vio- to survive and thrive. And if we can’t survive and thrive then
lence or walking out into the street and being harassed for we’re not supporting at all. And we have to support every-
who you are,” he says. “Our work and our event was really one’s rights in that.”
about occupying the streets and claiming them as our own, as He adds that everyone is telling a story of who they
our safe space to assert our bodies and be free as who we are.” are through the expression of dance. “When people try to
Rodney Taylor, of Charleston, S.C., was, in fact, dancing silence us, we become our authentic selves and perform as
for respect for consent and body autonomy. “Everyone has our authentic selves. No one can take away that narrative
their own body and everyone needs to have respect for the and no one can tell us who we are because we control what
one body that they were given. As long as they respect each we see, we control what we put forth, and dancing is one of
other’s bodies, then we can truly accomplish things, because the ways that we do that.” l
THE VANISHING
Thanks to Trump’s tabloid antics, the LGBTQ community has been pushed
to the backburner in most mainstream media.
By Zeke Stokes
O
VER THE LAST YEAR, GLAAD RECORDED control of the media narrative that, since he announced
56 explicit anti-LGBTQ attacks by the Trump his candidacy for President, has been under the Trump
Administration, tracked legislation that directly thumb — quite literally — as the media breathlessly reports
targets transgender youth in 14 states, documented almost on every tweet and every reaction his 240 characters elicit.
a dozen cases of U.S. LGBTQ centers being targeted and Indeed, it is long past time for the mainstream press to
vandalized, and honored the lives of 26 transgender people shift away from falling for Trump’s tabloid news strategy
killed in the U.S. this past year — nearly all trans women and focus in-depth on the LGBTQ community and other
of color. Despite all this, the mainstream press has largely vulnerable populations facing near constant attacks from
failed to give stories that center on this administration.
the LGBTQ community the atten- This shift in mainstream cov-
tion they warrant.
Meanwhile, after measuring his- “We tracked erage is not going to happen over-
night, but we can all play a role in
toric levels of LGBTQ acceptance
by non-LGBTQ Americans last year,
a decline in demanding this necessary change.
Just as it is critical to register to
GLAAD’s Accelerating Acceptance acceptance vote and work to counter Trump’s
report, an index that gauges attitudes anti-LGBTQ agenda at the ballot
and comfortability toward LGBTQ of LGBTQ box, it is also essential to combat
people and issues, revealed this year
a new and shocking reversal. people at the Trump’s control over mainstream
press coverage. Write a letter to
Breaking from the steady trend
of increasing acceptance tracked
same time that the editor about why highlighting
LGBTQ voices is vital, show up to
over the past three years, the 2018 anti-LGBTQ 2018 debates and town halls and
report showed the first-ever rise ask about LGBTQ rights and local
in discomfort. GLAAD also found violence and anti-LGBTQ legislation, and consid-
that 55 percent of LGBTQ adults
reported experiencing discrimina- discrimination er sharing your story or attending
a GLAAD Media Institute training.
tion because of sexual orientation or
gender identity, spiking 11 percent-
are on the rise.” Through our decades of work,
GLAAD has leveraged the media’s
age points from the previous year. powerful influence to impact how
Pause for a moment and let that people treat others, how they vote,
sink in — we tracked a decline in acceptance of LGBTQ and their daily decisions. By refusing to allow Trump to
people at the same time that anti-LGBTQ violence and lead the conversation, we have the power to reshape the
discrimination are on the rise. This trend cannot continue, narrative and provoke dialogue that can lead to cultural
and the way to fight back is to make certain our voices and change.
stories are heard. Our stories have always been and will continue to be the
During the last election cycle and the first year of the front lines when it comes to accelerating acceptance and
Trump administration, LGBTQ issues were largely ignored we must not allow them to be pushed out of mainstream
by the mainstream press, who focused on Trump’s tweets media coverage. At a time in our political history where
and brash antics. Accurate and nuanced coverage of the there is so much hate, our stories have the power to save
LGBTQ community was so lacking in mainstream broad- lives. l
cast news and publications last year, several major outlets
didn’t even publish a single piece of journalism that could Zeke Stokes is the Vice President of Programs at GLAAD.
contend for a GLAAD Media Award this Spring. Follow GLAAD’s work on Twitter @GLAAD.
We know that returning power to national leaders who
support LGBTQ people is essential — and this midterm The opinions expressed in Forum do not necessarily reflect
election year gives us a chance to start that process. But those of Metro Weekly or its employees. Add your voice to
there’s something else equally essential: We must regain Forum. Learn how at metroweekly.com/forum.
