Arts & Entertainment
A melodic farewell
Locals lament closure of Dupont Circle record shop

With the rising popularity of downloading music from places like iTunes and online stores like Amazon, more and more record stores are closing, surrendering to the convenience of not having to leave the house to get both new and old albums.
Melody Records, an institution in Dupont Circle since the late β70s, is just another casualty in that unfortunate trend. Local gays are lamenting its impending closure. It was always popular with Blade readers β it won several βBest of Gay D.C.β awards in the early β00s, which still hang in the store above the new releases.
βMelody Records was one of my first discoveries when I moved to D.C. more than 11 years ago,β Michael Collins, a gay D.C. resident, says. βI stopped there about once a week, sometimes more often than that, and I seldom left empty handed.β
The owners, Suzy and Jack Menase, opened the store in 1977 before moving to Dupont two years later after having to vacate their previous location on E Street when developers wanted to redevelop the area.
βWe just found Dupont Circle to be a busy area and thought it would be a good location for us,β Suzy Menase says.
Theyβve been in the business so long, theyβve always tried to stay on top of things, and seen all the trends come and go, then come again.
βItβs been like a full circle. We started with vinyl and now weβre ending with vinyl,β Suzy says. βItβs neat to see young kids coming in β¦ theyβre not excited about CDs but theyβre excited about vinyl.β
βI think the sound quality that they heard made it very attractive,β Jack Menase says.
The store has always held a wide selection of genres, including large sections of seemingly less popular genres such as opera, new age and more.
βThe opera queens would squeal while the uber cool disco boys looked for the German imports of what would later be called βindustrialβ in the specialty bins,β says Stephen Yasko, general manager of WTMD 89.7 in Baltimore.
The Menases have always worked to make sure they have a full selection with a little bit of something for everyone.
βIf we donβt have it in stock, we order it for them,β Jack Menase says.
βWith CDs, if you canβt sell something, you can return it,β Suzy says. βItβs not one person deciding what we carry.β
The Menases announced they were closing through a letter on their website, saying, βtechnology, the internet and the economy has taken its toll.β
βIn the past two or three years, sales have been declining β¦ we saw it coming, but we were just trying to hold on,β Suzy says. βWe have such a strong, loyal customer base, we wanted to stay as long as possible.β
They both remember a time when there was an abundance of record stores in the D.C. area that all survived until the early 90s.
βOne by one, everybody closed down,β Jack says.
Being in Dupont, the store automatically became a favorite spot for gay customers.
βWhere else could you run across a copy of Ethel Mermanβs disco album from the ’70s?β Collins says.
Also, Lambda Rising β a gay bookstore and staple of Dupont Circle β used to be next door.
βWe were very sorry to see them go,β Jack says.
βWhoever came to them, whoever came to us went to them,β Suzy says. βThey were great neighbors to have.β
Some music lovers continued to purchase CDs β at least in some genres β even into the digital music era.
βI loved Melody,β says Kevin Lees, a gay Washington resident. βI still typically buy classical and sometimes jazz in physical CD format for the copious liner notes and anytime I was looking for something in particular, I would always look at Melody first as my contribution to local stores in the face of Amazon. Iβm surprised it lasted so long and that it outlasted Lambda Rising but sadly, the record store is clearly destined to be a thing of the past.β
There are a few members of the staff who have been working at the store for years, including a few who have been around for more than 10 years.
There are a lot of people who have been going to the store for years and some are even on a first-name basis with the Menases.
βThey know my whole family and I know theirs,β Suzy says. βItβs not customers, theyβre family.β
βI was heartbroken when I saw the going-out-of-business sign on the window,β Collins says. βWhat a regrettable loss for Dupont Circle and for all Washington music lovers.β
The shop is at 1623 Connecticut Ave., N.W. No firm closing date has been set. For now, itβs open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.
Theater
New musical highlights Frederick Douglass but falls short
βAmerican Prophetβ needs more energy and spark

‘American Prophet’
Through Aug. 28
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
$66 – $115
Arenastage.org
Frederick Douglassβs brilliance didnβt blossom in a walled garden.Β
Born into slavery around 1819, the renowned abolitionist worked the fields of Marylandβs Eastern Shore, and docks of Baltimore before escaping to freedom in New York where he emerged as a famed orator, writer, and publisher. Along his exceptional journey, Douglass was supported by family, and like-minded folks including prominent progressives of different temperaments whom he both learned from and heavily influenced.
