Broadway's Musical Wizard

In his extensive and varied career, from Broadway to Hollywood, Stephen Schwartz certainly knows about popular

Published on May 16, 2013, 5:57am

Stephen Schwartz will make what he calls a ''guest appearance'' with the National Symphony Orchestra this weekend. ''I sing a song with the orchestra towards the end, and do another little thing about one of the songs in Wicked,'' Schwartz says, ''and that's kind of it.'' Of course, Schwartz is the man who wrote the music and lyrics for Wicked, the behemoth musical celebrating its first decade on Broadway this October. And while he may just show up at the ...[more]

Boots Over Broadway

Billy Porter has many people pumped up about his remarkable, Tony-nominated work in ''Kinky Boots''

Published on May 16, 2013, 5:54am

A couple weeks ago Katy Perry raved to her nearly 37 million followers on Twitter. ''Just saw KINKY BOOTS on Broadway & cried w/joy from it's [sic] powerful, beautiful message,'' the pop star Perry wrote in a tweet maxed out to exactly 140 characters. ''Congrats on every of its deserved 13 Tony nominations!'' But Perry wasn't done. A few seconds later she sent a second shorter, punchier tweet: ''AND if Billy Porter doesn't win the Tony for best actor in ...[more]

You're the Top!

A roundup of Tony-nominated shows currently on Broadway

Published on May 16, 2013, 5:51am

The Nance is the gayest play currently running on Broadway -- among other attributes, it features a gay writer (Douglas Carter Beane), a gay lead actor (Nathan Lane) and gay content, focused as it is on a gay burlesque star in the 1930s. The critically heralded show also snagged five Tony nominations, including one for Lane's performance. But alas, The Nance didn't get a nod for Tony's top honor: Best Play. The following is a roundup of the shows that ...[more]

The 2013 Metro Weekly Next Generation Awards

AJ King, Michael Komo, Joseph Lewis and Je-Shawna Wholley recognized for their leadership in the LGBT community

Published on May 9, 2013, 5:24am

Life gets better. That's a comforting truism for those of us on the older side of the LGBT community, who've watched as our country has gone from banning openly gay military service and implementing ''no promo homo'' laws undermining HIV-prevention efforts to the repeal of ''Don't Ask, Don't Tell'' and the domino effect for marriage equality through the nation. But none of that means the work is done. We still have ugly reminders of hate in attacks against LGBT people. ...[more]

AJ King

Next Generation Awards 2013

Published on May 9, 2013, 5:22am

It hit Alexander AJ King when he was only in high school. ''I was getting calls back to back to back from my friends saying, 'AJ, I just found out I'm positive,''' he says. The calls came from fellow gay, African-American boys in their teens. ''I was like, 'Wow, there's clearly a disparity going on in this community.''' {AJ King (Photo by Julian Vankim)} That disparity helped push King to choose a career focused on HIV prevention and care, particularly ...[more]

Michael Komo

Next Generation Awards 2013

Published on May 9, 2013, 5:19am

Michael Komo came to activism early in life. More than half of his 24 years have been spent advocating for LGBT equality and he describes that activism as the most rewarding aspect of his life. Originally from Erie, Pa., Komo was about 10 years old when a television show changed his life. {Michael Komo (Photo by Julian Vankim)} ''I know this sounds cheesy, but when Will & Grace premiered in 1998, that was the first time I had ever seen ...[more]

Joseph Lewis

Next Generation Awards 2013

Published on May 9, 2013, 5:14am

Throughout his life, 26-year-old Joseph Lewis has struggled with embracing the different facets of his identity – as a gay man, a deaf person and an adopted son. He's also refused to allow life's obstacles to deter him from achieving his goals. Born in South Korea to a single mother who placed him for adoption, as a small boy Lewis joined an Iowa family with 14 other children, including two other brothers who are deaf. {Joseph Lewis (Photo by Julian ...[more]

Je-Shawna Wholley

Next Generation Awards 2013

Published on May 9, 2013, 5:12am

Thanks, in part, to high school years in the Junior ROTC in Forrestville, Md. – where she rose to the leadership rank of regiment commander – Je-Shawna Wholley was sitting pretty with a full ROTC scholarship to Texas A & M University. Something, however, wasn't quite right. ''This was before the repeal of 'Don't Ask, Don't Tell,''' Wholley, 24, explains. ''I was the only black female there in my corps, one of two black people in my corps. And I ...[more]

2013 Metro Weekly Next Generation Awards Selection Panel

Published on May 9, 2013, 3:41am

The Next Generation Awardees are chosen from a pool of community nominations by a panel of Washington-area LGBT leaders from the worlds of arts, activism, business and politics. The 2013 Next Generation Selection Panel members are: Eboné F. Bell Founder and Managing EditorTagg Magazine [FOR ONLINE: Eboné F. Bell is the founder and managing editor of Tagg Magazine, published bimonthly and serving the D.C., Maryland, Virginia and Delaware lesbian community. Bell has produced a number of local events, such as ...[more]