PHILANTHROPIC
1400 Decatur St. NW. To an appointment, call 202-638-
arrange an appointment, call 0750.
202-291-4707, or visit androm-
edatransculturalhealth.org. SMYAL offers free HIV Testing,
50th
3-5 p.m., by appointment and
DC AQUATICS CLUB practice walk-in, for youth 21 and
session at Takoma Aquatic younger. Youth Center, 410 7th
Center. 7:30-9 p.m. 300 Van St. SE. 202-567-3155 or test-
Buren St. NW. For more infor- ing@smyal.org.
mation, visit swimdcac.org. Robert York’s 50th birthday blowout
will raise money for local charities. STI TESTING at Whitman-
DC FRONT RUNNERS run- Walker Health. 10 a.m.-12:30
W
ning/walking/social club p.m. and 2-3 p.m. at both 1525
welcomes runners of all ability HEN ROBERT YORK MOVED TO D.C. 24 YEARS AGO, 14th St. NW and the Max
levels for exercise in a fun and he knew very few people in the city. Young, gay, only Robinson Center, 2301 Martin
supportive environment, with recently out and in need of friends, he began volunteer- Luther King, Jr. Ave. SE.
socializing afterward. Route ing with local LGBTQ organizations to meet other members of the Testing is intended for those
distance is 3-6 miles. Meet at without symptoms. For an
community. appointment call 202-745-7000
7 p.m. at 23rd & P Streets NW.
For more information, visit
Later this month, York will celebrate his 50th birthday. And or visit whitman-walker.org.
dcfrontrunners.org. as a mark of respect to the organizations that welcomed him two
decades ago, York is holding a club night fundraiser to benefit US HELPING US hosts a
DC LAMBDA SQUARES gay several charities and nonprofits special to him. Narcotics Anonymous Meeting.
and lesbian square-dancing “This has been an idea that has been in my head for over a year The group is independent of
group features mainstream and a half, maybe two years, knowing that I was about to celebrate UHU. 6:30-7:30 p.m., 3636
through advanced square Georgia Ave. NW. For more
a milestone birthday,” says York. “This is a way of saying ‘thank information, call 202-446-1100.
dancing at the National City
Christian Church, 5 Thomas
you’ to the community for what I’ve been able to experience, but
Circle NW, 7-9:30 p.m. Casual it’s also a chance to highlight some organizations, and give money WOMEN’S LEADERSHIP
dress. 202-930-1058, dclamb- back to them so they can continue to make a difference.” INSTITUTE for young LBTQ
dasquares.org. York has partnered with Town Danceboutique to host the women, 13-21, interested in
celebration, which will feature music by DJ Chord, DJ Grind and leadership development. 5-6:30
DC SCANDALS RUGBY holds DJ Twin, as well as performances by Brian Justin Crum, Frenchie p.m. SMYAL Youth Center, 410
practice. The team is always 7th St. SE. For more informa-
Davis, Simone Denny, and Beth Anne Sacks. Tickets costs $25, and tion, call 202-567-3163, or email
looking for new members. All
welcome. 7:30-9:30 p.m. King
100 percent of the proceeds benefit Athlete Ally, Capital Pride, catherine.chu@smyal.org.
Greenleaf Recreation Center, Capital Trans Pride, Dogs Rescue and City Kitties, NMAC, Trevor
201 N St. SW. For more infor- Project DC, and the ziMS Foundation. FRIDAY, FEB. 2
mation, visit scandalsrfc.org or “[These are] charities that I have worked with over the years
dcscandals@gmail.com. that are near and dear to my heart,” says York, who has either GAY DISTRICT, a group for
volunteered, worked for, or sits on boards of directors for the GBTQQI men between the ages
THE DULLES TRIANGLES beneficiaries. of 18-35, meets on the first and
Northern Virginia social third Fridays of each month.
group meets for happy hour at
York wants to foster a spirit of philanthropy among members
8:30-9:30 p.m. 2000 14th St.
Sheraton in Reston. All wel- of the LGBTQ community, as financial support is essential to keep- NW, Suite 105. For more infor-
come. 7-9 p.m. 11810 Sunrise ing some low-budget nonprofits solvent. With decreasing govern- mation, visit gaydistrict.org.