In βAmerican Prophet,β a biographical musical now premiering at Arena Stage, co-creators Marcus Hummon and Charles Randolph-Wright have intentionally relied heavily on Douglassβs written words with mixed results. In both dialogue and lyrics, the great oratorβs fearless opines are present, sometimes they spark and crackle, soar and inspire, and other times theyβre not enough.Β
The action takes place on a tiered set resembling the choir space in an unadorned church. Itβs here the players congregate to tell Douglassβs remarkable story that doubles as a compelling slice of mid-19th century American history.
Standing centerstage is Douglass with a serious but handsome countenance, that distinctive side part, dark coat and vest. The actor (Curtis Wiley stepping in for Cornelius Smith, Jr., on a recent Sunday evening) is every inch the activist whose photograph is copiously featured in history books.
(Having slipped into Arenaβs Kreeger Theatre just as the lights went down, I didnβt realize until intermission when a strip of paper announcing the substitution fell out of my program, that I was watching an understudy. Wiley didnβt miss a line or lyric. His voice is gorgeous.)
Staged by Randolph-Wright, the musical unfolds chronologically as a straightforwardly told story. Douglass is born Frederick Bailey, purportedly the son of a slave and her white owner. After his motherβs death, heβs nurtured by a loving maternal grandmother (Cicily Daniels) and taught to read by his ownerβs sympathetic wife who recognizes the boyβs quick mind and ability. Soon after heβs sent off to Baltimore to serve as companion to a family relation about his same age. When that doesnβt work, heβs sent back to the farm where an overseer unsuccessfully tries to break young Baileyβs spirit.
Back in Baltimore, still a slave, he works long hours as a stevedore with his pay going to his owners. Exuberant and inexhaustible, he finds time to take in some pleasures of the city. At a dance he meets his wife, a free black woman named Anna Murray (Kristolyn Lloyd). Together, they successfully flee to the free North. Once there β after changing his name to Douglass from a narrative poem by Sir Walter Scott, βThe Lady of the Lake,β β his career booms.Β
Grammy-winning composer Hummonβs score, a mix of gospel and country sounds, moves the story lucidly along while leaving room for some strong stand-alone melodies, particularly Kristolyn Lloydβs pleasing rendition of Annaβs βI Love a Man.β In the supporting role of supporting wife, Lloyd is a standout.
Going forward, Douglass finds friendship and opportunity with William Lloyd Garrison (Thomas Adrian Simpson) an abolitionist who demands absolute fealty from his colleague. He forms a true comradeship with fiery abolitionist John Brown (Chris Roberts), but when their tactics become too dissimilar, the pair part company.
The second act finds us on the precipice of the Civil War, and itβs here we meet Abraham Lincoln (Simpson again). Itβs not the usual hagiographic portrayal weβre used to seeing, far from it. The great savior of the Union is written as a real politician β gladhanding and strategic. Still, Lincoln evolves and benefits from his association with Douglass, even borrowing his thoughts from time to time.
Douglass was a force. Insanely ahead of his time, he called slaveowners to the carpet and expressed the hypocrisy of America at home and on tours abroad. And while the musical does lovingly put his humanness on display, I wanted more. When that jolt of energy and spirit finally comes with the showβs stirring final number βAmerican Prophet,β itβs too little too late.
Douglass spent his final years in Washington. He died at his home Cedar Hill in Anacostia. He was 77.
Movies
New doc illuminates Patricia Highsmithβs life and work
βIntercourse with men is like steel wool to the faceβ

If youβve been transfixed by the amusement park scene in Alfred Hitchcockβs βStrangers on a Train,β rooted for the sociopath Tom Ripley in the 1999 film βThe Talented Mr. Ripleyβ or been moved to tears by the love of Therese and Carol in Todd Haynesβs movie of βCarol,β Patricia Highsmith is etched in your DNA.
Highsmith, who lived from 1921 to 1995 wrote more than 50 books (novels and short story collections). Nearly all of her books were made into movies.
Recently, βLoving Highsmith,β a fab documentary about Patricia Highsmith has been released. The film, written and directed by Eva Vitija, opens Sept. 2 at the Film Forum in New York and Sept. 9 at Landmarkβs Nuart Theatre in Los Angeles. βLoving Highsmithβ premiered at the Sydney Film Festival and bowed at the Frameline Film Festival in June.
