Close Up

Oscar Nominees Glenn Close and Janet McTeer talk about their work on ''Albert Nobbs''

Published on February 2, 2012, 7:17am

In the intimate, delicately wrought period drama Albert Nobbs, Glenn Close transforms herself into a 19th century Irishman who is concealing the fact that he is biologically a she. On the surface, Albert has been hiding his gender to maintain his post as a waiter. But there are deeper, profoundly personal reasons for Albert's choice that become apparent as the film's narrative travels its steady, quiet path. Close portrays Nobbs with a timid, withdrawn air. If the character itself seems ...[more]

Albert's Champion

It took 30 years for Glenn Close to bring Albert Nobbs from stage to screen, in the process devising an indelible, unique character

Published on February 2, 2012, 6:04am

(continued from ''Close Up'') METRO WEEKLY: What a remarkable motion picture. I was engaged and moved by it on every possible level. Let's talk a little bit about its journey from stage to screen. GLENN CLOSE: I was still at beginning my career -- the only movie I'd done was The World According to Garp. It was 1982 and I was called in to audition for something called The Singular Life of Albert Nobbs, which was a stage adaptation of ...[more]

The Opposite of Albert

Janet McTeer's performance as Hubert in ''Albert Nobbs'' is informed by the actor's own sense of happiness and self-contentment

Published on February 2, 2012, 5:57am

METRO WEEKLY: Though they share a similar circumstance, Hubert is the polar opposite of Albert. What was your approach to the character? JANET McTEER: Apart from being a character that you want to flesh out and create and do something lovely with, you also have to look at the entire piece and say, ''What is my character's function in this piece given that the main storyline is Albert's? What's the function of my character?'' And the function of Hubert, I ...[more]

Scruffy Songster

Aiden James on his new album, and coming to Town Danceboutique Feb. 10

Published on February 2, 2012, 5:06am

''It sounds like I talk about it all the time: I'm Twitter obsessed! Like a Kardashian!'' For the record, Aiden James only brought up Twitter a few times during a recent half-hour interview. But the 29-year-old had every reason to wax on about the social media site and others like it. Three years after quitting a job at a Philadelphia boutique selling designer handbags, James has fully harnessed social media to achieve a new career as a full-time, self-made singer-songwriter. ...[more]

Swimming in Style

Simon Doonan thinks everyone should add a little flourish and eccentricity to their life

Published on January 26, 2012, 6:54am

This may come as a shock to some of you, but Simon Doonan is no longer the Creative Director at Barney's. He's now officially the Creative Ambassador. ''I've basically handed the staple gun to somebody else,'' purrs the British-born designer who made Barney's windows the stuff of legend. ''And it feels kind of fabulous, actually. I'm 60 and it's time to sort of let go of that part of it.'' Now Doonan, whose fifth book, Gay Men Don't Get Fat ...[more]

Family Ties

''La Cage Aux Folles''' George Hamilton and Christopher Sieber on old Hollywood, gay relationships -- and why the best of times is now

Published on January 26, 2012, 1:34am

George Hamilton is in the midst of a storytelling frenzy. ''I was back on the Concorde from London,'' recalls the Hollywood icon, ''and Kirk Douglas is sitting next to me. And he says, 'Jesus, I've never seen you so white.' And I thought, 'God, am I really that pale?' I went in the plane's bathroom and I look in my little bag. I had this auto-bronzer. So every half hour on the trip -- it was only three-and-a-half hours -- ...[more]

Cruz Control

Wilson Cruz talks activism, politics and his commitment to Creating Change

Published on January 19, 2012, 4:29am

''I won't be specific,'' Wilson Cruz says, ''but there's a show on television right now, a fairly new show, that wanted me to come in for a role, and I found it incredibly offensive.'' His manager, Cruz tells Metro Weekly, had said no to auditioning for the role. But, Cruz – who made his first mark playing out high school student Rickie Vasquez on the '90s TV show, My So-Called Life, and then took on the role of Angel in ...[more]

Creating a Conference

Baltimore confab brings together various LGBT voices, as well as NAACP's Benjamin Jealous

Published on January 19, 2012, 4:27am

It's not quite a quarter century, but the 24th year of Creating Change comes so very close. And Sue Hyde, the current director of the National Gay and Lesbian Task Force Foundation's ''national conference on LGBT equality,'' has been involved since the beginning. ''It's gotten a lot bigger,'' says the Cambridge, Mass.-based Hyde. ''The first one, in '88 at Hotel Washington in D.C., we had about 300 people onsite. We're expecting about 3,000 in Baltimore.'' That the Hotel Washington is ...[more]

Folking Around

Witty onstage and cheerful in life, folk singer Cheryl Wheeler can offer both a song and an opinion with a smile

Published on January 19, 2012, 4:19am

For the record, Cheryl Wheeler is not an ''angry dyke.'' No matter what the Westboro Baptist Church says. ''Well,'' she says, ''I do get angry if I watch too much MSNBC or read too much Huffington Post. I get angry at the right.'' {Cheryl Wheeler (Photo by Gwendolyn Cates)} The prolific folk singer, known for her husky, dulcet voice and witty, winsome way with lyrics and catchy, lovely melodies, drew the ire of the Westboro Baptist Church in October after ...[more]

