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Calendar for May 28

Friday, May 28, to Wednesday, June 2, 2010

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Friday, May 28

Premiere of the newest LGBT Latin dance party: S-Kandalo at Remington’s, 639 Pennsylvania Avenue S.E., from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Music by DJ Fantasy, visit latinsouldc.com for more information.

Girl Party every Friday night at the Black Squirrel, 2427 18th St., N.W., 21+/no cover, starts at 9:30 p.m.

Gay District, from 8:30-10:30 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, a weekly, non-church affiliated discussion and social group for GBTQ men between 18 and 35. The group meets at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W. For more information, e-mail [email protected].

Friday Night Erev Shabbat Services 8:30-10 p.m., Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. Friday Night Services are followed by an Oneg Social. Please use the Q Street entrance.

Sunset Celebration at Mount Vernon, 6-9 p.m. Enjoy evening tours of the mansion, 18th century music, dancing, games and wagon rides. Stroll the lantern-lit grounds and visit with Lady Washington and her granddaughter Nelly. Adults, $18; children 6-11, $12; and children under 5 are admitted free.

Saturday, May 29

SHIFT takes over Cobalt, 1639 R St., N.W., from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. with music by guest DJs Zack Rosen and Wesley D.

DJ Billy Steele at Town Danceboutique, 2009 8th St. N.W. A former Elite fashion model, Steele began his DJ career two months after purchasing his first set of turntables with a Saturday night residency at Manhattan’s Limelight at age 22. $2 drinks from 10-11 p.m. Drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Music and videos downstairs by Wess. $8 from 10-11 p.m. and $12 after 11 p.m. 21 and over.

Delaplane Strawberry Festival, Saturday and Sunday, 10 a.m.-5 p.m. at Sky Meadows State Park, Delaplane, Va. The annual festival includes live entertainment, children’s games, pony rides, hayrides, a petting zoo, a 5K fun run, a raptor exhibit, antique cars, food, crafts and strawberries.

MANdance at Rehoboth’s Double L Bar, 622 Rehoboth Ave., with DJ Stephen Durkin, drink specials, go-go dancers. And if you’re not danced out, come back for COCKdance on Sunday.

Sunday, May 30

Drag Brunch at Nellie’s Sports Bar, 900 U St., N.W., hosted by Shi-Queeta Lee. Every Sunday from 11-4 p.m. $20 brunch buffet and your first mimosa is free.

X: Blackout at Cobalt, 1639 R St. N.W., with music by DJ Pete Glow. Cobalt will blanket the dance floor with low lighting, black lights — and at times complete darkness. Doors open at 10 p.m., 21+, $5 before 11 p.m., $7 after.

African-American Collective Theater debuts new play “Something Borrowed, Something Blue” at Warehouse Theater, 645 New York Ave., N.W., one block away from the D.C. Convention Center where D.C. Black Pride’s “Legacy Festival and Wellness Expo” is being held earlier that afternoon. A limited number of tickets are available at $15. For additional ticket, performance time and venue information, e-mail [email protected] or call 202-745-3662.

A very special WTF at Town Danceboutique, 2009 8th St. N.W. WTF presents: Prom Night. 18+, $5.

PBS’ National Memorial Day Concert starts at 8 p.m.; gates open at 5 p.m. PBS sponsors a free concert on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The concert features actors Joe Mantegna and Gary Sinise and other guest artists along with the National Symphony Orchestra.

Wolf Trap Farm Park’s Summer Blast Off, “The President’s Own,” at 8 p.m. The park for performing arts kicks off the summer season with a free performance by the U.S. Marine Band followed by fireworks. The Filene Center gates open at 6:30 p.m. Arrive early because the park closes once capacity is reached.

Monday, May 31

National Memorial Day Parade, beginning at 2 p.m. The parade of marching bands and veterans units from all 50 states steps off at the corner of Constitution Avenue and 7th Street, N.W., and proceeds along Constitution Avenue, past the White House, ending at 17th Street.

The National Park Service and the Friends of the National World War II Memorial will sponsor a wreath-laying ceremony in honor of U.S. veterans at the World War II Memorial at 9 a.m. Guest speakers will give remarks. The theme for the commemoration is “Honoring our Fallen Warriors.” Many surviving WWII veterans will be in attendance.

Country Western dance lessons at Remington’s, 639 Pennsylvania Avenue, S.E. (½ block West of Eastern Market Metro) from 8:30-9:30 p.m., $5 per person, per lesson (dance class participants should wear boots or shoes with leather soles).

