Next week, Abel Aguilera, the celebrated gay circuit veteran known as DJ Abel, will turn fifty. So naturally Ric Sena is throwing him a big party.

''Usually every year I do a different theme,'' says Sena, the man behind New York City's popular circuit party Alegria. But for this year's Alegria, pegged to Black Party weekend and known as Alegria Xtreme, Sena is forgoing a sexy, more traditional, military or red-light district theme and making sure partygoers appreciate the milestone of the man who quite literally keeps the party moving and grooving.

''It is an extreme birthday,'' Sena says, ''so I decided to do the party: It's all about Abel.'' The party will also celebrate Abel's 35 years of working as a DJ – the native New Yorker of Cuban descent got started early – including 13 years as Alegria's resident DJ. ''People should come to celebrate him and his music,'' Sena says, adding, ''There are some big surprises, I just can't reveal what they are.'' When pressed, he adds that in addition to the usual birthday cake, Sena has enlisted ''one of Abel's favorite performers'' to serenade him at the ceremony. DJ Pagano from London will spin an opening set.

The party will take place Sunday, March 24, at New York's storied Webster Hall, which over the past few years has become one of Alegria's key venues. Meanwhile, Sena is finalizing plans for a new venue for the Memorial Day edition of Alegria.

The same weekend as Xtreme, Sena will launch Viva Saturdays, a new weekly party in conjunction with fellow promoters John Blair and Betto Sutter. There are plans to have a rotating crop of a dozen resident DJs, each spinning every couple months, including DJ Paulo, Joe Gauthreaux and Phil Romano. And unlike Alegria, which runs for at least 12 hours, lasting until noon the next day, Viva will close by 6 a.m.

Viva will be held at Stage 48, a new venue where Sena threw a couple Alegria parties earlier this year. He doesn't expect to repeat that with Alegria. ''Alegria's a special event,'' he explains. ''I'd rather do Alegria somewhere that's different than where people go every week.''

Alegria Xtreme is Sunday, March 24, starting at 11 p.m. at Webster Hall, 125 East 11th St., New York. Tickets are $70 now, $80 at the door. Visit alegriaevents.com.

Now that the dust has settled on the 2012 election, the fiscal cliff and budget sequestration, the business of governing in President Obama's second term is underway. Where that business is of the ''small'' variety, the administration is touting its accomplishments and looking ahead.

''We got capital into the hands of small-business owners and entrepreneurs when they needed it most,'' said Emily Cain, press secretary for the Small Business Administration.

President Barack Obama's 2nd Inauguration

''SBA supported more than $106 billion in lending to more than 193,000 small businesses and entrepreneurs'' and ''helped increase American competitiveness through an aggressive push around high-growth entrepreneurship.''

But new laws and proposals have small businesses wondering what's in store for the next four years.

One marquee change is the Affordable Care Act (ACA). The ACA's 35 percent tax credit for health premiums paid by qualifying small businesses will increase to 50 percent in 2014.

Under the law, many states will establish health care exchanges, with Small Business Health Options Programs (SHOPs) that are intended to increase coverage, offering a variety of plans and benefits. Proponents of SHOPs say greater competition, purchasing power, and lower administrative burdens will make them attractive options. According to the Kaiser Family Foundation, only 57 percent of businesses with 50 or fewer workers currently provide employee health benefits.

Companies with more than 50 employees will be required to provide health insurance to their employees or face penalties. To pay for some of the ACA's costs, an additional Medicare tax of 0.9 percent will be levied on wages or self-employment income of the highest earners.

Despite debates over the ACA, Justin Nelson, president and co-founder of the National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce, is bullish on its prospects.

''There is no denying the ACA will benefit small businesses, specifically the key provisions in the law that help them better afford insurance, such as tax credits and insurance exchanges, and those that contain costs,'' Nelson said.

Tax changes aren't limited to health care. The ''fiscal cliff'' raised the marginal tax rate to 39.6 percent from 35 percent for single filers who earn $400,000, targeting a small minority of business owners who file as individuals, such as S-Corporations. Even with that tax hike, experts say the predictability of a permanent extension of the overall Bush-Obama tax cuts will be good for businesses.

Corporate income taxes are another thing to keep an eye on. Lowering them has bipartisan support, but the devil could be in the details of which loopholes are closed to pay for them and how broad overall tax reform should be.

A survey by The Wall Street Journal found that 35 percent of small businesses might reorganize as C-Corporations if the corporate tax were cut. Because S-Corps and C-Corps offer varying advantages, tax reform could compel many businesses to break out their green eyeshades.

A grab bag of other laws and initiatives includes:

Proposals to make permanent the research and development tax credit, provide 100 percent exclusion of capital gains on qualified small-business stock sales, and extend 100 percent expensing of capital equipment purchases

The JOBS Act of 2012, which helps startup firms that want to go public or attract ''crowdfunding''

Proposals to raise the minimum wage to $9 or more from $7.25, and index it to inflation

''Small businesses continue to drive innovation and job creation in industries across the country,'' SBA's Cain said. ''Our goal is to make sure these entrepreneurs have the wind at their backs and the access and opportunity they need to grow their operations, reach new customers and create jobs in our communities.''

Winner of the 2012 NGLCC Chamber of the Year Award and ranked No. 18 for Local Chambers of Commerce in the Washington Business Journal's ''Book of Lists,'' the Chamber means business. For more information, visit caglcc.org.

Matt Raymond is a CAGLCC member, a PR professional and a D.C. advisory neighborhood commissioner.

It's no surprise that Synetic would turn its hand (and bodies) to The Tempest as one of its Silent Shakespeare series. The dreamy, island-bound narrative, in which an alternately wrathful and forgiving Prospero, with the aid of his spirit servant Ariel, grapples with various shipwrecked and endemic enemies, is ideal territory for their edgy and innovative physical theater. But even with that, the company has outdone itself.

The Tempest

(Photo by Johnny Shryock)

It starts with Anastasia R. Simes's set, which, combined with an accomplished synthesis of light, sound and physical design, evokes a gloomy cove on Prospero's adoptive island. With the sensually intense sea sounds and music of Konstantine Lortkipanidze and Irakli Kavsadze and the rich and volatile changes in light of Andrew F. Griffin and Riki Kim, the dark and echoey moods of the cove are powerfully palpable, but also the violence of storms and the windswept wilds of the unseen island with its forests and rocky outcrops. Yet even as an unforgiving Nature is wielded by Prospero, so her island children, in Simes's striking costumes, suggest a strange, ambivalent, magic. Add the bold, cleverly conceptualized and executed presence of live water, and there arrives a whole new dimension to this beautifully conjured world. Such are the "textural" innovations that are the hallmark of the fearlessly imaginative Synetic, modest budgets be damned.

