Arts & Entertainment
2024 Most Eligible LGBTQ Singles nominations
We are looking for the most eligible LGBTQ singles in the Washington, D.C. region.
Are you or a friend looking to find a little love in 2024? We are looking for the most eligible LGBTQ singles in the Washington, D.C. region. Nominate you or your friends until January 24th using the form below or by clickingĀ HERE.
Our most eligible singles will be announced online in February. View our 2023 singlesĀ HERE.
Television
āInterview with the Vampireā returns in triumph
Long-awaited season 2 continues to get story exactly right
When AMC debuted its long-awaited series adaptation of āInterview With the Vampireā – Anne Riceās seminal proto-postmodern horror novel that set the stage and paved the way for a decades-long literary franchise that has kept millions of readers, queer and straight alike, passionately engaged since first reading its thinly veiled allegorical document of life as a being with heightened awareness on the edge of human existence – in 2022, we were among the first to sing its praises as a triumph of narrative storytelling,
We were not the last. The series, created by Rolin Jones in collaboration with Christopher Rice ā the original authorās son and a successful horror novelist in his own right ā and the late Anne Rice herself, was one of its seasonās best-reviewed shows, earning particular praise for its writing, in which the queer āsubtextā of Riceās original works was given the kind of unequivocal full weight denied to it in the Brad Pitt/Tom Cruise-starring Neil Jordan-helmed film adaptation from 1994.
Though purist fans of the original boom series took occasional umbrage to some of the showās leaps ā changing the historical period of the story to illuminate themes of racism and deepen its resonance for those living as āothersā on the fringe of society, and making the bookās protagonist, Louis Pointe du Lac (Jacob Anderson), a closeted Black Creole man in early 20th-century New Orleans ā the series won most of its naysayers over by its season finale. It delivered a deliciously subversive, unapologetically queer interpretation that remained true to Riceās original gothic re-imaginings while expanding the scope to encompass social and cultural factors that have become central to the moral and ideological conflicts that plague us in the first quarter of the 21st century.
To put it bluntly, the showās willingness to embrace the storyās countercultural queer eroticism and place its transgressively amoral āmoral compassā front and center was more than enough to smooth over any nitpicking over faithfulness to narrative detail or tone that might otherwise have kept Riceās legion of acolytes from signing on to the new-and-contemporized vision of the book that Rollins built as the foundation for his daunting project.
Now, after a buzz-tempering delay borne of last yearās actorās strike, the series has returned for its second season. And weāre happy to assure you that its feet hit the ground running, keeping up both passion and narrative momentum to pick up the story with electrifying energy after leaving off (at the end of season one) with the shocking murder and seeming elimination of Lestat (Sam Reid), the exquisitely amoral ārock starā vampire who served as both protector and lover of Louis, and the departure of the latter and his perpetually juvenile ādaughter,ā Claudia (Bailey Bass) on s quest to find others like themselves.
Fans of the book might, in fact, find new reasons to take exception to the showās adaptation, which, as in season one, makes significant departures from the original narrative. After moving the storyās setting forward by roughly half a century, Louis and Claudiaās secretive sojourn now takes place in the traumatized landscape of post-WWII Europe, and spins a scenario in which the two ex-pat vampires, navigating their way through the perils of Soviet-occupied Central Europe after the fall of the Nazi regime, spend time in a refugee shelter while investigating rumors of old-world vampires who might provide a link to their āfamily history.ā
When we rejoin this pair of relative fledgling vampires, their undead existence is a far cry from the decadent elegance they enjoyed in the New Orleans setting of season one. Enduring a near-feral existence as they make their way through a war-ravaged landscape, they find no shortage of prey in the aftermath of the Third Reich, but the ācreature comfortsā of their former āafterlivesā are now only a memory. Louis is devoted, as always, to Claudia (now portrayed by Delainey Hayles, presumably due to scheduling conflicts for original actor Bass, who is set to reprise her role from āAvatar: The Way of Waterā in the next installment of filmmaker James Cameronās high-dollar sci-fi franchise), but remains haunted by his vampire maker and former lover Lestat, whose undead corpse remains buried on another continent but whose charismatic presence manifests itself in his private moments, nonetheless. In the first episode, the pair have used their supernatural wiles to journey into the āold countryā long associated with their kind, tracking human tales of monstrous terrors in the night in hope of connecting with more of their kind. Louis, as always, struggles with his compassion for the mortal beings around him, while the more savage Claudia simply sees them as prey, and holds little hope of finding other vampires, if they even exist. For her part, Claudia has forgiven ā but not forgotten ā his refusal to ensure Lestatās demise by burning his body, and is now solely focused on finding others like her.
Of course, the adventures of these two undead companions are only half the equation in āInterview With the Vampire.ā The past is, as always, merely a flashback, as Louis relates the story of his afterlife experiences to mortal journalist Daniel Molloy (Eric Bogosian). In the present, the skeptical Molloy casts doubt on the truth of his memories, forcing the vampire to re-examine them as he goes. Perhaps more interestingly, in the long game of a series which, if it comes to full fruition, will eventually encompass the entire Rice vampire saga, these contemporary scenes give us a look at the relationship between Louis and Armand (Assad Zaman), revealed in the season one finale to be not a mere servant in Louisā household but a centuries-old fellow vampire who is now Louisā lover and companion.
Fans of the books, of course, know that Armand plays a significant role in the story of the past, too, and while we wonāt spoil anything, we can say that history begins to unspool as season two progresses ā but thatās getting ahead of ourselves. For now, what we can say is that season twoās first episode, while it may veer away from the familiarity of Riceās original tale in service of reimagining it for 21st-century audiences, continues the first seasonās dedication to breathing thrilling new life into this now-iconic, deeply queer saga; superb performances all around, an elegantly cinematic presentation and literate writing, and a lush musical score by Daniel Hart all combine to sweep us quickly and irresistibly into the story, making us not just fall in love with these vampires, but want to be one of them.
That, of course, is the gloriously sexy and subversive point of Riceās āVampire Chronicles,ā and this long-awaited series continues to get it exactly right.
Out & About
Pride Run 5K nearly sold out
Front Runners annual event to be held at Congressional Cemetery
Sign up now to join the annual Front Runners Pride Run 5K. The event is 85 percent sold out. The event is Friday, June 7 at Historic Congressional Cemetery.
Join more than 1,000 runners and walkers as they kick off Pride weekend 2024. When registering please consider donating to one of the eventās charity partners. This year’s race proceeds benefit local LGBTQ and disenfranchised youth organizations, including the Team DC Student-Athlete Scholarship, Wanda Alston Foundation, Blade Foundation, Ainsley’s Angels of America (National Capital Region), Pride365 and SMYAL. Visit DCPriderun.com to register or to donate.
Out & About
Civil rights commission to celebrate queer life
Panel discussion to discuss progress in LGBTQ rights
The Maryland Commission on Civil Rights will host āCelebrating Progress and Centering Joyā on Thursday, June 6 at 12 p.m. virtually.
This event is a virtual panel discussion, as the commission celebrates the progress in LGBTQIA+ rights and center joy within the community.
This event is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
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