Tuesday, June 1

Drag Bingo at Nellie’s Sports Bar, 900 U St., N.W., hosted by Shi-Queeta Lee, every Tuesday starting at 8 p.m. Free to play.

Wednesday, June 2

The Tom Davaron Social Bridge Club meets at 7:30 p.m., at the Dignity Center, 721 8th St., S.E. (across from Marine Barracks) for Social Bridge. No partner needed. Visit lambdabridge.com.

Each Wednesday at the Green Lantern is POZ Wednesday. Starting at 8 p.m., POZ mixers provide a supportive atmosphere for those who are HIV positive and those who want to help eradicate the stigma surrounding HIV. The Green Lantern is located at 1335 Green Ct., N.W.

General Program Wednesdays, 7-8:30 p.m., $12, at the Vajroyogini Buddhist Center, 1803 Connecticut Ave., N.W., 2nd floor. Learn to enjoy our relationships and benefit others via study of the Lamrim meditations in The New Meditation Handbook. Topics include: The Prison of the Ego; All You Need is Love; Building Empathy; Developing Authentic Compassion. Each class includes a teaching, guided meditations and time for Q&A. For more information visit meditation-dc.org or call 202-986-2257 or [email protected]

Line dance lessons at Remington’s, 639 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E. (½ block West of Eastern Market Metro) from 8:30-9:30 p.m., $5 per person, per lesson.

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Movies

‘Things Like This’ embraces formula and plus-size visibility

Enjoyable queer romcom challenges conventions of the genre

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Max Talisman and Joey Pollari star in 'Things Like That.' (Image courtesy of MPX Releasing/Big Picture Collective)

There’s a strange feeling of irony about a spring movie season stacked with queer romcoms – a genre that has felt conspicuously absent on the big screen since the disappointing reception met by the much-hyped “Bros” in 2022 – at a time when pushback against LGBTQ visibility is stronger than it’s been for 40 years.

Sure, part of the reason is the extended timeline required for filmmaking, which tells us, logically, that the numerous queer love stories hitting theaters this year – including the latest, the Manhattan-set indie “Things Like This,” which opened in limited theaters last weekend – began production long before the rapid cultural shift that has taken place in America since a certain convicted fraudster’s return to the White House. 

That does not, however, make them any less welcome; on the contrary, they’re a refreshing assertion of queer existence that serves to counter-balance the hateful, politicized rhetoric that continues to bombard our community every day. In fact, the word “refreshing” is an apt description of “Things Like This,” which not only celebrates the validity – and joy – of queer love but does so in a story that disregards “Hollywood” convention in favor of a more authentic form of inclusion than we’re ever likely to see in a mainstream film

Written, starring, and directed by Max Talisman and set against the vibrant backdrop of New York City, it’s the story of two gay men named Zack – Zack #1 (Talisman) is a plus-sized hopeful fantasy author with a plus-sized personality and a promising-but-unpublished first novel, and Zack #2 (Joey Pollari) an aspiring talent agent dead-ended as an assistant to his exploitative “queen-bee” boss (Cara Buono) – who meet at an event and are immediately attracted to each other. Though Zack #2 is resigned to his unsatisfying relationship with longtime partner Eric (Taylor Trensch), he impulsively agrees to a date the following night, beginning an on-again/off-again entanglement that causes both Zacks to re-examine the trajectories of their respective lives – and a lot of other heavy baggage – even as their tentative and unlikely romance feels more and more like the workings of fate.

Like most romcoms, it relies heavily on familiar tropes – adjusted for queerness, of course – and tends to balance its witty banter and starry-eyed sentiment with heart-tugging setbacks and crossed-wire conflicts, just to raise the stakes. The Zacks’ attempts at getting together are a series of “meet-cutes” that could almost be described as fractal, yet each of them seems to go painfully awry – mostly due to the very insecurities and self-doubts which make them perfect for each other. The main obstacle to their couplehood, however, doesn’t spring from these mishaps; it’s their own struggles with self-worth that stand in the way, somehow making theirs more of a quintessentially queer love story than the fact that both of them are men.

All that introspection – relatable as it may be – can be a downer without active energy to stir things up, but fortunately for “Things Like This,” there are the inevitable BFFs and extended circle of friends and family that can help to get the fun back on track. Each Zack has his own support team backing him up, from a feisty “work wife” (Jackie Cruz, “Orange is the New Black”) to a straight best friend (Charlie Tahan, “Ozark”) to a wise and loving grandma (veteran scene-stealer Barbara Barrie, “Breaking Away” and countless vintage TV shows) – that fuels the story throughout, providing the necessary catalysts to prod its two neurotic protagonists into taking action when they can’t quite get there themselves.