Top Gear

D.C.'s leather community is busting out for Mid-Atlantic Leather's weekend of kinky camaraderie

Published on January 12, 2012, 6:49am

If you've picked up the scent of leather, it's not coming from the reins of a horse-drawn carriage – at least not till D.C. gets a serious amount of snow. That heady vapor is coming from the leatherfolk decked out in chaps, uniforms, harnesses, vests and all the rest that brand them a member of the tribe. Of course, as the Centaur Motorcycle Club's Mid-Atlantic Leather (MAL) weekend – now marking its 28th year – has evolved, so have the ...[more]

The Great Hall

MAL 2012: Centaur MC's Exhibit Vendors

Published on January 12, 2012, 6:46am

The Mid-Atlantic Leather weekend's Exhibit Hall is a beast all its own. It's where the leather and kink diehards cross paths with the weekend's spectators. Once upon a time, any curious soul could simply walk in off the street and start shopping – or gawking. But even with the introduction of an Exhibit Hall admission charge last year for those not registered with MAL, the hall seems as popular as ever. ''It certainly has become a big part of MAL,'' ...[more]

Mr. MAL 2011's Three D's

MAL 2012: Doug Pamplin

Published on January 12, 2012, 6:44am

What a year it's been, and Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2011 Doug ''D'' Pamplin couldn't be happier. From his base in Pittsburgh, Pamplin has taken the title far and wide representing MAL, on the road 40 weeks out of 2011. ''My year has been one of the most exciting, the best within my leather journey,'' says Pamplin, who adds that work also keeps him on the road. Certainly that can't be as much fun as he's had with the title. ''The ...[more]

Exercising Judgment

MAL 2012: Mr. MAL Judges

Published on January 12, 2012, 6:40am

We're often told to judge not, lest we be judged by others. Perhaps it's a dirty job, but someone's got to do it. In this case, it's the impressive lineup of judges who will choose Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2012. Notably, that lineup – for the first time – includes the current International Mr. Leather (IML), Eric Guttierez; IML first runner-up, Doug Pamplin; and IML second runner-up, Anthony Rollar, who is also Mr. San Diego Leather 2010. And what criteria will ...[more]

Leather Heart, Warm Heart

Mid-Atlantic Leather 2012: BHT's charitable giving

Published on January 12, 2012, 5:46am

As the director of development for Charlie's Place at St. Margaret's, local folk-singer favorite Tom Goss has to keep his eye on the dollars that help D.C.'s homeless. And he's got plenty to be proud of. In 2011, for example, Charlie's Place served 15,320 meals and provided HIV/AIDS testing and counseling for 135 clients. That's just for starters. While much of the thanks goes to Goss for his work at Charlie's Place, much of it also goes to the Centaur ...[more]

Puppy Play

Published on January 12, 2012, 5:43am

The heyday of biker gangs and leather daddies is so 1970s. While leather, boots and a jockstrap used to be de rigueur attire for Mid-Atlantic Leather weekend, chances are you'll see more than a few attendees rejecting traditional MAL attire for a wrestling singlet and kneepads. Just ask Kelev Sprinkle. Or, rather, just see him in a makeshift ''mosh pit'' crawling on the floor, barking like a dog, play-fighting and catching a ball. It's called puppy play. And it's one ...[more]

Sexy Edge

Mid-Atlantic Leather 2012: DJ Quentin Harris

Published on January 12, 2012, 5:40am

You might say dance-music singer Ultra Naté proposed to Quentin Harris. ''We went into the studio and started working [on what] at first was going to be Ultra's album,'' Harris explains. The two hit it off so well, Naté suggested they partner. ''Both of us are so involved and tied to this record, why don't we just become a band?'' Harris recalls her asking. So later this year, they will and the resulting band, Super Black Bass, will channel new ...[more]

Leather Nights

Mid-Atlantic Leather 2012: Dances and Parties

Published on January 12, 2012, 5:33am

It's not just your imagination – there is more leather and fetish nightlife during this year's Mid-Atlantic Leather weekend than ever before. ''Years ago, MAL was sacrosanct,'' says Peter Lloyd, a co-owner of the DC Eagle. ''No one dared to schedule any events without the Centaurs.'' The ascent of social media has helped change the nightlife game surrounding the weekend, put on by the Centaur Motorcycle Club. ''Nowadays anyone can send out a message – and there's another party,'' Lloyd ...[more]

2012: A Look Ahead

You don't need to be psychic to know where and when to be in the gay new year

Published on January 5, 2012, 5:45am

Being that so much of the future is uncertain, it's wise to pin down what you can. Will Nibiru materialize out of nowhere and give a boost to doomsday cred? Will Rick Santorum blaze a trail to the White House (giving another boost to doomsday cred)? Who can say? In a universe of so much chaos, at least some variables are more or less fixed. Certainly, it will be a political year. ''We know it's going to be a very, ...[more]