Valley Drive, second-floor bar. ment revenues and cuts to crucial programs, many organizations
For more information, visit are relying on smaller dollar private donations. Join LGBTQ people from all
dullestriangles.com. “I think now more than ever we’re going to have to step up over the D.C. metropolitan
and really help our neighbors in those organizations to survive, area for an LGBTQ SOCIAL at
HIV TESTING at Whitman- Pinzimini Lounge, inside the
Walker Health. 9 a.m.-12:30
because there are people that literally depend on that assistance on
Westin Arlington Gateway.
p.m. and from 2-5 p.m. at 1525 a daily basis to make ends meet,” he says. “I learned early on from Everyone welcome. No Cover.
14th St. NW, and 9 a.m-12 my mom and dad that it was better to help people as much as you 6:30-8:30 p.m. 801 N. Glebe Rd.,
p.m. and 2-5 p.m. at the Max can, because you never know when you’re going to need the help Arlington, Va. Metro is 2 blocks
Robinson Center, 2301 MLK Jr. yourself.” —John Riley away. For more information,
Ave. SE. For an appointment visit gogaydc.org.
call 202-745-7000 or visit whit-
Robert York’s “Champions for Charity” 50th Birthday Celebration
man-walker.org. The DC Center hosts a meet-
is on Saturday, Feb. 17 from 5-10 p.m. at Town Danceboutique,
ing of its TRANS SUPPORT
IDENTITY offers free and 2009 8th St. NW. For tickets and more information, GROUP, focusing on issues
confidential HIV testing at visit championsforcharity.eventbrite.com. important to transgender peo-
I
N 1987, URVASHI VAID AND SUE HYDE, BOTH WORK-
ing for the then-nascent National Gay & Lesbian Task Force,
had a “crazy” idea: Launch an annual national conference.
The point would be to provide LGBTQ activists and organizers
from across the nation a “space where our movement could
convene, and would become more confident, more skilled,
more collaborative, more cooperative, and more communi-
cative, more related to itself, and, thus, more in solidarity,”
Hyde told a crowd of admirers as she accepted an award for
her 30 years of service. The idea was to become a place for the
LGBTQ movement to learn and grow. “Because within us,”
said Hyde, “within all of our lives and experiences are wis-
doms, information, perspectives.”
That first conference drew 220 participants.
In 2018, that number had grown to 4,000. Last weekend’s
Creating Change conference, produced by the National LGBTQ
Task Force, at Washington, D.C.’s vast Wardman Marriott
Hotel, and offered dozens of workshops, social gatherings, and
panels, as well as a fashion show and several extraordinarily
robust dance parties. For five days, the hotel was abuzz with dia-
logues, discourses, and discussions, along with a general feeling
of warmth, safety, and solidarity. It was as if a giant, reaffirming
LGBTQ hug had descended on Woodley Park.
“We could not have imagined 30 years ago the kind of power
and strength our movement could have,” Urvashi Vaid, a former
Executive Director of the Task Force, told Metro Weekly. “We
believed in the grassroots. And the grassroots comes together
every year at creating change. That’s what gives it the power, the
intensity, and the beauty that it has. I love this conference, and
the conversations that happen here.”
To celebrate the 30th anniversary of the event, we sought out
30 random attendees and posed a variety of questions to learn,
among other things, what inspires their activism, how they feel
about President Trump, and what they are doing in their own
lives to create change from sea to shining sea.
What issues are important to you? What issues are important to you?
All of them. Right now, everything is on the table. You just pick, The elevation and inclusion and rep-
choose. Right now, the immigration laws have really been bog- resentation of queer and trans people
ging me down because I have a lot of friends who are affected of color in all of the spaces that we
by that. occupy. Anything more than just the
tokenization. So, not just, “Alright, I have one black person, I
How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community? have one trans person. We’re good,” but what does meaning-
As much of a threat that we allow him to be. If ful inclusion look like in any
we’re quiet, nothing is going to get done. I know of the spaces that decisions
we got these voices. We’re loud. We can go to “I feel like the Republican might happen, where money
the club and scream “Yes!” But use that “Yes!” in Party don’t know how might be a deciding factor,
your communities. Use it everywhere you have a access.
platform. The more voices that are talking about to think for themselves
the issue and confronting it and not allowing it What inspired your activism?
to happen, the better off we’ll be down the road. outside of what they were I was in undergrad at Florida
taught. DON’T EVEN GET International University in
Why do you think Republicans became the domi- Miami, and I was coming
nant party in America? ME STARTED ON GAY out and had no space really
When we’re in divide, insecurities pop up.