To be sure, Talisman’s movie – his feature film debut as a writer and director – doesn’t escape the usual pitfalls of the romcom genre. There’s an overall sense of “wish fulfillment fantasy” that makes some of its biggest moments seem a bit too good to be true, and there are probably two or three complications too many as it approaches its presumed happy ending; in addition, while it helps to drive the inner conflict for Zack #2’s character arc, throwing a homophobic and unsupportive dad (Eric Roberts) into the mix feels a bit tired, though it’s hard to deny that such family relationships continue to create dysfunction for queer people no matter how many times they’re called out in the movies – which means that it’s still necessary, regrettably, to include them in our stories.

And in truth, “calling out” toxic tropes – the ones that reflect society’s negative assumptions and perpetuate them through imitation – is part of Talisman’s agenda in “Things Like This,” which devotes its very first scene to shutting down any objections from “fat shamers” who might decry the movie’s “opposites attract” scenario as unbelievable. Indeed, he has revealed in interviews that he developed the movie for himself because of the scarcity of meaningful roles for plus-sized actors, and his desire to erase such conventional prejudices extends in every direction within his big-hearted final product.

Even so, there’s no chip-on-the-shoulder attitude to sour the movie’s spirit; what helps us get over its sometimes excessive flourishes of idealized positivity is that it’s genuinely funny. The dialogue is loaded with zingers that keep the mood light, and even the tensest scenes are laced with humor, none of which feels forced. For this, kudos go to Talisman’s screenplay, of course, but also to the acting – including his own. He’s eminently likable onscreen, with wisecracks that land every time and an underlying good cheer that makes his appeal even more visible; crucially, his chemistry with Pollari – who also manages to maintain a lightness of being at his core no matter how far his Zack descends into uncertainty – isn’t just convincing; it’s enviable.

Cruz is the movie’s “ace in the hole” MVP as Zack #2’s under-appreciated but fiercely loyal bestie, and Buono’s hilariously icy turn as his “boss from hell” makes for some of the film’s most memorable scenes. Likewise, Tahan, along with Margaret Berkowitz and Danny Chavarriaga, flesh out Zack #1’s friend group with a real sense of camaraderie that should be recognizable to anyone who’s ever been part of an eclectic crew of misfits. Trensch’s comedic “ickiness” as Zack #2’s soon-to-be-ex makes his scenes a standout; and besides bigger-name “ringers” Roberts and Barrie (whose single scene is the emotional climax of the movie), there’s also a spotlight-grabbing turn by Diane Salinger (iconic as Francophile dreamer Simone in “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure”) as the owner of a queer bar where the Zacks go on one of their dates.

With all that enthusiasm and a momentum driven by a sense of DIY empowerment, it’s hard to be anything but appreciative of “Things Like This,” no matter how much some of us might cringe at its more unbelievable romcom devices. After all, it’s as much a “feel-good” movie as it is a love story, and the fact that we actually do feel good when the final credits role is more than enough to earn it our hearty recommendation.

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Calendar

Calendar: May 23-29

LGBTQ events in the days to come

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Friday, May 23

“Center Aging Monthly Luncheon and Yoga” will be at 12 p.m. in person at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. For more details, email [email protected]

Trans Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This group is intended to provide an emotionally and physically safe space for trans people and those who may be questioning their gender identity and/or expression. For more details, email [email protected]

Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Happy Hour” at 7 p.m. at DIK Bar. This event is ideal for making new friends, professional networking, idea-sharing, and community building. This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite

Saturday, May 24

Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ community, including Allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Black Lesbian Mixer will be at 11 a.m. on Zoom. This is a support group dedicated to the joys of being a Black lesbian. For more details, email [email protected]

Sunday, May 25

“The Queen’s Table: A Women’s Empowerment Brunch” will be at 11 a.m. at Zooz. This event will celebrate queer women’s strength. For more details visit Eventbrite

Monday, May 26

“Center Aging Monday Coffee and Conversation” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more details, email [email protected]

Tuesday, May 27

Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary. Whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know you’re not 100 percent cis — this is your group. For more details, visit genderqueerdc.org or Facebook

Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This support group is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so. For more details, visit the group’s Facebook

Wednesday, May 28

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.

Thursday, May 29

The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be fairer with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245. 

Virtual Yoga with Charles M. will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a free weekly class focusing on yoga, breathwork, and meditation. For more details, visit the DC Center for the LGBT Community’s website.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards

Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony

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Members of the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington as well as local drag artists joined hosts Mike Millan and Felicia Curry with other performers for a WorldPride dance number at the Helen Hayes Awards on Monday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.

A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.

The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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