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 ā70s, is just another casualty in that unfortunate trend. Local gays are lamenting its impending closure. It was always popular with Blade readers ā it won several āBest of Gay D.C.ā awards in the early ā00s, which still hang in the store above the new releases.
āMelody Records was one of my first discoveries when I moved to D.C. more than 11 years ago,ā Michael Collins, a gay D.C. resident, says. āI stopped there about once a week, sometimes more often than that, and I seldom left empty handed.ā
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.
āWe just found Dupont Circle to be a busy area and thought it would be a good location for us,ā Suzy Menase says.
Theyāve been in the business so long, theyāve always tried to stay on top of things, and seen all the trends come and go, then come again.
āItās been like a full circle. We started with vinyl and now weāre ending with vinyl,ā Suzy says. āItās neat to see young kids coming in ⦠theyāre not excited about CDs but theyāre excited about vinyl.ā
āI think the sound quality that they heard made it very attractive,ā 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.
āThe opera queens would squeal while the uber cool disco boys looked for the German imports of what would later be called āindustrialā in the specialty bins,ā 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.
āIf we donāt have it in stock, we order it for them,ā Jack Menase says.
āWith CDs, if you canāt sell something, you can return it,ā Suzy says. āItās not one person deciding what we carry.ā
The Menases announced they were closing through a letter on their website, saying, ātechnology, the internet and the economy has taken its toll.ā
āIn the past two or three years, sales have been declining ⦠we saw it coming, but we were just trying to hold on,ā Suzy says. āWe have such a strong, loyal customer base, we wanted to stay as long as possible.ā
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.
āOne by one, everybody closed down,ā Jack says.
Being in Dupont, the store automatically became a favorite spot for gay customers.
āWhere else could you run across a copy of Ethel Mermanās disco album from the ’70s?ā Collins says.
Also, Lambda Rising ā a gay bookstore and staple of Dupont Circle ā used to be next door.
āWe were very sorry to see them go,ā Jack says.
āWhoever came to them, whoever came to us went to them,ā Suzy says. āThey were great neighbors to have.ā
Some music lovers continued to purchase CDs ā at least in some genres ā even into the digital music era.
āI loved Melody,ā says Kevin Lees, a gay Washington resident. āI 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. Iām 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.ā
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.
āThey know my whole family and I know theirs,ā Suzy says. āItās not customers, theyāre family.ā
āI was heartbroken when I saw the going-out-of-business sign on the window,ā Collins says. āWhat a regrettable loss for Dupont Circle and for all Washington music lovers.ā
The shop is at 1623 Connecticut Ave., N.W. No firm closing date has been set. For now, itās open seven days a week from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Miss Glamour Girl 2023 Pageant was held at McAvoy’s in Parkville, Md. on Sunday, Oct. 1. Miss Shantay was crowned the winner and qualified to compete in the Miss Gay Maryland Pageant in November.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)



























Covering Miss Glamour Girl 2023 in Parkville, Md. for @WashBlade . #drag pic.twitter.com/8alFC23UX9
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) October 1, 2023
Books
New book explores why we categorize sports according to gender
You can lead a homophobic horse to water but you can’t make it think

āFair Play: How Sports Shape the Gender Debatesā
By Katie Barnes
c.2023, St. Martin’s Press
$29/304 pages
The jump shot happened so quickly, so perfectly.
Your favorite player was in the air in a heartbeat, basketball in hand, wrist cocked. One flick and it was allĀ swish, three points, just like that, and your team was ahead. So are you watching men’s basketball or women’s basketball? Or, as in the new book,Ā “Fair Play” by Katie Barnes,Ā should it really matter?

For sports fans, this may come as a surprise: we categorize sports according to gender.
Football, baseball, wresting: male sports. Gymnastics, volleyball: women’s sports. And yet, one weekend spent cruising around television shows you that those sports are enjoyed by both men and women ā but we question the sexuality of athletes who dare (gasp!) to cross invisible lines for a sport they love.
How did sports “become a flash point for a broader conversation?”
Barnes takes readers back first to 1967, when Kathrine Switzer and Bobbi Gibb both ran in the Boston Marathon. It was the first time women had audaciously done so and while both finished the race, their efforts didn’t sit well with the men who made the rules.
“Thirty-seven words” changed the country in 1972 when Title IX was signed, which guaranteed there’d be no discrimination in extracurricular events, as long as “federal financial assistance” was taken. It guaranteed availability for sports participation for millions of girls in schools and colleges. It also “enshrine[d] protections for queer and transgender youth to access school sports.”
So why the debate about competition across gender lines?
First, says Barnes, we can’t change biology, or human bodies that contain both testosterone and estrogen, or that some athletes naturally have more of one or the other ā all of which factor into the debate. We shouldn’t forget that women can and do compete with men in some sports, and they sometimes win. We shouldn’t ignore the presence of transgender men in sports.
What we should do, Barnes says, is to “write a new story. One that works better.”
Here are two facts: Nobody likes change. And everybody has an opinion.
Keep those two statements in mind when you read “Fair Play.” They’ll keep you calm in this debate, as will author Katie Barnes’ lack of flame fanning.
As a sports fan, an athlete, and someone who’s binary, Barnes makes things relatively even-keel in this book, which is a breath of fresh air in what’s generally ferociously contentious. There’s a good balance of science and social commentary here, and the many, many stories that Barnes shares are entertaining and informative, as well as illustrative. Readers will come away with a good understanding of where the debate lies.
But will this book make a difference?
Maybe. Much will depend on who reads and absorbs it. Barnes offers plenty to ponder but alas, you can lead a homophobic horse to water but you can’t make it think. Still, if you’ve got skin in this particular bunch of games, find “Fair Play” and jump on it.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
Theater
An exciting revival of āEvitaā at Shakespeare Theatre
Out actor Caesar Samayoa on portraying iconic role of President Perón