Yet it is, without doubt, a choreographer's challenge, for a careless reading of the waterworks might easily blight the potency of traditional storytelling, especially with house ponchos offered, water-ride style, to the first few rows. But there is no danger of that here, for even when the characters knowingly share the fun, Irina Tsikurishvili sees the water as partner to her dancers, not gimmick. Thus, each watery arc, every splashy dash of mayhem and even the most delicate of trickles come from a consciously crafted marriage of physics and art. Her choices are subtle, intelligent and always potent -- even when they refuse to take themselves too seriously.

With adaptor Nathan Weinberger's carefully modified telling, director Paata Tsikurishvili captures and paces with careful emphasis Shakespeare's tale. His weaving of water, real and imagined, invests this interpretation with a gratifying symbolism that goes from intangible to tangible and back again. It creates atmosphere, but it also tells of bonds broken, made and repaired. And when, for example, a ship sinks off the island's coast, the coupling of Paata's sense of narrative with Irina's dreamlike bodies caught in a viscous sea, the Tsikurishvili's create theater that is stunning and memorable.

A compellingly authoritative Prospero, Philip Fletcher's ability to offer more than the darkly demonic (which he does so well) is nicely demonstrated. Working hard to bring convincing cohesion to a character who pinches and pets with the wrath of a mercurial Greek god, Fletcher delivers a man with a driven, feverish gaze. That there is an inner-life, there is no doubt. But the interesting question remains: Who commands it, Prospero or the island and its wayward magic? Always a uniquely impressive dancer, Fletcher uses his sinewy limbs to draw powerful arcs and circles over and above island and water as he moves.

In interesting counterpoint are the long lines of Irina Kavsadze, in the role of Miranda, Prospero's daughter. Here an unprepossessing presence, she moves with a willowy softness suggestive of fronds caught in gentle currents of water. But Kavsadze draws an interesting complexity from her young woman; she is quietly girlishness but also touched with mystery and strength. And, thanks to Synetic's refusal to be bound by ballet's conventions, her later pas de deux with beau Ferdinand is beautiful not just for the gentle binding and unbinding of their bodies, but for the graceful and remarkable length of her body against his.

Offering the comic turn, are Irakli Kavsadze as Stephano and Emily Whitworth as Trinculo (played as a washer woman). Paired well, they nicely mix the clownish with the clever with just enough interpretative license to keep it more quirky than toe-curling (especially for those who find slapstick only slightly less loathsome than a root canal). As Prospero's erstwhile enemies, Antonia (a woman here), Alonso and Sebastian, shipwrecked on the island and at the mercy of the elements and Prospero's magic, Francesca Jandasek, Pasquale Guiducci and Ryan Tumulty offer distinct and credible characters. Jandasek in particular, shows a strong sense of storytelling via movement. As Ferdinand, Scott Brown offers an attractively chivalrous catch and some gorgeous, nicely understated, dancing.

But the real standouts here are Dan Istrate as the mischievous but loyal Ariel and Vato Tsikurishvili as Caliban, the island creature who convinces Stephano and Trinculo to join him in an attempt to overthrow Prospero. In a skin of silvery ruffles and a body that curls and curves like the waves, Istrate's Ariel is something sweet and slightly sinister; the embodiment of Synetic's island mystery. Truly making Caliban his own, Tsikurishvili delivers his usual brand of exhilarating physicality along with a newly dimensional expressiveness. Often in comic roles, Tsikurishvili shows he has far more to offer.

And although they may never speak, all of these players and the world they create must answer the same question as any interpretation of Shakespeare: Is there now another way to see, feel and think about The Tempest? The answer here is a resounding Yes.

''I remember my dad taking me to the roller-skating rink when I was a kid, and I did have roller blades in college,'' James Ellzy says when asked about his experience on skates. ''I'm very comfortable going backwards in general, and doing a little dance-type stuff.''

Yes, he said ''a little dance-type stuff.'' That's what happens when you sign on as the dance and skate captain for the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington and its production of Xanadu, the incredibly campy 2007 Broadway musical written by Douglas Carter Beane with music by the Electric Light Orchestra and Olivia Newton-John. Ellzy, who assisted director Craig Cipollini on the choreography, took partial inspiration from the show and the 1980 cult classic film on which it was based, but was even more inspired by the 1979 film Roller Boogie starring The Exorcist's Linda Blair. And no, Ellzy didn't just happen to remember that throwaway hit from his childhood. ''I found it through Netflix,'' he says, a recommendation after having viewed Xanadu.

GMCW: Xanadu

(Photo by Julian Vankim)

Originally from Nashville, Tenn., Ellzy says dance ''has been my hobby throughout my entire adult life,'' from stints with companies when he lived in San Diego to the DC Cowboys before they closed up shop last year. Ellzy is also a past president of the San Diego Gay Men's Chorus, a position he held even while a family physician in the Navy. ''I've pretty much been out most of my career,'' says Ellzy, who is in fact still an active-duty Navy doctor.

Of course, now that we're in a post-DADT era, singing and dancing and skating are no longer problematic. Neither is performing in an all-male cast, including a half-dozen drag queens, putting on a show in which one self-aware character quips, ''This is like children's theater for 40-year-old gay people.''

The Gay Men's Chorus performs Xanadu Friday, March 15, and Saturday, March 16, at 8 p.m., and Sunday, March 17, at 3 p.m. Lisner Auditorium, The George Washington University, 730 21st St. NW. Tickets are $25 to $55. Call 202-293-1548 or visit gmcw.org or lisner.org.

Having West Wing withdrawal? House of Cards DTs? Richard Schiff has the answer for you. It's called Chasing the Hill, and it's a political Web series the former West Wing star serves as an executive producer for and appears in. The drama concerns the re-election campaign of a California representative (Deadwood's Robin Weigert) trying to hang on to her seat.

Three episodes have been produced so far, and are priced at only $1.99 each, or, as Schiff laughs, "the cost of half a cup of coffee" (by Starbucks standards). Schiff calls the series "a labor of love," reminding him of his early days in theater where people would produce plays "in a church basement somewhere in lower Manhattan." Mostly, Schiff loves the unbridled creativity and freedom.

"You don't need the endorsement and the money of corporate-run studios," says the actor. "We are able to create something out of nothing without the people on Olympus dictating to us how and when and why it should be done."

