Writer, critic, lover, voter @WAFCA, @DorianAwards | Editor-at-Large Metro Weekly | Tomatometer-Approved
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Articles by André Hereford
‘All the World’s a Stage’ Review: A Quiet Lesson in Acceptance
All the World’s a Stage: Deema Turkomani and Kyle Sherman – Photo: Christopher Mueller/Signature Theatre Some culture wars that might seem won in the U.S. are still raging in certain pockets of the nation. Less than fifty miles outside any major city where members of the LGBTQ community feel free to live out loud, a closeted gay teacher might find himself on the front lines battling to be his mild-mannered self.
Win Tickets to “Behind the Mask: Invisible Life – The Musical”
The still-fresh D.C. theater season has already produced a few must-see shows, but one in particular seems to be on the lips of theater fans everywhere I go these days. “Have you seen Merrily We Roll Along?” was a recurring question on one recent non-theater-related occasion. Yes, in fact, we’re featuring the show’s “Charley Kringas” on the cover. “That’s Jake Loewenthal? I’m seeing it next week. I can’t wait.” True story.
‘The Divine Tragedy’ Review: Gay Brothers, Bad Habits
The Divine Tragedy Blessedly free of any epic catastrophes, The Divine Tragedy is rather a lighthearted, Mexico City-set sex dramedy, with a few dark, despairing passages. Writer-director Sergio Tovar Verlarde (4 Moons) tries to have it both ways, balancing frolicsome gay sexcapades with a moralizing tale of heavy consequences for taking the licentious liberation too far.
At GALA’s Fuego Flamenco, a Dance of Life and Loss
XXII Fuego Flamenco Festival: Edwin Aparicio – Photo: Rose Campiglia The great thing about working with the GALA Hispanic Theatre to present the annual Fuego Flamenco Festival, says festival co-founder Edwin Aparicio, “is that they give me the liberty to be, in a way, the artist that I want to be.” For Aparicio, a recognized master of the dance, that entails curating the Fuego Flamenco program from works selected by GALA’s directors, as well as staging new work each year with his Flamenco...
‘Are You Now…’ Review: Arena’s Red Scare Falls Flat
Are You Now or Have You Ever Been – Photo: Teresa Castracane The average American can’t tell you what a Communist believes but that has long been beside the point. Are You Now or Have You Ever Been?, by Eric Bentley, frames its docudrama retelling of the Hollywood Red Scare of the 1940s and ’50s appropriately divorced from political ideology to hone in on morality.
La Bola Negra Review: Gay Love in the Shadow of Fascism
La Bola Negra: Guitarricadelafuente – Photo; Carla Oset/Netflix The eras-spanning Spanish epic La Bola Negra unfolds in an intricate pattern of plot and atmosphere summoned by filmmakers Javier Calvo and Javier Ambrossi (Los Javis).
SPARKED Brings an Immersive Mystery to Buzzard Point
SPARKED: Abel Haddish amd Irene Hamilton – Photo: DJ Corey Ever-adventurous in transforming unconventional spaces for immersive theatrical experiences, Rorschach Theatre takes audiences back in time with its new, original production SPARKED: The Vanishing at Buzzard Point. Inspired by the real, rough-edged history of Buzzard Point — the Southwest D.C. neighborhood Rorschach now calls home — SPARKED concerns a young couple in 1933 who go missing during a savage storm.
‘The Rocky Horror Show’ Review: Absolute Pleasure, More or Less
The Rocky Horror Show: Christin Wright, Nicholas Miles, and Meghan Gosse – Photo: Teresa Castracane The Rocky Horror Show is alive and kicking at Baltimore’s Iron Crow Theatre, which has made an annual tradition of presenting the legendary rock musical featuring book, music, and lyrics by Richard O’Brien.
‘The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk’ Review: More Artistry Than Chemistry
The Flying Lovers of Vitebsk: Dani Stoller and Jamie Smithson – Photo: Ryan Maxwell On his path to greatness as one of the preeminent painters of the 20th century, Marc Chagall found an enthralling muse in Bella Rosenfeld, who would become his (first) wife.
‘Clayface’ Review: A Batman Villain’s Bloody Good Solo Debut
Clayface: Tom Rhys Harries A second-string Batman villain, even one who’s endured for decades in various incarnations across different media, seems a strange pick for a solo feature. But, hey, if Sony has the chutzpah to spin off standalone films for relative Marvel Comics obscurities like Madame Web and Morbius, then why shouldn’t DC Studios want to give the world Clayface?