There’s room for hate. There’s room for fear REPUBLICANS.” — Lex Allen to engage, there was no stu-
dent organization on cam-
to grow, fester. That’s how we got here. It was pus, and I met with a bunch
a great divide. I feel like the Republican Party, of friends, and we kind of
some of them, don’t know how to think for kicked it off. And it was real-
themselves outside of what they were taught. Don’t even get me ly a space to come together just for community needs, and that
started on gay Republicans. kind of spurred me into ten years of volunteer action. It’s really
just bringing people together and making sure that they feel
What are you personally doing to create change? community in some kind of way.
Back home, we’re doing this project, Colors in Bloom. Been
working on it since June. My friend, Kathy Flores, she’s with How much of a threat is Trump to the LGBTQ community?
Diverse & Resilient in Milwaukee. Her friend, a guy who did not Something comes out of the White House every day that is a
accept himself, was murdered from his hookup. So that’s why direct attack to our communities. Trump may not specifically say
we’re pushing the radical self-love. Know yourself, love yourself, something LGBT, but he might say something about immigra-
and treat people the way you need to be treated and how you tion rights, or he might say something about reproductive rights.
want to be treated. Start the seeds young. Grow into yourself and Understand that all of those are intertwined.
bloom into who you’re supposed to be.
Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
CARL ANHALT It’ll take time. There may be some people. Unfortunately there’s
40, Gay Male always going to be a splinter cell that will consistently come from
Bronx, N.Y. hate. I don’t want tolerance. I want acceptance and celebration.
High School Teacher
Second Creating Change What are you personally doing to create change?
Ensuring that all of the spaces I occupy as a queer Latino, I am
Why are you here? advocating for other people of color, advocating for other people
It’s important to me to learn more that aren’t represented in the spaces I’m in. Being able to engage
about what I can be doing as an edu- with other people nationally about the work that we’re doing at
cator to impact change within my Maven, learning about other organizations that are doing similar
school community, to push the con- work, and understanding that our mission, our goal, is a common
versations, think about the work that I thread. We all have a common root and have to support each
could be doing and not just be compla- other in what we’re doing.
What are you personally doing to create change? The Republican party is now the dominant party in American pol-
In my everyday life, I look for opportunities within the commu- itics. Why do you think that happened?
nity to engage in being an active component of creating change, Oh, that’s a long time in the making. It’s an expression of dissat-
whether that is participating in a food drive or participating in isfaction, of many people’s dissatisfaction with government and
an initiative that attends the needs of the homeless in the city, how things are going. I think it’s a whole set of issues and people
What are you personally doing to create change? Will the Republican party ever embrace LGBTQ rights?
I go to work every day. I get out of the house. Someone said yes- Yes. I’ve seen it. Being from the rural part of Pennsylvania, I’ve
terday, “Existence is resistance and it’s change.” If you are out seen Republicans change their mind because of getting to know
and you are authentically yourself, that is the first step. me or getting to know some of my colleagues and friends. The
power of human connection is huge and I think that’s something
MEL PACE that we need to continue doing. How do we reach across the
32, Queer aisle, per se, and make people who have different opinions about
Boston, Mass. us actually realize that we’re human, that we’re just like them,
Pastor that we are just here just trying to live and love each other.
Fourth Creating Change
TRYSTAN REECE
What issues are of particular impor- 35, Transgender Male
tance to you? Portland, Ore.
Sexuality and spirituality is something Trans educator
really important to me. I do a lot of Eleventh Creating Change
education and programming in that
area in my ministry. Creation care — Why are you here?
caring for the environment, caring for the earth, environmental For me, having told my trans pregnan-
justice — is something that’s really important to me. cy story publicly last year, it has felt a
lot like we’ve been sort of out on our
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about? own, being the face of trans repro-
Environmental racism. Our president is an environmental racist. ductive justice. And I didn’t want to
It’s largely white folks of a higher income who are doing the feel like we were on our own. I wanted to feel like we were sur-
most damage, and it’s harming most communities with people rounded by community, surrounded by other people who have
of color. been down some of the same roads we have, and to just have a
place that felt like a family reunion.
OLIVIA PAGE
20, Trans Woman, Lesbian What issues are of particular importance to you?
Rochester, N.Y. Making sure that the trans community has everything that we
Works for Out Alliance need just to survive — health care, lack of harassment, abuse, dis-
First Creating Change crimination. After that, I want us to be able to have families. To
create a circle of love around ourselves, and to leave something
How much of a threat is Trump to the behind after we’re gone.