Schiff in ''Hughie''

(Photo by Carol Rosegg)

Currently, Schiff is wrapping a run at the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where he's starring in the Eugene O'Neill one-act, Hughie, in which he masterfully portrays Erie Smith, a self-delusional gambler and instantly recognizable O'Neill tragic figure. The show is potent but challenging.

"It's a very tough hour to watch this guy kind of lost in his self-delusion," concedes Schiff. "[O'Neill] wrote about people with pipe dreams and people who deluded themselves and hid behind the bottle and couldn't take the pain of living a life."

Schiff, who will appear in this summer's new Superman movie, Man of Steel, as Dr. Emil Hamilton, is nationally beloved for his Emmy-winning role of press secretary Toby Zeigler on The West Wing. "I was very concerned about being on one TV show for so long," he says of his initial involvement, "not even knowing that these characters were going to become iconic." He's grateful the series is now available on Netflix streaming and finding new fans. "I enjoy it a lot more now than I did back in the day. That's a good feeling." He pauses, and chuckles.

"Toby will be on my tombstone."

Richard Schiff stars in Hughie through Sunday, March 17, at The Lansburgh Theatre, 450 7th St. NW. Call 202-547-1122 or visit shakespearetheatre.org. Watch Chasing the Hill at chasingthehill.com. And follow Schiff on Twitter at @richard_schiff.

In the words of Jean Genet, ''Anyone who hasn't experienced the ecstasy of betrayal knows nothing about ecstasy at all.''

And anyone who likes their betrayal operatically ecstatic must seek out Bellini's Norma. For despite its backstory of Gallic druids versus their Roman occupiers, Norma is your ultimate destination for the agony and outrage of discovering that you have been replaced by a younger model (and not just any flibbertigibbet, but one under your own care and control).

Norma: Meade

(Photo by Scott Suchman for WNO)

And even if it comes at the beginning of the opera and only alludes, through its Druid prayers, to the tumult of emotional chaos, Norma's mournful aria ''Casta Diva'' epitomizes for many the abject sorrow and loss of the most intimate of betrayals. It is the first (and most telling) event of an emotionally and vocally challenging opera and has, not surprisingly, drawn some of the genre's greatest names, each with their own ardent followers. (For some it will always be Maria Callas, for me, Joan Sutherland.)

It's no surprise that one could have heard a pin drop on opening night, when soprano Angela Meade began the slow, ritualistic walk among her acolytes announcing, along with Bellini's gently ponderous notes, this most famous of arias. And the bottom line is that does not disappoint. Poised and suitably majestic, Meade brings with beautiful, silken control all of the necessary delicacy and grand poignancy of this sublimest of songs. If she is young enough to grow further into the role, she is already wonderful enough to deliver a tear to the eye.

And, even with this triumph behind her, Meade only grows stronger and more at ease as the evening progresses. Her duet with Adalgisa, the "other" woman (who is as shocked as Norma to discover that they are in love with the same man), ''Mira, o Norma,'' is confidently and vigorously accomplished. At the finale, when Norma decides that druidic honor and personal heartbreak are best served by death, Meade brings much soul to her mournful plea that Oroveso (her father and an elder priest) watch over her children. By the time she has exacted his promise, her affirmation that she is at last at peace is all the more gloriously gut-wrenching.

These are memorable moments, even if in earlier scenes Meade's slightly lukewarm bond with her children never quite convinces, especially in the scene in which she contemplates killing them to spare them the shame and danger of Pollione's abandonment. Indeed, she suffers from a phenomenon that has lasted through the ages; that her children seem far more attached to their young nanny, Clotilde, played with notable subtlety and sung affectingly by Julia Mintzer. But even if Meade doesn't yet project such dimensions (and one feels she eventually will), she gets so much else right in this remarkably self-possessed character, it is hard to over-quibble.

Also missing some of its stuffing, but through no fault of Meade's, is the pivotal scene in which Norma and Adalgisa realize that Pollione is their mutual obsession. Director Anne Bogart overthinks it with some unnecessary handling of picture-bearing lockets and Cad of the Year Pollione's oddly tentative entrance. Thus deflated, the moment fails. Matters are not helped generally by conductor Daniele Rustioni, who, despite drawing some good power and continuity, allows, at other times, a certain flaccidity.

Yet even with these issues, the evening is more than carried by Meade and Dolora Zajick, who offers a convincing Adalgisa, despite appearing somewhat older than Meade. An elegant mezzo-soprano, Zajick is a worthy match for Meade, with power, subtlety and high expression. And with her low-key characterization of Adalgisa, as the drama mounts the focus narrows to faces and voices, which is just where this Norma belongs.

This austerity of vision is reflected in the effective set of Neil Patel, who with a whiff of Kandinsky, contrasts the geometry of a minimalist foreground with a sky that hangs like a chaotic maw. Against the powdery whites of a steeply sloped stage, Norma's altar (and later garden) appears as a dark and earthy disk. Altogether, it nicely complements the stark intensity of this Norma and the emotion that roils beneath her public life. If Bogart's ideas for the chorus never quite gel and the acolytes' ho-hum dances are a missed opportunity, it's not enough to dispel this palpable mood.

Another missed opportunity is Rafael Davila's Pollione. Not helped by a rather incongruous contemporary leather duster, Davila never quite connects with either of his formidably poised women, despite a convincingly masculine energy. Neither can he breech the gap vocally, for although he offers some pleasing oomph, there is an unevenness throughout. Not quite ready for his vocal close-up, tenor Mauricio Miranda as Flavio, Pollione's friend, is expressive and attractive in tone and gives the small role some decent color.

For the men, the true vocal counterpoint to Meade and Zajick comes with bass Dmitry Beloselskiy in the role of Oroveso, Norma's father. Matching the women in stage wattage and singing with a gorgeously sonorous yet expressive command, Beloselskiy helps to deliver the necessary gravitas to Norma's question of honor. In a character that might easily have turned cardboard, he gives us a man who wanted to but couldn't ignore his principles.

So, although not perfect viewing, this is a soprano-watchers' Norma and a gratifying evening for anyone who likes their betrayals bel canto beautiful.