Jake Loewenthal Is Having a Signature Moment
Jake Loewenthal for Metro Weekly – Photo: Christopher Mueller The still-fresh D.C. theater season has already produced a few must-see shows, but one in particular seems to be on the lips of theater fans everywhere I go these days. “Have you seen Merrily We Roll Along?” was a recurring question on one recent non-theater-related occasion. Yes, in fact, we’re featuring the show’s “Charley Kringas” on the cover. “That’s Jake Loewenthal? I’m seeing it next week. I can’t wait.” True story.
‘Hundred Days’ Review: Music Soars, Romance Falls Flat
Hundred Days – Photo: Cameron Whitman The stage packed with band instruments, amid lamps and candles arranged on coffeehouse rugs, sends a strong signal before Keegan Theatre’s Hundred Days has even started that we’re in for a good hang. Especially for anyone partial to the Mumford-y sounds of stomp-and-clap folk rock, the show, with music and lyrics by The Bengsons, has much to offer, from the first song to the last. And the cast of performer-musicians assembled by director Christina A.
Grace Walcott Explores Queer Identity in “River of Life LGBTQ+”
Grace Walcott – Photo: Laura Turbow “Internalized oppression has always been fascinating to me in a very painful way,” says Grace Walcott, explaining what motivated her to confront internalized queerphobia in her LGBTQ drama therapy workshop, featured in the documentary short River of Life LGBTQ+, which she also directed. “The stress of being oppressed, people can start to turn against each other,” she adds. “You see it in colorism in the Black community.
Scorch Marks Review: A Dull, Dreary Gaypocalypse
Scorch Marks: Chris Salvatore and Brandon Shypkowski There is sex after the apocalypse, even for the last gay man on Earth, in Brendan Haley’s queer apocalyptic horror misfire Scorch Marks. Hooking up actually isn’t what Beckett (Brandon Shypkowski) is worried about when he wakes up shirtless, alone, and nauseous on a bizarrely red-tinted morning. He’s more concerned about the apparent end of the world.
‘Hakawatis’ Review: Women Tell Tales to Survive
Hakawatis: Gigi Cammaroto,Gowri Koneswaran, Surasree Das, Lilinaz Hakimi, and Laura Zee – Photo: Ryan Maxwell Storytelling means survival in Hannah Khalil’s feminist fable Hakawatis: Women of the Arabian Nights, staged in an engaging production by Mekala Sridhar at Spooky Action Theater.
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother Review: Mahershala Ali Delivers
Your Mother Your Mother Your Mother: Mahershala Ali and Jahleel Kamara Two-time Oscar-winner Mahershala Ali trained for years to swing a sword onscreen as the MCU’s new incarnation of vampire hunter Blade. Yet, as film fans know by now, the studio wasted that man’s time, while certainly adding to his bank account, with no Blade feature ever coming to fruition. And it never will with Ali, he’s declared, understandably ready to keep it moving.
Digger Review: Tom Cruise Can’t Save Iñárritu’s Climate Satire
Digger: Tom Cruise – Photo: Courtesy Warner Bros. Pictures Alejandro Iñárritu’s rambling satire Digger is a woolly mess of a film, though admirable in its ambition. Few modern movies aiming to reheat Stanley Kubrick’s Dr. Strangelove recipe of doomsday dread, political satire, and broad absurdist comedy come as close to the Kubrickian ideal as Digger does in fits and starts.
LGBTQ Films, Blockbusters, and Indies: Fall Arts Preview 2026
Coward – Photo: Mubi SEPTEMBER Resident Evil — Zach Creggers (Barbarian, Weapons) has his way with the venerable franchise, adapting the raving zombie game series into an immersive horror thriller, starring Austin Abrams as a medical courier caught in the middle of a viral outbreak of flesh-eaters.
Sushi by Bou’s Tuna Cutting Is a Disco Dinner Party
Alexis “Chef Alex” Hernandez with the bluefin tuna – Photo: César Boggiano/Metro Weekly After a brisk elevator ride to the rooftop of the CitizenM Hotel, the doors open directly into Sushi by Bou, a spirited spot, wild with colorful lights and decor, not just for the night but every night. We find the place filling up with festive souls, a few having bites at the bar, while others grab photos on the patio outside, disco grooving over the sound system.
Primetime Review: Skyler Gisondo Steals the Show
Primetime: Tony Revolori and Robert Pattinson – Photo: A24 “Are you sure your parents aren’t home?” Nothing innocent ever started with that question, but almost no one is innocent in Primetime, a sardonic look at the making (and makers) of NBC’s notorious undercover sting series To Catch a Predator.