LGBTQ community?
That depends on who you talk to. What’s the most important issue to you that no one is talking about
I know a lot of people are worried, right now?
and I know a lot of that worry is Trans reproductive justice. Most of us, when we transition, are
very well-founded. I’m more worried literally physically choosing between having a family and living
about the people that put Trump in the position that he’s in, our truth. And most people do not know that there are a lot of
and less Trump as a whole. The GOP has been complicated in options available to be able to build a family before you transi-
regards to LGBTQ issues. It’s a systematic issue with the party. tion or to save some of your reproductive elements for later use,
if we choose. And that fostering and adopting in many states are
ANDREW PALOMO totally possible for trans people. And I worry that as we all start
35, Gay Male to get older, and then there’s more trans youth, that we don’t
Bethlehem, Pa. have a lot of models for the way that trans people can have kids
Social worker and build families.
Third Creating Change
What inspired your activism?
Why are you here? When I was 11 years old, my middle school biology class tried
It’s one of those conferences where to make us dissect frogs. And I said I wouldn’t do it. And the
like-minded people get together. school said they were going to give me an F in biology. I decided
Especially being in rural Pennsylvania, to picket the school. And my parents supported me. And then
there’s very few people that are out they changed the curriculum for the whole school district so we
there as advocates and being out there weren’t dissecting frogs any more. So at that very, very early age,
for the LGBT community. I like being able to get inspired and I learned that a tiny voice can really make a difference, and can
being able to say, “Wow, we’re not alone in this fight.” really change hearts and minds and policy.
What issues are important to you? Is Trump a threat to the LGBTQ community?
Racism within my own LGBTQ community. Segregation, income Yes, Trump is a threat to the LGBT community. But any of us
What issues are important to you? What are you personally doing to create change?
I’m really passionate about immi- Continuing to make people feel uncomfortable, continuing to
gration reform, immigration justice, push conversations that center on the most marginalized folks
healthcare, being that I’m a pub- in the community where people don’t think about them or take
lic health major, and general queer time to acknowledge their existence. I think it’s always my
Latinx liberation. responsibility to speak up in those spaces or to take over those
spaces or whatever it is. I think I’ll continue to do that. I’ll con-
What’s an important issue that no one’s talking about? tinue to develop and work with the students that I do, and make
One of the things that people aren’t talking about is the rural sure that they’re being developed into critical thinkers. Because
south. I feel like the media, especially in big cities, demonizes I think that’s what we’re missing — people with that ability to
the south as this all-white conservative space — but the rural critically think. l
Great Dane
move with stealth. It most certainly puts
the kibosh on his nascent love affair with
Ophelia, a last harbor of innocence and
truth in his corrupted world.
Michael Urie commands the stage in Michael Kahn’s deeply elegant, Making sense of this choice is a big
daring production of Hamlet. By Kate Wingfield challenge, and Khan and Urie fill in the
blanks with authentic answer. Here,
E
Hamlet burns with a neurotic, post-ad-
LOQUENCE PERSONIFIED, MICHAEL KAHN’S HAMLET (HHHHH) olescent energy, the kind that throws
speaks even before the play begins. Hanging over a darkly ominous stage is a manic fuel on everything: joy, grief, anger,
titular marquee writ in vivid fluorescence. Bold, witty, coolly omniscient, it and uncertainty. Of course, the question
announces a starkly modern mood. But it also throws down a silent gauntlet. Yes, this is of Hamlet’s age is another of the play’s
that juggernaut Hamlet, that star vehicle, that play, that film, that everything we think of semi-mysteries — could he really be thir-
when we think Shakespeare. But tonight, Kahn seems to be saying, it will be something ty as suggested by the Gravedigger? But
completely else. this aside, his is a high internal drama
And so it is. A deeply elegant vision, Kahn’s is a Danish court in corporate-chic, — fueled by immense intelligence and
where the outside world is lost to endless, dimly-lit interiors cocooned in discrete secu- skewed by inexperience — and it spurs
rity. It is the domain of a First Family whose lives are cleaved into public and private impulsive plans, obsessions with death,
faces, supported in their every move by an army of near-invisible minions. Arriving into and gut-wrenching awakenings to the
this oppressively calm and controlled space is a gorgeously agitated, deeply appealing magnificence of existence. Put it all into
Hamlet, talking to us at once like that close, acerbic friend who knows when it’s time to the suffocating “cage” of the corrupt court
drop his guard. The bar is thus set, and between director Kahn and Michael Urie in the and it very much works that Hamlet’s
title role, this is Hamlet rendered with integrity, wit and enduring personality. psychic agitation would turn inward in a
And integrity is not a given. For every famous monologue or quote that hails from rebellion of feigned madness.