What happened to Steve Carell? He set the comedy world on fire with his naive-fool shtick in The Office and The 40-Year-Old Virgin, sweetening his performances with a lovely, disarming warmth. The characters he played were occasionally dolts, to be sure, but their intentions were good -- just a bit misplaced. They seemed to be whole people, blemishes and all, an uncomfortable reflection of the regrettable instincts we can all recognize in day-to-day life. And, most important, they were utterly charming despite their flaws.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone has fits and starts of this charm, but sadly, those moments are few and far between, and rarely involve the titular character: a pompous, chintzy, velvet-clad magician who's been performing in Las Vegas for more than a decade. Carell steps into familiar territory as Wonderstone, another oblivious character who seemingly should match well with his comic talents. This time, however, the character is more a jerk than a fool -- and as anyone who remembers the earliest days of Michael Scott can attest, Carell doesn't play the former nearly as well as he plays the latter.

The Incredible Burt Wonderstone

Wonderstone, as we're shown in the opening sequence, was once a lonely child named Albert. He fell in love with magic after his absentee mother gave him a magician's kit (with instructional VHS included) for his birthday. Under the pre-recorded guidance of legendary magician Rance Holloway (Alan Arkin) -- and a convenient, snappy montage -- we fly through the decades, landing in the midst of a sell-out show in Vegas. Wonderstone's gaudy, tired act is built around his so-called "magical friendship" with stage partner Anton Marvelton (Steve Buscemi), although off-stage, he is anything but pleasant to his ex-friend and closest ally. Magic has become a rote exercise to him, a mechanical song-and-dance number with magic sprinkled in between. His cushy gig is threatened after a street performer named Steve Gray (Jim Carrey) -- think a more obnoxious Criss Angel -- starts to wow audiences with his "edgy" magic. To rebuild his career, Wonderstone will have to rekindle the awe and respect he held for magic as a child.

This all sounds familiar, right? The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is little more than a retread of Zoolander or Anchorman, two wildly successful comedies that effectively popularized this formula a decade ago. There's nothing wrong with aping, but any movie that aims to do so must put the charm of its cast up front and center. Carell's charisma is buried under a bloated ego and absolute lack of self-awareness, muting the many jokes made at his expense. If he's not aware he's a fool, it's simply not as funny.

Like any mediocre comedy, there are some gags that just work too well to be written off. Carell and Buscemi throw themselves into their characters' ridiculous, hammy onstage patter and variety-show costumery. (After he splits from Marvelton, Wonderstone tries to do the two-man act on his own.) Olivia Wilde earns a few early chuckles as Jane, a magician's assistant who aspires to have her own act. An out-of-nowhere sex scene has the best gag in the whole movie, even if it throws off the pace of the narrative.

That's the rub of The Incredible Burt Wonderstone: Very rarely is the movie funny, charming and sensible at the same time. Even while some jokes draw out a subdued giggle, director Don Scardino never quite manages to hit the absurd tone he's reaching for. The comedy is sensationalist more than anything else. Gray's show is tastelessly called "Brain Rapist" -- yes, that's the entire gag -- while several of the movie's jokes are made at the expense of its weakest and most vulnerable characters. The result is a comedy that isn't quite as funny as it should be, stocked with actors we know to be much funnier than they are here.

Which brings us back to Carell. He comes close to carrying this comedy through its rough patches, but in the end, he can't quite manage the feat. Burt Wonderstone is a pampered, out-of-touch jerk. He should be a clueless fool. There's a subtle difference between the two, and Carell has magnificently tiptoed along the edge of both for years. That he can't do it here, again, is a disappointment.

Maybe they should've called it The Not-Quite-Credible Burt Wonderstone.

Gay opinions on Bill Clinton were always mixed. On election night in 1992, Washington's Shoreham Hotel – where gay activists had zapped the American Psychiatric Association 21 years earlier – saw Urvashi Vaid at the LGBT victory party crying "We did it! We did it!" while Michael Petrelis of ACT UP roamed the halls wearing an "Impeach Clinton" button.

So, naturally, when the former president last week urged the Supreme Court to overturn the Defense of Marriage Act that he signed into law in 1996, some cheered while others slammed his revisionism and failure to apologize.

Clinton wrote, "I know now that … the law is itself discriminatory." Andrew Sullivan replied, "He knew it then of course too. But it's churlish to cavil." Elizabeth Birch, who led the Human Rights Campaign when DOMA was passed, was less forgiving:

"So why don't I feel grateful? … I guess it is because, beyond signing the bill into law, the 1996 Clinton campaign decided to run ads on Christian radio bragging that DOMA had become the law of the land. I guess it is because … it still makes me sick that people like Harold Ickes … threatened to leave the ads on the air if I dared to claim victory for demanding they come down."

I am glad that Birch corrected the record, but I also remember Sullivan slamming HRC as a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party. I appreciate the pragmatic choices Birch and her colleagues felt they had to make; but after so much willing service, it is strange to cry foul now. Some of us had already noticed Clinton's tendency to retreat from a fight in the 1993 debate on gays in the military, so 1996 was a bit late for disillusionment – which Birch kept well hidden at the time.

Clinton is a particularly shameless politician, but Barack Obama is a politician too. His political calculus is applied to a society substantially changed since the Clinton era. Yet the calculation still rankles many activists, who demand a purity our system is not designed to produce.

Politicians cannot substitute for advocates. We needed Lyndon Johnson to push for the Voting Rights Act in 1965, but he needed John Lewis and Hosea Williams and the other marchers who faced police truncheons and tear gas on Bloody Sunday, as well as the reporters and news photographers covering the event. Activists prepare the way, planting seeds of progress often reaped by others.

The anger over Clinton's lies and lack of leadership seems pointless now, like yelling at a ghost over an old wrong. I am more intrigued by the contrasting personalities. Clinton the extrovert worked us the way Teddy Pendergrass worked a concert audience. His seductions left us feeling foolish when reality dispelled the fantasy. Obama finds affirmation within himself, having been forced, as a young man caught between cultures, to construct his own identity. Many gay people recognize in his journey our own coming of age amid an absence of role models. Like Ralph Ellison's fictional narrator, we had the gift, and the curse, of being invisible. We are survivors; we do not need validation from a politician.

On one hand, a subterranean sea of anger has fueled much productive activism. On the other, clinging to our familiar rage can trap us in the very outsider status we decry. We need an act of grace. For me it came from a sweet, brave man in a faraway city who helped me see through new eyes. That is love's gift. In the end, back from the culture wars, the time comes to heal our wounds and build the new world that our love has shown us.

Survey the altered landscape. Boom times are coming.

Richard J. Rosendall is a writer and activist. He can be reached at rrosendall@starpower.net.