Highsmith, like Tom Ripley and many of her other fictional characters, led a double life. She was a lesbian. But, because of the homophobia of her era, Highsmith had to be closeted about what she called βthe ever present subjectβ of her βhomosexuality.β
Except in the 5,000 pages of her diaries and notebooks. (1,000 pages of her diaries and notebooks were published in 2021 in βPatricia Highsmith: Her Diaries and Notebooks: 1941-1995.β)
Even if Highsmith werenβt acclaimed for her mastery of suspense, she would be a queer hero.
In 1952, her novel βThe Price of Saltβ was published under the pseudonym βClaire Morgan.β (It was reissued in 1990 under the title βCarolβ and with Highsmithβs real name.)
Then, fiction featuring queer characters had to end unhappily: they died or went to jail. βThe Price of Salt,β a rare exception, became a lesbian cult classic. Its protagonists end up together β alive and not in prison.
βLoving Highsmithβ deftly uses writings from her diaries and notebooks as well as interviews with her family and lovers to illuminate not only Highsmithβs life and work but queer culture in the 1950s.
The film skillfully interweaves archival clips from interviews with Highsmith and famous film adaptations of her work with stories from her relatives and lovers. Gwendoline Christie (βGame of Thronesβ) reads excerpts from Highsmithβs work.
Too often watching documentaries of talented, deceased icons is deadly. You feel like youβre entombed in lifeless talking heads and stagnant images.
You donβt have to worry about βLoving Highsmith.β Its talk and images make Highsmithβs story come alive.
As the film makes clear, Highsmith was quite βloving.β She had many lovers β in New York, England, France and Germany. Despite trying to cure herself with analysis, Highsmith sexually liked women. βSexual intercourse [with men] is to me like steel wool to the face,β she says.
Highsmithβs mother, by the accounts of Highsmith herself, her family and her lovers, was a horror show. She told Highsmith that she was sorry she hadnβt aborted her. When Highsmith was 14, her mother berated her for βmaking noisesβ like a βles.β
New York had many gay bars in the 1950s, we learn from βLoving Highsmith.β But homophobia was so rampant that you wouldnβt get off at a subway stop near a bar out of fear that a straight friend, family member, or co-worker would see you going into a queer bar.
There is one problem with βLoving Highsmith.β It soft pedals Highsmithβs anti-Semitism and racism. It mentions Highsmithβs prejudices only once: saying Highsmith in her old age reverted to the bigotry of her grandparents.
Highsmithβs bigotry grew more virulent in her old age. But, though she had Jewish friends, Highsmith was anti-Semitic throughout her life.
This doesnβt diminish Highsmithβs literary achievement or iconic role in queer history. Anti-Semitism and racism were likely common in Texas where Highsmith was born and lived before moving to New York when she was six. βLoving Highsmithβ is a thoughtful, informative documentary. It would have been more insightful if more attention had been paid to Highsmithβs prejudices.
Even with this caveat, βLoving Highsmithβ is a must-see documentary. It will send you racing to read the nearest Highsmith book at hand.
Television
For Gaiman fans, βSandmanβ is a βDreamβ come true
Netflix series offers fantasy space where all feel welcome

For the millions of fans who have embraced Neil Gaimanβs βThe Sandmanβ and its darkly beautiful, queer-inclusive mystical universe since it debuted in comic book form more than three decades ago, the arrival of a new Netflix series based on it is a very, very big deal β even if, for the uninitiated, it might be hard to understand why. After all, the streaming giant has already unleashed such a vast array of LGBTQ-friendly fantasy movies and shows that one more, welcome though it may be, hardly seems like anything new.
As any of the above-mentioned fans will quickly tell you, however, βSandmanβ is not just any fantasy series. Initiated by DC Comics as a revival of an older comic book of the same name, it was handed over to Gaiman β then still a budding writer of comics with a few promising titles under his belt β with the stipulation that he keep the name but change everything else. The comic series he came up with went on to enjoy a 75-issue original run from 1989 to 1993, an era when an expanded literary appreciation for such works gave rise to the term βgraphic novelβ, and it joined βMausβ and βWatchmenβ among the first few comics to be included on the New York Times Best Seller List. Arguably more important, it also generated a huge and diverse fan following, and its incorporation of multiple queer characters and storylines has inspired subsequent generations of comic book creators to envision new and inclusive fantasy worlds of their own.