this play, there are as many questions. Front and center is Hamlet’s reaction to the But the prize here is that Urie doesn’t
most profound news of his life. Still mired in terrible grief at the unexpected death of just bring the angst, he brings sheer lik-
his father, the king — and shocked that his mother has immediately married the king’s ability. He may be tortured, but he is also
brother — he discovers it was murder. Yet, incandescent with horror and outrage, and funny, adorably flappable, entertainingly
charged by his father’s ghost to seek revenge, he decides his best course is to put on “an clever and ever vulnerable, even as he
antic disposition” as some kind of cover. It is, quite frankly, an odd move. If it allows rails. He is an awkward young man full of
him to mock, provoke and confuse the court, it also draws attention to himself when charm, life, and ridiculous opinions, and
47
Yet another player with complete command of his Shakespeare,
Cox stands out for having the kind of American accent that
somehow, miraculously, doesn’t argue with the language. And
show-stoppingly wonderful in three key roles: The Ghost King,
Player King and the Gravedigger, Keith Baxter brings a full
spectrum — gravitas, magnificent feeling, and silly humor — with
color and nuance.
Less easy is Oyin Oladejo’s Ophelia. Although she commands
her madness scene with much presence and pathos, she otherwise
feels somewhat removed from the tone and mood here and has
little chemistry with Hamlet. Her slapping at his legs when he
pretends madness just doesn’t ring true. As Hamlet’s mother (and
SCOTT SUCHMAN
Garden Party
Virginia, where he meets Susannah. She
contemplates taking up arms with the
British, who’ve offered freedom to any
slaves who’ll fight for the king, as Christian
Jefferson’s Garden harvests humor and pathos with its spirited marches with the militia, only to see his
exploration of Revolutionary War history. By André Hereford vow to remain pacifist sorely tested.
The lovers’ paths intersect meaning-
J
fully not just with Jefferson’s, but also
EFFERSON’S GARDEN, A SWEEPING REVOLUTIONARY WAR DRAMA BY with that of his slave and illicit lover, Sally
Timberlake Wertenbaker, applies a sly postmodern sensibility Hemings (Kathryn Tkel), as well as her
to its telling of the nation’s founding, and the format keeps the story feeling fresh brother, James (Kevin Michael Darnall).
even when the beats are thoroughly old-fashioned. An educated, sophisticated thinker, James,
Notably, Wertenbaker’s self-described “historical fiction” debuted onstage in like his sister, is in some ways treated like
February 2015, the same month that similarly themed Hamilton opened Off-Broadway. a member of the Jefferson family, but
Jefferson’s Garden ( ) might not spark its own pop cultural revolution, but as the drama makes clear, his master’s
it arrives in a new production at Ford’s Theatre with timely messages about liberty, supposed beneficence is inherently com-
equality, and national identity. promised by the fact that James is owned
It’s all the better that the play delivers its lofty morals often with tongue in cheek, like a piece of property. The privileges
essayed by an excellent cast that’s also equally capable conveying the story’s darker Jefferson enjoys, and to a degree, confers
passages. Those moments grapple with the ravages of war, the costs of privilege, and, to James and Sally, come at a deathly high
of course, the injustice that some colonial thinkers referred to as “the slave problem.” cost for slaves like Susannah.
A world of urgent 18th-century concerns are addressed and distilled through the Christian tries to reconcile his pas-
war-torn romance between Virginia slave, Susannah (Felicia Curry), and a Maryland sionate belief in liberty and equality for
Quaker, Christian (Christopher Dinolfo). all with his admiration for Jefferson,
Born of a German immigrant father, and English immigrant mother, Christian, who becomes a father figure to him. But
inspired by the socio-political writings of Rousseau, Paine, and, above all others, through Christian’s eyes, the hypocrisy
Thomas Jefferson, leaves his family farm to join Jefferson’s revolutionary militia. He’s of the Founding Fathers fighting for
disowned by his pacifist family, despite a promise to his sister Imogen (Maggie Wilder) freedom, while withholding that very
not to raise arms in the fight, but to support the cause peacefully. right from their fellow man, blurs their
Jefferson’s Garden runs until February 8 at Ford’s Theatre, 511 Tenth St. NW. Tickets are $17 to $64.