Confession time: I never really watched Will & Grace. There are a number of small reasons for this — including the fact that I wasn't watching much television when the show was on the air — but the biggest one is really that I felt the show was targeted more at my parents than at me. And that's fair enough, given that every politician of a certain age who suddenly announces support for marriage equality feels duty-bound to cite the influence of Will & Grace.

So it's probably not surprising for a show that went off the air eight years ago to remain a touchstone for people who talk about the importance of ''representation'' of LGBT people in media. And last week, during a half-day conference on LGBT and gaming issues sponsored by Electronic Arts and the Human Rights Campaign, it only took about five minutes for someone to name-check the groundbreaking ''gay'' sitcom and wonder aloud if we need the equivalent video game for today's media culture.

I asked the game developers on the panel I moderated if they felt they needed to actually create ''a Will & Grace game, as awful as that sounds when I say it.'' I wasn't really joking, because actually creating a game of Will & Grace would likely go down as one of the most disastrous video game projects in history. Although the prospect of creating a ''Just Jack!'' Whack-a-Mole minigame does have a certain appeal.

Anyway, leaving aside online bullying and harassment for the moment, one of the main issues for LGBT gamers is the fact that representations of gay and lesbian characters — I can only think of one transgender character ever, which means an even longer road to travel — remain lacking. Sure, some companies, including Electronic Arts and its subsidiaries, have created a number of role-playing games that allow the player to create gay and lesbian characters. Yet even that has its limitations and controversies, as when Star Wars: The Old Republic added same-sex romance but charged players a fee to go to a ''gay planet'' that was the only in-game space to get your homo on.

Personally, I don't have much need to ''see myself'' when it comes to games or other arts and media. To be pedantic, I'm a white guy so I don't suffer any shortage of images that tell me I'm great. But I also play games for stories as often — actually more often — than I do for shooting and blowing stuff up real good. Just like with novels, film and TV, I like experiencing stories that are different from my own, and games can be incredibly powerful and visceral way to do that. And straight people need to experience our stories the same as we experience theirs.

I'm not looking for a game that aims to teach that ''gays are people, too!'' It is 2013, after all. After Will & Grace, the shows I most often hear referenced as ''we need this'' are Ryan Murphy's Glee and The New Normal. Fair enough, since they're candy-colored fantasies that could provide a lovely skin for a Bejeweled add-on pack. But from a gaming perspective, I'd look to that other Murphy show, American Horror Story: Asylum.

That was a story by an openly gay writer who took on the historic medical malpractice visited on homosexuals in recent American history, featured a lesbian lead character, and created a show that wove those themes into a broader story of mental illness, horror and religion — and neither hid nor bragged about the gay content.

That may sound a little too dark if you're someone who thinks video games begin and end with Super Mario World, but that's why stories are more important than princesses and magic mushrooms. And those of us who love games know that they can easily be a perfect medium for the experience.

Sean Bugg is the co-publisher of Metro Weekly. He can be reached at sbugg@MetroWeekly.com. Follow him on Twitter @seanbugg.

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club is now accepting your questions.

In a recent email blast, the Stein Club, among D.C.'s most prominent local political clubs, announced it is accepting questions to ask five Democratic candidates vying for an at-large seat on the D.C. Council in an April 23 special election to fill the seat of Phil Mendelson (D), who now serves as D.C. Council chairman. The question the club receives will be used to guide a Stein endorsement forum set for Thursday, March 21.

The Democratic candidates include former independent Councilmember Michael A. Brown, who lost his re-election bid last November; Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At Large), who was voted by the Democratic State Committee to temporarily fill the seat left open by Mendelson; former Washington Post and Washington City Paper reporter Elissa Silverman; ANC 3E Commmissioner Matthew Frumin; and Paul Zukerberg, an attorney whose platform includes decriminalization of marijuana.

Stein asked members to submit their questions to the club's Facebook page or via Twitter using the hash tag ''#SteinQ.'' Questions will be accepted through tomorrow, March 15, at which point Stein's executive board will determine whether to extend the period for open questions, according to Stein's vice president for political affairs and Endorsement Committee co-chair, Angela Peoples.

''Our goal is to get more people excited about this election and about the opportunity to make their voices heard by participating in a forum to endorse a candidate,'' Peoples said.

Those interested in submitting questions can also send them via email to // .

The Gertrude Stein Democratic Club endorsement forum is Thursday, March 21, starting at 7 p.m., at the Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C., 474 Ridge St. NW. For more information, visit steindemocrats.org.

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance (GLAA) of Washington, D.C., a nonpartisan, nonprofit political organization advocating for LGBT equality since 1971, released ratings Wednesday for candidates in the April 23 special election for an at-large seat on the D.C. Council.

GLAA President Richard Rosendall characterized most candidates' overall scores – with candidates rated on a scale of -10 to 10 – as ''good'' and ''decent.''

Advisory Neighborhood Commission 3E Commissioner Matthew Frumin, a Democrat, got the highest score of the seven candidates, earning a rating of 7. Incumbent Councilmember Anita Bonds (D-At Large) earned 6.5 and former Councilmember Michael A. Brown, a former independent now running as a Democrat, earned a 6. Democratic candidate Elissa Silverman and Statehood Green Party candidate Perry Redd both earned 5.5, and Republican Patrick Mara earned a rating of 5. Democrat Paul Zukerberg received a 2.

Ahead of ratings, GLAA sends candidates a questionnaire and a policy brief outlining issues important to the organization. Some of those issues include marriage and family, public health, public safety, human rights and defending LGBT consumers and businesses. Candidates are scored on four criteria: whether they agree with GLAA's positions on various issues; content of their responses; their records on LGBT rights; and advocacy on behalf of the LGBT community.

At GLAA's March 12 meeting, 11 members rated candidates' questionnaire responses, also considering any background information about candidates knows to members, beyond what candidates may have submitted. Completed questionnaires from each of the seven ballot-listed candidates in the special election are available on GLAA's website.

''The also-rans were weeded out,'' Rosendall said, referring to perennial fringe candidates with little organization, name recognition or campaign funding, who have in the past netted GLAA ratings of zero or less.

''On the other hand, we didn't have ratings similar to Mendelson, Graham, Catania and Evans,'' he said, naming councilmembers who have previously received top ratings from GLAA and have been proactive in pushing for pro-LGBT legislation during their terms in office.

Rosendall emphasized that the organization's ratings are just that, and should not be mistaken for endorsements of any kind.

''We're not trying to pick somebody. We're trying to evaluate them on our issues,'' Rosendall said during the rating meeting, noting that the group's rating system is exhaustive, making high scored hard to come by. ''We list our issues, we make our case in our policy briefs. … We're very straightforward. Our purpose is not to play 'gotcha.' It's to advance our agenda and communicate our policy concerns.''