Warming Trend

Men's swimsuit fashions for 2013

Published on May 2, 2013, 4:25am

Behold, the pleasures of summer. Ice cream cones…. Men in swimsuits…. Huh? We got there awfully fast, didn't we? And, well, why not? One of summer's gayer pleasures is to let our eyes wander across the sea of men lounging by the sea – or pool – in their swimwear. Swimwear with style. Swimwear with sex appeal. Swimwear that is less about getting wet and more about looking good. But what of that frozen confection? It surely doesn't hurt matters ...[more]

Lightning Strikes Again

Bringing back Tracks for a special reunion weekend

Published on April 25, 2013, 2:50am

Like so many others, Patrick Little credits Tracks in making him the gay man he is today. ''It's a common story of Tracks,'' he says. ''I walked in the door straight and came out gay a few years later.'' Little, a native of Fredericksburg, Va., eased into his sexuality by initially only going to D.C.'s legendary gay nightclub on Thursday nights, which was an industrial/goth/punk-themed party, more straight than gay. ''I knew there were gay nights, and that was too ...[more]

Bailey's Crossroad

Venerable nightlife promoter and DJ Ed Bailey cut his teeth working at Tracks. He recalls life at the club he called home for many years.

Published on April 25, 2013, 2:48am

METRO WEEKLY: What did Tracks mean to you? ED BAILEY: Tracks was where my passion and my love affair with nightlife and nightclubs started, absolutely. It was the first club that I ever went to. From the very first moment, I was absolutely mesmerized, blown away and hooked. And that was Christmas night 1984. I went with a bunch of straight friends from high school, who did not know that I was gay. They had been there before. Tracks was ...[more]

Tracks Star

Michele Miruski returns to D.C. to spin classics as part of the Tracks Reunion

Published on April 25, 2013, 2:46am

Michele Miruski is still in the entertainment business -- in a manner of speaking. ''I entertain the residents all day long, or make sure they're entertained. I do activities for them,'' says Miruski, referring to the senior citizens who live in the assisted living/memory care retirement home in Oklahoma City, where she works as a life enrichment director. For the record, her scope of activities doesn't include DJ'ing. ''Oh, lord!'' she laughs at the suggestion. ''Yeah, Glenn Miller's greatest hits, ...[more]

Remembering Tracks

Visitors share their memories of D.C.'s iconic nightclub

Published on April 25, 2013, 2:42am

Metro Weekly asked readers to submit their memories of Tracks. Some highlights. ''I believe a lot of people became 'straight, but not narrow' because of the social opportunity that Tracks provided. There is no other place like it anymore, but there should be.'' -- Ms. Deana Gurrrl ''I had just come out of the closet and had to decide whether I wanted to leave the club with this beautiful woman or this guy I just met. I finally realized that ...[more]

A Complete Guide to Dining Out for Life 2013

Thursday, April, 25th at restaurants and eateries around D.C., Maryland and Virginia

Published on April 18, 2013, 10:35pm

Washington, D.C. Maryland Virginia A complete guide to all participating restaurants as of press time, by neighborhood, including meals and what percentage of each bill will be donated to Food & Friends. This year's Dining Out for Life takes place on Thursday, April 25th. Please note that RESERVATIONS ARE SUGGESTED at most restaurants. Please call ahead or visit OpenTable.com. For an up-to-date list of restaurants visit foodandfriends.org. WASHINGTON, D.C. ADAMS MORGAN 18th & U Duplex Diner 2004 18th St. ...[more]

Vive L'Enfant!

L'Enfant Cafe co-owners Jim Ball and Christopher Lynch on a decade of whipping up playful passion – and expanding the empire

Published on April 18, 2013, 10:14am

At the last turn of the century, Jim Ball, a New Jersey native, was working in PR and marketing, another dynamic transplant to Manhattan. Christopher Lynch, meanwhile, had left his North Carolina roots to work in the corporate world of Estee Lauder, first in D.C., then New York. ''He was a 'spritzer,''' Ball says, teasing the business-minded Lynch. It's a familiarity that comes not only from being business partners, but having once been romantic partners. {L'Enfant Cafe: Jim Ball (right) ...[more]

Senate Star

As America's first gay senator, Tammy Baldwin lights the way

Published on April 11, 2013, 5:08am

Shattering glass ceilings is becoming routine for Tammy Baldwin. The first out person to serve in the U.S. Senate, Baldwin's résumé consists of a long list of ''firsts.'' In 1993, she became the first out lesbian member of the Wisconsin State Assembly. In 1998, she became the first out gay person elected to the House of Representatives and the first woman elected to Congress from Wisconsin. And last November, aside from becoming the Senate's first out member, she also became ...[more]

From the Supreme Court Forward

What Was & What's Next for the Marriage Equality Movement

Published on April 4, 2013, 12:08am

When Edith Windsor exited the Supreme Court after nearly two hours of arguments March 27 on the constitutionality of Section 3 of the Defense of Marriage Act, a roar erupted among the hundreds of marriage-equality supporters who had gathered outside. ''Edie! Edie!'' the crowd chanted, waving rainbow flags alongside American flags. The 83-year-old lesbian widow at the heart of one of two landmark gay marriage cases before the Supreme Court strode over to a horde of reporters and television cameras ...[more]