Call 888-616-0270, or visit fords.org.
4,380 Nights
Unnecessary Extras
soldiers pipe in at all hours. He’s subject-
ed to so-called enhanced interrogation
techniques, and force-fed through a tube.
Lonely and broken, he hears voices.
Signature’s 4,380 Nights stumbles over lengthy monologues, while Kamal’s performance communicates
Keegan’s Unnecessary Farce is just far too much. By André Hereford Malik’s alternating hope and disillusion-
ment, his humor in the face of despair.
T
The portrayal in itself prosecutes a solid
HERE’S SOME CAPITAL-A ACTING ON DISPLAY IN SIGNATURE case for more just and humane treatment
Theatre’s world-premiere of Annalisa Dias’ 4,380 Nights ( ). And in for detainees like Malik, whose lives the
one actor’s case, it’s of the sort that distracts from, rather than illuminates, the government holds by a thread.
play’s otherwise rich storytelling. Moreover, there are parts of the 4,380 Nights that Whether or not he’s guilty, at some
seem to get in the way of the playwright’s primary narrative focus: a carefully plotted point his being held with no legal basis
examination of the years-long detention and interrogation of an Algerian Muslim should force self-interrogation on the part
detainee at Guantanamo Bay. of those who would allow him to be held
That prisoner, Malik Essaid, brilliantly portrayed by Ahmad Kamal, was captured captive. As Malik and the play ask, if
just after 9/11, then transferred in 2002 from Bagram Air Force Base in Afghanistan. America is about freedom and justice,
As Malik is assigned a new legal aide, attorney Bud Abramson (Michael John Casey), then what is Guantanamo about? Is it a
to contest his case, he has a chance to relay to Bud and to the audience the defense he crime to be a Muslim in the U.S.?
claims to have laid out consistently, for months on end. To its detriment, 4,380 Nights digresses
Stating Malik’s case seated at the interrogation table, Kamal casts a magnetic spell. frequently from that valid question and
Remarkably, he performs the first act chained to the floor, on a set dominated by a Malik’s compelling story, to interweave
wall of chains hanging before a backdrop of distant mountains. Between interrogation the turbulent history of the European con-
sessions with U.S. military and intelligence, and friendlier conferences with Bud, Malik quest of North Africa. The folly of Bush’s
makes a plea for better treatment and conditions. He can’t rest peacefully in his cell wars in the Middle East is contrasted with
Unnecessary Farce
France’s misadventures in Algeria, and the Roman advance But actually, Karen’s in on the set-up to nab the mayor,
against the Carthaginians. who might not be the only culprit Billie and Eric should be
Appearing throughout as “The Woman,” or rather as differ- pursuing. The result is a pile-up of shifting motives and shifty
ent women who bore witness to these confrontations, Lynette characters — from a Scottish assassin known as the Highland
Rathnam is saddled with several lengthy, florid monologues Hitman (Jon Townson), to the mayor’s security man Agent
that grind the play’s momentum to a halt. Rathnam pronounces Frank (Christopher Herring) — that prizes pace over wit and
Dias’ poetic language with relish, but neither she nor director punchlines over plot, to a degree that’s extreme even for a farce.
Kathleen Akerley manage to forge an emotional connection Director Ray Ficca has seen to it that his cast hits their
between The Woman’s verbiage, and the prisoner whose drama door-slamming paces with due vitality and speed, with Lawrence
drives the piece. especially adept at keeping up with the racing, tongue-twisting
Kamal and Casey do forge a necessary and urgent connection dialogue. But among the entire coterie, there’s very little verve
between Malik and Bud, the prisoner’s one sincere and dedicat- in the characterization, from concept to costuming. Eric the cop
ed advocate. Often it’s deflating to leave them, in the heat of a has the hots for Karen the accountant, but Schaefer and Levey
powerful moment, to follow the Woman down another bumpy generate little heat from their frequent clinches. Their suppos-
detour to Carthage. As desperately as Malik wants to get out of edly uncontrollable attraction feels activated by the entrances
Gitmo, 4,380 Nights is at its best when it stays there. and exits of others, rather than saucily laced between the lines.
