Metro Weekly

Spotlight: Finding Dory, Firefly Music Festival, Next to Normal, Newseum

Finding Dory
Finding Dory

“I’ll tell you a little secret,” Ellen DeGeneres confided to USA Today earlier this week. “There’s a Sting-Ray that’s becoming Sting-Rhonda, so there’s a trans-sting in the movie.” We’ll find out whether the comedian is merely joshing around on Friday, June 17, when the sequel to Pixar’s 2003 hit, Finding Nemo, hits screens.

In the first film, clownfish Marlin (Albert Brooks) was aided by Dory (DeGeneres), a blue tang with memory issues, on a quest to find his son, Nemo, held captive in a dentist’s aquarium. It remains one of Pixar’s highest points, funny, energized and emotionally resonant. In the follow-up, Marlin helps Dory find her long-lost parents. The previews recycle many of the first film’s favorite set-pieces, but under the main guidance of co-director Andrew Stanton, we’re sure there are plenty of new surprises in store. The film also stars Ed O’Neill, Diane Keaton, Eugene Levy, Ty Burrell, Allison Janney, and, in a secretive cameo, Sigourney Weaver.

There’s been much speculation that Finding Dory contains a glimpse of a female same-sex couple, which would be a first for a Disney movie, but DeGeneres was coy with USA Today when the question was posed.

“I don’t know if it’s true,” the popular comedian said. “I don’t know if there is, or if she just has a bad short haircut. Who knows if she’s a lesbian?”

Finding Dory, rated PG-13, opens at theaters nationwide on Friday, June 17.


firefly-festival-day-2-papeo-95
Firefly Music Festival

FIREFLY MUSIC FESTIVAL

Touted as “the East Coast’s Premier Music Experience,” the four-day festival features 100-plus acts for fans of pop to savor. Held in a lush wooded landscape in Dover, Del., things kick off Thursday, June 16, with a headline set by Two Door Cinema Club, also including AlunaGeorge, Robert DeLong, Oh Wonder, Felix Jaehn and Lany. Kings of Leon headline Friday, June 17, with other draws including Ellie Goulding, Disclosure, Tame Impala, Of Monsters & Men, Ludacris, Fitz and the Tantrums, Rufus du Sol, Boy & Bear and Powers. The lineup for Saturday, June 18, includes with Death Cab for Cutie, Chvrches, St. Lucia, Atlas Genius, Parson James, Florence & the Machine and Deadmau5. The festival closes on Sunday, June 19, with Blink-182, Major Lazer, The 1975, Earth Wind & Fire, Grouplove, Trombone Shorty & Orleans Avenue, and Mumford & Sons. At the Woodlands of Dover International Speedway, 1131 N. Dupont Highway, Dover, Del. Passes start at $129 for a single day or $319 for a four-day pass. Quite the value! Call 855-281-4898 or visit fireflyfestival.com.

Keegan Theatre: Next to Normal
Keegan Theatre: Next to Normal

NEXT TO NORMAL

Keegan Theatre serves up Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey’s moving and modern Pulitzer Prize-winning show, that deals with the devastating toll that mental illness can have on a relationship and a family. Mark A. Rhea and Colin Smith direct a cast featuring Kari Ginsburg, Chad Wheeler, David Landstrom, Caroline Dubberly, Christian Montgomery and Scott Ward Abernethy. Opens Saturday, June 18, at 8 p.m. To July 10. Keegan Theatre, 1742 Church St. NW. Tickets are $45 to $55. Call 202-265-3768 or visit keegantheatre.com.

Newseum
Newseum

CNN POLITICS CAMPAIGN 2016: LIKE, SHARE, ELECT

The Newseum has partnered with CNN — as well as Facebook, Instagram, Zignal Labs and Pivit — to offer an interactive exhibit telling the story of the 2016 presidential campaign in real time, which, let’s face it, is even more fantastical than the story of Alice jumping down the rabbit hole. The exhibit explores the ways digital and social media have transformed how candidates campaign, how journalists cover elections (when Trump doesn’t ban them), and how the public participates in the political process. Through Jan. 22. Newseum, 555 Pennsylvania Ave. NW. Tickets are $22.95 for general admission. Call 888-NEWSEUM or visit newseum.org.

Support Metro Weekly’s Journalism

These are challenging times for news organizations. And yet it’s crucial we stay active and provide vital resources and information to both our local readers and the world. So won’t you please take a moment and consider supporting Metro Weekly with a membership? For as little as $5 a month, you can help ensure Metro Weekly magazine and MetroWeekly.com remain free, viable resources as we provide the best, most diverse, culturally-resonant LGBTQ coverage in both the D.C. region and around the world. Memberships come with exclusive perks and discounts, your own personal digital delivery of each week’s magazine (and an archive), access to our Member's Lounge when it launches this fall, and exclusive members-only items like Metro Weekly Membership Mugs and Tote Bags! Check out all our membership levels here and please join us today!