Despite that success, itβs taken 33 years for it to finally be adapted for the screen. Beginning in the late β90s, attempts were made to develop βThe Sandmanβ for film, but though a few scripts initially managed to win Gaimanβs approval, creative differences inevitably led to a dead end, and the Hollywood rumor mill began to buzz that the story was ultimately βunfilmableβ β until 2019, when Netflix and Warner Brothers (parent company to DC Comics) officially reached a deal to bring it to the screen as a series, with Gaiman fully on board and a creative team in place that was determined to faithfully adapt the much-loved original for a contemporary audience.
The show that came from that decision, which premiered on Netflix Aug. 5, makes it clear that the long wait was more than worth it.
βThe Sandmanβ of the title refers to the storyβs leading figure β Dream (known also as Morpheus, among other names), one of seven elemental siblings whose mystical realms overlay and intertwine with the human world. As ruler of the dream world, he holds hidden power over all mankind β until a human sorcerer manages to trap him and imprison him on Earth for more than 100 years. Finally freed, he returns to his kingdom to find it in disarray, and he sets out to restore order and undo the damage done β a quest that will require him to enlist the aid of numerous (and sometimes less-than-willing) allies, both human and immortal, to save the cosmos from a chaotic force that has been unleashed in his absence.
Like any good myth cycle, itβs both an epic story and an episodic one, making it a much better fit for the long-form storytelling capacity of series television than for any of the one-off film adaptations that it almost became. In his sweeping, unapologetically allegorical saga of the ever-dueling forces within our human psyche, Gaiman uses broad strokes in composing his plot, recycling and reinventing timeless motifs and themes while relying on our comfortable acceptance of the familiar tropes of myth and magic to get us all on board; the narrative is a massive structure, but itβs not hard to follow the basics. Where βSandmanβ becomes complex β and exceptional β is in the details Gaiman gave himself room to explore along the way, the human moments caught in between the monumental cosmic drama.
Itβs these parts of the story that have made his graphic novel iconic, more even than its gothic melancholy or its layered personification of primal forces into complex human archetypes; itβs there, too that he was able to explore a broad and diverse range of human experience, including many queer characters in a time when comic book literature was far from a queer-friendly space. It’s these things that made Gaimanβs comic a touchstone for a wide spectrum of fans β and they would have been the first things that would have been jettisoned had any of the potential βSandmanβ films seen the light of day. Because Gaiman has held out for so long to make sure it could be done right, series television has finally given him the chance, as co-creator and co-executive producer (alongside David S. Goyer and Allan Heinberg), to make it happen.
The big-budget Netflix production values certainly help, too, allowing the striking visual aesthetic of the comic β in which even the horrific can be exquisitely beautiful β to come thrillingly alive. The showβs many baroque and gruesome deaths bear testament to that, as does a fourth episode sequence when Morpheusβs quest requires him to descend into a Hell that evokes the macabre beauty of Doreβs illustrations for Danteβs βInferno,β the very landscape itself made up of the writhing and tormented souls of the damned. The artfulness of this showβs scenic design lingers in the memory, appropriately enough, like images from a dream.
Still, itβs all just scenery without the players, and βSandmanβ assembles a top-drawer cast capable of bringing Gaimanβs characters to life with the level of depth they deserve. Tom Sturridge makes for a compelling leading figure, capturing the titular characterβs complex mix of coldness and compassion without ever losing our loyalty; heβs supported by an equally talented ensemble of players, including heavyweight UK stalwarts like Charles Dance, Joely Richardson, David Thewlis, and Stephen Fry among a host of less familiar faces, and thereβs not a weak performance to be found among any of them.
As to whether the showβs writing does justice to the original, different fans will surely have different opinions. The story has been remolded to fit the modern world, and many elements of the comic have been reconfigured in the process. This is particularly true in terms of representation; though queer characters were always a part of the βSandmanβ universe, the comic debuted 34 years ago, and much has changed since then. In bringing the story to the screen, the author and the rest of the creative team have brought things up to date, bringing more nuance to its queer representation even as it expands it wider, and reimagining many of its characters to reflect a more diverse and inclusive vision of the world. Inevitably, these choices may upset some die-hard fans β thereβs already been the inevitable toxic outcry against the showβs gender-swapping of characters and the decision to cast actors of color in roles originally depicted as white.
Still, for those who loved the original for providing a fantasy space where ALL could feel welcome β exactly the way Neil Gaiman intended it to be β itβs hard to find a reason to complain.
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