The entrances and exits themselves comprise an especially
MOUNTING FAST AND FLUID FARCE is hard work, and nonsensical pattern of nonsense, as Smith’s script supplies only
it looks mighty hard at times for a few of the performers in the flimsiest internal logic as to why most of the characters — the
Keegan Theatre’s D.C. premiere production of Unnecessary mayor, in particular — keep dithering in and out of these motel
Farce (HHHHH). rooms, and not far away from trouble.
Set in two adjoining cheap motel rooms, playwright Paul At least Baldessari keeps the doddering mayor amusing, as a
Slade Smith’s would-be comic shenanigans spring from a solid sort of genteel space cadet who pops in and out of compromising
enough premise. Two police detectives, wide-eyed Billie (Jenna situations. He’s for the most part spared from joining in the clunky
Lawrence), and partner, Eric (Noah Schaefer), are at the motel slapstick, which is rarely plied with a finesse that feels natural.
staging a sting operation to catch their city’s dirty Mayor Meekly Instead, the tumbles over couches and doors to the noggin tend to
(Mario Baldessari) paying off an accountant accomplice, Karen appear telegraphed and rehearsed. The element of surprise occa-
(Emily Levey), who’s allegedly helping him cover up a massive sionally rears its welcome head, but it’s generally obscured by the
embezzling scheme. haze of a production laboring too diligently for laughs. l
Unnecessary Farce runs to February 10 at The Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $35 to $45.
Call 202-265-3767, or visit KeeganTheatre.com.
4,380 Nights runs to February 18 at Signature Theatre, 4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington. Tickets are $40 to $103.
Call (703) 820-9771, or visit sigtheatre.org.
Big Fun
memberment, albeit dressed up in bright
pop melodies, upbeat piano and guitar
lines, and vocal harmonies. The contradic-
tions may be jarring, but they are present-
After thirty-five years and twenty albums, They Might Be Giants are ed in such an enjoyable package, it’s hard
still finding the joy in everything. By Sean Maunier not to be impressed by it all.
I Like Fun is as well-crafted an album
A
as any of their work, and just as easy to
FTER THREE DECADES, MOST BANDS WITH THE PROLIFIC OUTPUT enjoy. The self-referential, almost absurd-
and rabidly devoted fanbase of They Might Be Giants would be forgiven for ly literal opening track “Let’s Get This
throwing up their hands, and resting on their laurels for a while. But They Over With” is one of their catchiest songs
Might Be Giants is, of course, not most bands. And their twentieth album I Like Fun in years, opening with a lyric about the
(HHHHH), accompanied by the latest iteration of their iconic Dial-A-Song service, predictable consistency of the song’s own
seems designed from beginning to end to remind us of that fact. bass drum line. Oddly enough, the bass
While their style and sound have changed and evolved, in many ways they have drum doesn’t return — they are far too
remained remarkably consistent over three decades, bringing a combination of precise, busy playing with synths, brass, guitars,
airtight songwriting, an absurd sense of humour, and the sensibility of easily-bored saxophones, and Beach Boys vocal mel-
workaholics. From their beginning, the duo of John Linnell and John Flansburgh have odies.
struck that rare balance of being unabashedly weird and quirky on the one hand, yet The way the album fluctuates between
completely accessible on the other. many different sounds is somewhat manic,
One of the more surprising features of I Like Fun is that it flirts with subtext, double but it works here. One of the few excep-
meaning, and some decidedly grim themes, more so than their last decade or so of pro- tions is the title track, a surprisingly som-
ducing children’s music for Disney might have led us to expect from them. The songs ber, low-key interlude relative to the rest
I Like Fun is available now to buy on Amazon.com and iTunes, and through streaming services.
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“For a man who once claimed he would be ‘a friend’ to the LGBTQ community,
it seems @realDonaldTrump has now dropped the charade.”
— HRC President CHAD GRIFFIN, responding to President Trump’s first State of the Union address. Trump made no mention
of the LGBTQ community, instead focusing on protecting “religious liberty,” something Griffin noted, saying,
“Not even a mention after a year of unceasing attacks led by this administration on the LGBTQ community.”
“I remember thinking,
‘Oh, that’s nice, Ellen has this lovely roommate...
they really seem like they get along great.’
”
— MEGAN MULLALLY, appearing on The Ellen Show, revealing that she didn’t realize Ellen DeGeneres was a lesbian.
The pair have been friends for decades, but Mullally told DeGeneres, “as the years went on, you had a lot of really
lovely roommates, and I thought, ‘Ellen just gets along so well with people. People are just drawn to her like a magnet.’”