Throughout Tuesday's meeting, several GLAA members praised Frumin and Bonds, the top-rated candidates, for turning in detailed questionnaire answers. They also praised Silverman for her forward-looking response on the question of possible congressional action to rescind marriage equality in the District. Silverman answered that she would react to such a scenario by reintroducing a marriage-equality bill, even if voters chose to overturn existing marriage rights via congressionally forced referendum.

Brown and Mara did best with regard to their records on advocating for LGBT rights in the District, with members crediting Brown for votes while on the Council, and Mara for lobbying congressional Republicans not to interfere with local D.C. matters.

But GLAA members were also painstakingly critical of each candidate, scrutinizing responses considered insufficient. Several took issue with candidates appearing to hedge in their answers with regard to staking out potentially unpopular positions – particularly issues related to police interactions with the LGBT community and liquor licensing. Mara, for example, was singled out for two questions – regarding liquor licensing and whether the director of the Office of Human Rights should be required to have training and experience in civil rights enforcement – where members said his answers fell short of committing to GLAA's agenda. The group also highlighted a question of voucher programs being used to fund students in religious schools that are exempted from having to comply with the D.C. Human Rights Act, in which Mara disagreed outright with GLAA's position.

At other points during the March 12 meeting, GLAA members took aim at Brown for submitting what one referred to as the ''fool's gold standard'' of questionnaire responses. For his questionnaire submission for the April 23 special election, Brown resubmitted his 2012 re-election questionnaire and, by hand, answered new questions, and crossed out expired ones not appearing in GLAA's 2013 questionnaire, though its appearance alone did not affect Brown's rating.

''He didn't appear to spend a lot of time on it,'' Rosendall said Wednesday when asked about Brown's questionnaire. ''He could have done better if he had.'' Rosendall noted that when he served on the D.C. Council, Brown was a reliable vote for GLAA's priorities. He added, however, that it seemed Brown was not taking the election process as seriously as the other candidates.

Other GLAA members questioned whether Bonds, a longtime behind-the-scenes fixture in Democratic politics, former advisor to then-Mayor Marion Barry (D-Ward 8) and chairwoman of the D.C. State Democratic Party, had overstated or exaggerated her role in promoting and advancing pro-LGBT legislation, though they were impressed with the content of her answers on various issues.

''Most of her record is cronyism and corruption, but that's not her gay record,'' ANC 3F commissioner and past president of GLAA Bob Summersgill said, even as he conceded that Bonds's position on the issues was largely in line with GLAA's priorities. ''And you can quote me on that.''

Representatives at both Bonds's D.C. Council office and her campaign office declined to respond to Summersgill's characterization. 

Speaking with Metro Weekly, Frumin, as GLAA's top-rated candidate, said he had reached out to people in the LGBT community to learn about their issues, some of which he was unfamiliar prior to his campaign.

''It's not that others are not good,'' Frumin said. ''What I bring, in the places I've operated, is a tone and an approach that leads to achieving results and getting things done. … I sometimes take unpopular positions and stand up for ideas, such as rights for returning citizens. … I think I would play a similar role on LGBT issues.''

[Editor's notes: 1) Richard Rosendall's opinion column appears regularly in Metro Weekly. 2) March 14, 4:45 p.m. This story was updated to reflect that Councilmember Bonds's campaign office responded to a request for comment.]

The Maryland Senate Judicial Proceedings Committee failed Thursday to pass SB 449, the Fairness for All Marylanders Act of 2013, which would have prohibited discrimination in employment, credit, housing and public accommodations based on gender identity or expression. The attempt to move the bill to the Senate floor fell one vote short, 6-5.

Voting in favor of the bill were Sen. Jamie Raskin (D-Montgomery Co.), a chief cosponsor of the measure; committee chair Sen. Brian Frosh (D-Montgomery Co.); committee vice chair Sen. Lisa Gladden (D-Baltimore City); Sen. Jennie Forehand (D-Montgomery Co.); and Sen. Bobby Zirkin (D-Baltimore Co.).

Three Democrats – Sens. Norman Stone (D-Baltimore Co.), James Brochin (D-Baltimore Co.) and Anthony Muse (D-Prince George's Co.) – voted against the bill. They were joined by the committee's three Republicans: Sens. Joseph Getty (R-Baltimore, Carroll counties), Nancy Jacobs (R-Cecil, Harford counties) and Christopher Shank (R-Washington Co.). Today's vote effectively kills the measure by preventing it from receiving a vote by the full Senate.

The nondiscrimination protections for transgender people in SB 449 are already exist at the county level for nearly half the state's residents. Montgomery County, Howard County, Baltimore City and Baltimore County all have laws prohibiting discrimination based on gender identity or expression that are even broader than what was proposed in SB 449. Nineteen of the 20 remaining counties without protections do not have the authority to pass similar measures, meaning that a statewide bill is needed to prohibit discrimination against transgender people in those counties.

The bill's fate may have been sealed by a committee switch engineered by Senate leadership in an attempt to pass a wind-energy bill championed by Gov. Martin O'Malley (D) that had failed to pass the Senate Finance Committee in previous sessions. Sen. Muse, a past opponent of O'Malley's wind-power initiatives, was switched to the Judicial Proceedings Committee, replacing Sen. Victor Ramirez (D-Prince George's Co.), who took Muse's seat on the Finance Committee. Ramirez, a cosponsor of SB 449, would have been a solid ''yes'' vote for transgender nondiscrimination protections.

At a Feb. 26 hearing on SB 449, Muse seemed open to supporting the bill, making favorable comments during witness testimony and attending the entire hearing. Many of the witnesses in favor of the bill specifically geared their comments toward Muse during that hearing.

Sharon Brackett, board chair of Gender Rights Maryland, said proponents of the bill have one last – albeit unlikely – opportunity to pass the bill in the Senate. That would require Senate President V. Thomas ''Mike'' Miller (D-Calvert, Prince George's counties) to order the bill to the floor for an up-or-down vote, something he did in 2009 for a bill related to the death penalty.

SB 449 currently has 23 cosponsors and needs 24 for passage. Supporters of the bill say they could possibly get up to 30 votes if Miller allows an up-or-down vote.

''The three Democratic senators who voted against the bill should be embarrassed,'' Brackett told Metro Weekly. In a statement reporting the vote, Brackett specifically thanked supporters for their efforts, and, in particular, Gender Rights Maryland's Executive Director Dr. Dana Beyer, as well as board members Jon Shurberg and Darrell Carrington.