The Score Review: Brian Cox Is a Commanding Bach
The Score: Jamie Wilkes and Brian Cox – Photo: Teresa Castracane From a storied real-life encounter between composer Johann Sebastian Bach and Prussian ruler Frederick the Great, Oliver Cotton’s The Score spins a dramatic clash between power and resistance. It’s 1747, and J.S. Bach, an artist revered in his own time, has the stature and opportunity to speak for the people right to the face of the warmongering king.
Fall Arts Preview 2026: Dance in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
American Ballet Theatre Studio Company at Strathmore – Photo: Rosalie O’Connor ARENA STAGE Step Afrika!: The Fruits of Our Labor — Step Afrika! commemorates America’s 250th anniversary with this premiere production “exploring rhythm, resilience, and the unfinished story of the American experience” through stepping, percussion, and striking visuals created in collaboration with artists Jakari Sherman, Conrad R.
Fall Arts Preview 2026: Dance in D.C., Maryland and Virginia
American Ballet Theatre Studio Company at Strathmore – Photo: Rosalie O’Connor ARENA STAGE Step Afrika!: The Fruits of Our Labor — Step Afrika! commemorates America’s 250th anniversary with this premiere production “exploring rhythm, resilience, and the unfinished story of the American experience” through stepping, percussion, and striking visuals created in collaboration with artists Jakari Sherman, Conrad R.
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom Review: A Riveting Power Play
Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom – Photo: Teresa Castracane / Round House There’s a lot of talking, posturing, and jostling over who’s the boss in August Wilson’s Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom, now at Round House Theatre in a solid co-production with Olney Theatre Center.
Somewhere Over the Border Review: A Smart, Spirited Journey
Somewhere Over the Border – Photo: Chris Banks / Mosaic Life looks alright in America to Reina, a desperate but starry-eyed teen mom in rural El Salvador who sets out for the U.S. in Brian Quijada’s brilliantly conceived Somewhere Over the Border.
GARBO Review: The Spy Who Fooled the Nazis
Garbo: Clara Navarro, Kevin Jorges, and Carlos Castillo – Photo: Stan Weinstein A spy for the Nazis and for the Allies during World War II, Juan Pujol García had to have been a very special special agent. Though he was loyal to the Allied cause, his counterespionage exploits earned him honors from both sides. Decorated with an Iron Cross from Hitler, he was also dubbed a Member of the Order of the British Empire by the King.
Merrily We Roll Along Review: Signature’s Rewarding Revival
Merrily We Roll Along: Jason Gotay, Melanie Field, and Jake Loewenthal – Photo: Christopher Mueller The trusty stewards of Stephen Sondheim at Signature Theatre roll into a new season, unpacking the maestro’s demanding but rewarding musical Merrily We Roll Along. The show, with music and lyrics by Sondheim and a book by his Company collaborator George Furth, tells a haunting showbiz tale in reverse chronological order, charting a best friendship from after it’s ended, back to where it began.
House Queen: Salina EsTitties on Life After Big Brother
Salina EsTitties – Photo: Yuq Studios Reality TV works in mysterious ways. An ostensible loss can quickly and unexpectedly be transformed into a win, especially in the hands of a queen who’s prepared. RuPaul’s Drag Race favorite Salina EsTitties, a.k.a. Jason De Puy, was heartbroken, she says, that her run on the recent All Stars season 11 came to an end in her first round of competition.
Elegance Bratton Won’t Let History Be Erased
Elegance Bratton – Photo- Erik Umphery, Blackhouse Portrait Studio copy “This is not your grandma’s civil rights movie.” Elegance Bratton is telling me about his latest film, By Any Means, and he’s a passionate hype man for his work.
Rocky Horror Show Review: Monumental’s Horny, High-Energy Hit
The Rocky Horror Show: Clari Swaggard and Jackson Miller – Photo: Sean McCoy “Well, that was horny.” So declared a knowledgeable patron to me following the amply entertaining opening night performance of Monumental Theatre’s The Rocky Horror Show at Dance Place. True, the cabaret-style production, staged by company co-artistic directors Jimmy Mavrikes and Michael Windsor, accentuates every lustful beat of Richard O’Brien’s classic sci-fi horror musical.
Inside the New Metro Weekly: Elegance Bratton Talks Hollywood and House
"D.C.! Y'all the best crowd we had on this tour," Isaiah Rashad announced from the stage of The Fillmore Silver Spring, and I believed it. Of course, this was just the artist's fourth stop on his 29-date North American headlining tour, Lil' Sunny's Awful Road Trip, but no doubt, Rashad had the whole crowd going up on a Monday.