āEvitaā
Through Oct. 15
Shakespeare Theatre Company
Harman Hall
610 F St., N.W.
$35ā$134
Shakespearetheatre.org
When Eva Perón died of cancer at 33 in 1952, the peopleās reaction was so intense that Argentina literally ran out of cut flowers. Mourners were forced to fly in stems from neighboring countries, explains out actor Caesar Samayoa.
For Samayoa, playing President Perón to Shireen Pimentalās First Lady Eva in director Sammi Cannoldās exciting revival of Andrew Lloyd Webberās āEvitaā at Shakespeare Theatre Company is a dream fulfilled.
As a Guatemalan-American kid, he had a foot in two worlds. Samayoa lived and went to school in suburban Emerson, N.J. But he spent evenings working at his parentsā botanica in Spanish Harlem.
During the drives back and forth in the family station wagon, he remembers listening to āEvitaā on his cassette player: āItās the first cast album I remember really hearing and understanding. I longed to be in the show.ā
As an undergrad, he transferred from Bucknell University where he studied Japanese international relations to a drama major at Ithica College. His first professional gig was in 1997 playing Juliet in Joe Calarcoās off-Broadway āShakespeareās R&J.ā Lots of Broadway work followed including āSister Act,ā āThe Pee-Wee Herman Show,ā and most significantly, Samayoa says, āCome From Away,ā a musical telling of the true story of airline passengers stranded in Gander, Newfoundland during 9/11. He played Kevin J. (one half of a gay couple) and Ali, a Muslim chef.
He adds āEvitaā has proved a powerful experience too: āWeāre portraying a populist power couple that changed the trajectory of a country in a way most Americans canāt fully understand. And doing it in Washington surrounded by government and politics is extra exciting.ā
WASHINGTON BLADE: How do you tap into a real-life character like Perón?
CAESAR SAMAYOA: Fortunately, Sammi [Connald] and I work similarly. With real persons and situations, I immerse myself into history, almost to a ridiculous extent.
First day in the rehearsal room, we were inundated with artifacts. Sammi has been to Argentina several times and interviewed heavily with people involved in Eva and Peronās lives. Throughout the process weād sit and talk about the real history that happened. We went down the rabbit hole.
Sammiās interviews included time with Evaās nurse who was at her bedside when she died. We watched videos of those interviews. Theyāve been an integral part of our production.
BLADE: Were you surprised by anything you learned?
SAMAYOA: Usually, Eva and Perónās relationship is portrayed as purely transactional. They wrote love letters and I had access to those. At their country home, theyād be in pajamas and walk on the beach; that part of their life was playful and informal. They were a political couple but they were deeply in love too. I latched on to that.
BLADE: And anything about the man specifically?
SAMAYOA: Perónās charisma was brought to the forefront. In shows Iāve done, some big names have attended. Obama. Clinton. Justin Trudeau came to āCome From Away.ā Within seconds, the charisma makes you give into that person. Iāve tried to use that.
BLADE: And the part?
SAMAYOA: Perón is said to be underwritten. But I love his power and the songs he sings [āThe Art of the Possible,ā āShe is a Diamond,ā etc.]. Iām fully a baritone and to find that kind of role in a modern musical is nearly impossible. And in this rock opera, I can use it to the full extent and feel great about it.
BLADE: āEvitaā is a co-production with A.R.T. Has it changed since premiering in Boston?
SAMAYOA: Yes, it has. In fact, 48 hours before opening night in Washington, we made some changes and theyāve really landed. Without giving too much away, we gave it more gravity in reality of time as well as Evaās sickness and the rapid deterioration. Itās given our second act a huge kind of engine that it didnāt have.
BLADE: Youāre married to talent agent Christopher Freer and youāre very open. Was it always that way for you?
SAMAYOA: When I started acting professionally, it was a very different industry. We were encouraged to stay in the closet or it will cast only in a certain part. There was truth in that. There still is some truth in that, but I refuse to go down that road. I canāt reach what I need to reach unless Iām my most honest self. I canāt do it any other way.
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