''Personally, I am happy to see that our team made the best efforts we could with several recalcitrant senators,'' Brackett said in the statement.

''We may not have our rights, but we have wind power,'' Beyer told Metro Weekly grimly, referring to the Muse-Ramirez committee switch. She expressed doubt that the nondiscrimination bill will be able to gain traction during the 2014 session, because it is an election year.

Other groups who had supported the bill also expressed shock and anger at the committee's decision to scuttle the bill.

''It is terribly disappointing the committee failed to stand up for fairness and protect transgender Marylanders,'' Equality Maryland Executive Director Carrie Evans said in a statement following the vote. ''In the past month more than 300 people visited their legislators in support of this bill. Additionally, more than 400 constituents called their senators on this committee and almost 2,000 constituent letters, petitions and postcards in support of SB 449 were given to the 11 members of the committee.''

''We are particularly incensed with Senator Jim Brochin's vote,'' Evans continued. ''He had at least 1,000 constituents contact him asking him to support this bill. Despite this, he turned his back on these voters. It is ironic that transgender people in his own district have protections yet he wouldn't cast a vote to extend these protections to individuals in the 20 counties that aren't so fortunate.''

Brochin voted for a similar bill – though it did not include public accommodations – that passed the Judicial Proceedings Committee by a 7-4 vote in 2011, after an amendment he proposed to exclude housing from the list of nondiscrimination protections failed, 6-5.

''Despite widespread public support and effective grassroots activism, the Maryland State Senate has let transgender people down again,'' Mara Keisling, executive director of the National Center for Transgender Equality, said in a statement. ''The National Center for Transgender Equality is disappointed that more than a decade after Maryland, one of the most progressive states in the country, passed a sexual orientation anti-discrimination law, lawmakers choose to lag behind so many other states and localities in establishing these key protections for their transgender people.''

Donna Cartwright, a member of the Maryland Coalition for Trans Equality's (MCTE) steering committee, also released a statement today: ''It is now 14 years since transgender protections were stripped from LGBT anti-discrimination legislation by the General Assembly. It's long past time for the legislature to take meaningful action to address the severe discrimination and disadvantage that trans people face. … We will build on the strong grassroots organizing and coalition-building effort that engaged our community and allies this year. We look toward a renewed effort as soon as possible in Annapolis.''

Evans pledged supporters of equality would come back and continue pushing the bill in future sessions.

''This is not over,'' she said. ''Equality Maryland will come back every year until transgender Marylanders are afforded the right to be free from discrimination in their jobs, homes and places of public accommodations.''

The second monthly installment of D.C.'s amateur drag competition was held again at Town Danceboutique.  Hosts Shi-Queeta-Lee and Lena Lett preside over five new contestants and two returns from last month. You don't want to miss the Easter egg drop challenge:

Metro Weekly was at a dress rehearsal for the Gay Men's Chorus of Washington's all-male production of Xanadu on Wednesday, March 13 and ventured backstage to talk with the cast members. The show runs this weekend at GWU's Lisner Auditorium, March 15-17. Visit http://www.gmcw.org for more information.

Jesson grew up in a college ''party town,'' which may explain his fearlessness and sense of independence compared to others his age. Despite the advice of his family, the native of State College, Pa., resettled in the D.C. area where he works as a sales manager for two Nine West stores. When he's not busy working or studying, the 19-year-old, who lives in Bloomingdale with his DJ boyfriend, likes to be as social as possible. You'll typically find him at Cobalt on Thursdays and Town on Fridays.

Coverboy: Jesson

(Photo by Julian Vankim)

What's on your nightstand? Some half-empty drinks.

What's in your nightstand drawer? A bunch of sex toys I'll probably never use. I generally use the nightstand drawer as a ''junk drawer,'' where I'll keep memorabilia and souvenirs from trips.

What are your television favorites? Downton Abbey, The Walking Dead, RuPaul's Drag Race and, if we're counting YouTube, Willam's Beatdown.

What was your favorite cartoon when you were a kid? It's a tie between Power Rangers, Blue's Clues and Scooby-Doo. What superhero would you be? Superman.

Who's your greatest influence? Probably Madonna and Oscar Wilde. They both broke a lot of barriers.

What's your greatest fear? Awkward people. I like having random conversations with people when I go out, meeting new people. But when they're like, ''I don't know you,'' it's annoying.

Pick three people, living or dead, who you think would make the most fascinating dinner guests imaginable. Willam [Belli], Michelle Visage and Kesha.

Coverboy: Jesson

(Photo by Julian Vankim)

What would you serve? Svedka shots. Or ''flaming Dr. Peppers.''

How would you describe your dream guy? Has to be a DJ. Tan, but not Snooki-orange tan. Really buff, nice hair, some facial hair. I usually fluctuate from really muscular to teddy-bear cute.

Define good in bed. Uses a lot of lube, and not just for its intended purpose. Very creative in terms of position and variety, but not ''me being tied to the ceiling'' kind of creativity.

Who should star in a movie about your life? Channing Tatum.

Who was your first celebrity crush? Brad Pitt from Fight Club. I swear, just seeing him in that movie turned me gay.

Who gets on your nerves? People who are stuck up and high-maintenance.

If your home was burning, what's the first thing you'd grab while leaving? My phone. Though it's practically attached to me, so that wouldn't be a problem.

What's your biggest turn-on? Underwear.

What's your biggest turn-off? Really, really skinny guys and super-straight guy clothes, like baggy or athletic clothes.

What's something you've always wanted to do but haven't yet tried? Parachuting with a big gay flag above me.

Coverboy: Jesson

(Photo by Julian Vankim)

What's something you've tried that you never want to do again? Going to a bathhouse. It was scary.

Boxers, briefs or other? Briefs all the way. Or jockstraps.

Who's your favorite musical artist? Kesha.

What's your favorite website? Xvideos.com or YouTube or Facebook.

What's the most unusual place you've had sex? In a hammock. Strangest experience ever. It was creative, but it was a challenge.

What position do you play in the big baseball game of life? A pitcher.

What's your favorite retail store – that you don't work at? Universal Gear.

What's the most you'll spend on a haircut? $90.

What about on shoes? $240.

What's your favorite food to splurge with? I just eat a lot, period.

Come on... Five Guys Cajun fries.

Coverboy: Jesson

(Photo by Julian Vankim)

What's your favorite season? Summer. You can go out and do things. You can stay out late and roam around without worrying about what you're wearing.