Isaiah Rashad Is Making Up For Lost Time
Isaiah Rashad – Photo: Quil Lemons “D.C.! Y’all the best crowd we had on this tour,” Isaiah Rashad announced from the stage of The Fillmore Silver Spring, and I believed it. Of course, this was just the artist’s fourth stop on his 29-date North American headlining tour, Lil’ Sunny’s Awful Road Trip, but no doubt, Rashad had the whole crowd going up on a Monday.
Gruesome Playground Injuries Review: Growing Pains
Gruesome Playground Injuries: Irene Hamilton and Jimmy Bartlebaugh – Photo: Cameron Whitman Over the course of 30 years in Rajiv Joseph’s two-hander Gruesome Playground Injuries, childhood friends Kayleen (Irene Hamilton) and Doug (Jimmy Bartlebaugh) both suffer more than their share of scrapes, bruises, and near-fatal events. The pair’s complicated friendship likewise encounters a few close calls in their lifelong shared journey of hurt and healing.
AIDS 2026: HIV Science Advances as Global Funding Collapses
AIDS 2026, the 26th International AIDS Conference in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil: Winnie Byanyima – Photo: Andréa Testoni / IAS Officially, this year’s 26th International AIDS Conference, held July 26-31 in Rio de Janeiro, advanced a clear and timely theme: “Rethink. Rebuild. Rise.” A community well-versed in resilience would respond to devastating losses in funding and political support with strategies for rising above all obstacles and ending HIV/AIDS.
Review: ‘Woody Guthrie’s American Song’ Strikes a Timely Chord
Woody Guthrie’s American Song – Photo: Theater Alliance On a blanket, beneath the stars on a sultry summer night is a great place to let the free-spirited folk music of Woody Guthrie’s American Song wash over you. Still, I chose a comfortable lawn chair (available for $5 rental) at Theater Alliance’s outdoor production of the musical biography, conceived and adapted by Peter Glazer from the songs and writings of trailblazing troubadour Woody Guthrie.
Review: ‘The End of Oak Street’ Takes a Bite Out of Suburbia
The End of Oak Street An entertaining mashup of Spielbergian fantasy, ’50s sci-fi, and tense domestic dramedy, The End of Oak Street gathers suspense and momentum slowly but surely. Before all hell breaks loose, a well-composed picture comes into view of a Midwest suburban cul-de-sac enjoying the summer of 1982. Though behind the smiles and good vibes, and the gleeful neighborhood block party with limbo, music, games, and balloons, somebody, somewhere, is quietly suffering.
Body Blow Review: Queer Neo-Noir Lands With a Thud
Body Blow – Tom Rodgers and Paul Capsis Filmmaker Dean Francis makes B-movie bunk occasionally look alluring in Body Blow, a queer neo-noir about a closeted cop who goes rogue. The journey from good apple to total outlaw, however, is more a short dash for Officer Aiden. Tim Pocock (X-Men Origins: Wolverine), giving as wooden a performance as you’ll ever see, stars as the suburbanite constable, still fresh to the force and reassigned to a unit in Sydney’s gay district.
I Want Your Sex Review: A Kinky, Wickedly Funny Power Trip
I Want Your Sex: Cooper Hoffman and Olivia Wilde George Michael said it best in a song: “Sex is natural, sex is good, not everybody does it, but everybody should.” But should you do it with your boss — especially if it entails becoming her sex slave? Amusingly awkward artist’s assistant Elliot answers with a resounding “Yes, ma’am” in I Want Your Sex, the latest cinematic provocation from perpetually cool indie filmmaker Gregg Araki.
Aurin Squire Knows a Sociopath When He Sees One
Aurin Squire – Photo: Marc J Franklin If you’ve known a true sociopath, it’s likely you’ll recognize the type among the three hyper-ambitious grad students in Aurin Squire’s wicked new comedy My Favorite Sociopath. Making its world premiere at the venerable Contemporary American Theater Festival, in Shepherdstown, West Virginia — in a solid production directed by Céline Rosenthal — the play pits the three aspiring journalists against each other for a plum job at a newspaper.
“Ask E. Jean” Review: The Woman Who Beat Trump
E. Jean Carroll Jean Carroll considers herself an eccentric personality, she says in Ask E. Jean, Ivy Meeropol’s brisk, engaging documentary about the larger-than-life former columnist and TV host, and, lately, persistent nemesis of Donald Trump. Judging by her public persona, and this film, Carroll’s self-assessment feels correct.