What kind of animal would you be? A white tiger, sexy and fierce.

What kind of plant would you be? A Venus flytrap.

What kind of car would you be? Convertible Dodge Viper. That gets a ''woof'' from me every time I see one.

What are you most grateful for? Good looks and awesome people who are around me.

What's something you want more of? More gay parties. I'm always hearing, ''Oh, Jesson, it's too bad you missed these warehouse parties or circuit parties at places like Nation.'' I just wish there were more venues like that – the '90s gay club scene.

State your life philosophy in 10 words or less. Money, drink, party, friends. Money, drink, party, friends.

The local blog Borderstan reported Monday that Capital Pride has proposed a route change for this year's Capital Pride Parade. The proposal was submitted at a March 14 meeting of Advisory Neighborhood Commission 2F.

Organizers for Capital Pride told ANC commissioners that the route for the parade, set to take place on Saturday, June 8, will take a slightly different route than its path of the past couple years. Instead of turning south from P Steet NW onto 14th Street NW, the parade will head north. While the most recent iteration of the parade has ended at Thomas Circle, the 2013 route has the parade heading north as far as U Street NW.

According to Borderstan, the ANC commissioners voted to approve the request to support the appropriate street closures.

Sarah Imes Borden and her husband, Ian, usually spend their evenings with MSNBC. The University of Nebraska–Lincoln theater academics try to get in a daily dose of left-leaning news, Borden explains, to soothe her Canadian husband's liberal sensibilities.

One evening, however, tuned into The Rachel Maddow Show, Borden could not believe what she was seeing.

Prynce

''She was talking about the 'Kill the Gays' bill,'' Borden recalls, referring to the dubiously dubbed anti-gay legislation originally introduced in 2009 by David Bahati, member of the Ugandan Parliament, which included the death penalty for ''repeat offenders'' as well as punishment for those who don't report suspected gays to authorities.

Through the course of its legislative life, Bahati's bill has died, only to resurface in zombie fashion. Some resurrections have come with reports that the capital punishment provision had been removed – or not. What remains is a bill that lingers, not yet law, not yet gone for good. But legislative activism is not Borden's passion – theater is. Accordingly, the situation for gays in Uganda more fully captured Borden's attention some months after she learned of Bahati's bill. In August 2012, again watching MSNBC, she learned of a play in Uganda.

''They talked about this show called The River and the Mountain, how it was famous because it was the first time that they ever had a Ugandan person portray a gay character onstage,'' Borden explains, adding that the effort to stage this play spoke to her particularly as she was working on her own book about women who participate in theater under dangerous circumstances. ''I knew immediately that I had to contact these people. I told my husband, 'These are my people. I have to find them.'''

And so she did, reaching out via Facebook to the principals of the production. The play had also received the attention of the government, which took punitive action. Producer David Cecil, a Briton, was arrested in September 2012, and deported last month. As reported by Radio Netherlands Worldwide, Ugandan police stormed the National Theatre in Kampala and shut down a November staging more ambitious than its small August premiere. Borden, half a world away, was pulled ever deeper into the drama as days went by. Her efforts, however, are about to come to fruition, in the form of a series of staged readings March 21 to 24 in the D.C.-Baltimore area, and including Okuyo Joel Atiku Prynce, one of Uganda's highest-profile actors, again starring as Samson, the play's gay protagonist.

Borden

(Photo by Todd Franson)

''He'll arrive here sometime on Tuesday and he'll be taken straight to rehearsal,'' Borden explained March 15. It was a feat that pulled even more players into the conflict. With a tabloid-driven smear campaign targeting Prynce in Uganda, he used his own resources to pay for Interpol to clear him of any wrongdoing. Meanwhile, the offices of three congressmen - Gerry Connolly (D-Va.), Jeff Fortenberry (R-Neb.) and Jim Moran (D-Va.) – worked to expedite Prynce's visa through the Department of Homeland Security.

''Now I have everything I could want,'' says Borden, who is directing this U.S. debut of this play by Beau Hopkins. ''I have my actor coming. The team is ready to go. We have our venues. We have everything. This is the part where I say think you from the bottom of my heart.''

This is also the part where the play stands on its own with U.S. audiences. Without giving away too much of the plot, Borden says there are messages in this story that will resonate particularly with Americans.

''I want people to be watching this play and to think about gay rights in the United States. I also want them to be thinking about the hate that we have been exporting to Uganda. Uganda did not get to this point all by themselves. They had a lot of American help.''

[UPDATE, TUESDAY, MARCH 19, 3:50 p.m.: Borden, speaking with Prynce in Uganda, reports that his expected Monday evening departure was blocked, seemingly by U.S. Embassy personnel considering Prynce an immigration risk. Borden says the State Department and Rep. Moran's office are continuing efforts to clear Prynce to enter the U.S.] 

Readings of The River and the Mountain will be Thursday, March 21, at Spotlighters Theatre, 817 St. Paul St., Baltimore, at 8 p.m.; Friday, March 22, at Bowie State University, 14000 Jericho Park Road, Bowie, at 8 p.m.; Saturday, March 22, at Artisphere, 1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington, at 7:30 p.m.; and Sunday, March 24, at Single Carrot Theatre, 1727 N. Charles St., Baltimore, at 5:30 p.m. Readings are free, though donations will be accepted. For more information, visit riverandthemountain.com.

As part of Women's History Month, the Mayor's Office of GLBT Affairs will honor five women who have made a significant contribution to the LGBT community.

The awards ceremony, now in its second year, seeks to recognize women who are rarely singled out for their accomplishments, according to Amy Loudermilk, deputy director for the Office of GLBT Affairs. This year's award winners, or ''sheroes,'' whose names have not yet been released, were nominated by the city government's GLBT Affairs Advisory Committee and selected by the women serving on that committee.

Loudermilk told Metro Weekly that the event will not be limited to honoring people from a single demographic, but will include lesbian, bisexual and transgender women honorees, some of whom are longtime activists and others who are up-and-coming leaders in the LGBT movement.

The awards ceremony will take place Wednesday, March 27, at 6 p.m. at Fathom Creative, which is cosponsoring the event with the Office of GLBT Affairs, the Mayor's Office on Women's Policy & Initiatives, the Mautner Project and the D.C. Department of Health.

The Sheroes of the LGBT Movement awards reception will be held from 6 to 8 p.m. at Fathom Creative, 1333 14th St. NW. Those who wish to attend must RSVP. For more information, visit sheroes.eventbrite.com.