WTA Genetic Sex Testing Effectively Bans Trans Women
Photo: jacoblund via iStockphoto In a first for a major professional women’s sports organization, the Women’s Tennis Association (WTA) announced that its new eligibility policy, effective as of July 21, requires all players to pass a genetic sex test in order to compete on tour.
The Odyssey Review: Myth Made Flesh
The Odyssey: Matt Damon For all the pre-release chatter about who Christopher Nolan cast as Helen of Troy in The Odyssey, the casting that matters most in the filmmaker’s sweeping adaptation of Homer’s epic poem is not the beauty whom legend claims was hatched from an egg. Odysseus is the part that makes or breaks this movie, and for that, Nolan tapped Matt Damon.
Smithsonian Exhibit Celebrates LGBTQ African Art
“Here_ Pride and Belonging in African Art,” National Museum of African Art, Smithsonian Institution – Photo: Brad Simpson Tucked beneath the National Mall, inside the subterranean galleries of the Smithsonian’s National Museum of African Art, an enchanting world of queer discovery awaits — at least until August 23.
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass Wastes Its Talented Cast
Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass Prolific comedy creator David Wain (Wet Hot American Summer) revs up the joke machine, and assembles a host of funny folks from his past casts for the horny, happy would-be romp Gail Daughtry and the Celebrity Sex Pass. Firing off gags at a consistently rapid pace, the film, directed by Wain, who co-wrote with fellow comedian Ken Marino, doesn’t lack for good-humored, gonzo energy.
Touch Me Review: Alien Horror-Comedy Is Bizarre, Kinky Fun
Touch Me: Jordan Gavaris and Olivia Taylor Dudley A horror-comedy steeped in style and sensuality, Touch Me, from writer-director Addison Heimann, flies its freak flag proudly. So does Brian (Lou Taylor Pucci), the movie’s tracksuit-wearing charmer who comes between down-on-her-luck Joey (Olivia Taylor Dudley) and her gay bestie Craig (Jordan Gavaris). Brian readily admits to Joey, soon after meeting her, that he’s an alien from another world disguised in human form.
CrazySexyCool Review: A Crazy Good Tribute to TLC
CrazySexyCool – Photo: Julieta Cervantes Famous names have been changed to protect the innocent and everybody else in CrazySexyCool: The TLC Musical, debuting in a dazzling world-premiere production at Arena Stage. For anyone already familiar with the dramatic story behind the music of the Grammy-winning girl group, the show, written and directed by Kwame Kwei-Armah, doesn’t need to spell out all the names — except for three.
Maddie’s Secret Review: A Weird, Campy Delight
Maddie’s Secret: John Early – Photo: Magnolia Pictures In the grand tradition of cross-dressing pioneer Divine playing Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, or John Travolta as Edna Turnblad in Hairspray, comedian John Early stars in Maddie’s Secret, as Maddie, an everyday woman with a song in her heart and a husband who loves her. She also has…a secret. The secret is not that she’s a drag queen. Maddie Ralph is a biological woman, and Early, a gay man, is playing her.
Steven Webb: “I’ll Panic When It’s Over”
Steven Webb in Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible is going to Happen – Photo: Rich Lakos It’s Capital Pride week in Washington, D.C., and Steven Webb, a Londoner in town starring in the unabashedly queer Feeling Afraid As If Something Terrible Is Going To Happen at Studio Theatre, is excited to see how the city celebrates the occasion. “Normally I’m working over Pride,” says the actor, bubbly in a baseball cap for our afternoon Zoom call.
What Became of Us Review: A Poignant Tale of Two Siblings
What Became of Us: Jo Yang and Stan Kang – Photo: DJ Corey Siblings Q and Z might share parents and a few inside jokes, but they were almost completely different people from the very start in Shayan Lotfi’s dynamic two-hander drama What Became of Us. Q (Jo Yang), the dutiful older sister, was born to their immigrant parents while still in the Old Country, according to the play’s parlance. Younger brother Z (Stan Kang) was born here in the New Country — wherever here is.
Supergirl Review: Milly Alcock Makes It Worth the Ride
Supergirl: Milly Alcock and Matthias Schoenaerts – Photo: Parisa Taghizadeh Supergirl, a.k.a. Kara Zor-El of Krypton, crashed into James Gunn’s new-new 2025 Superman for just a brief bit near the film’s end. Brimming with attitude, she called her cousin Clark a bitch in his Antarctic home, grabbed her rambunctious super-dog Krypto, and flew outta there.
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