Shakers brings new chapter to U Street queer bar scene

Curating a space for drag, community engagement, and more

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The busy intersection at 9th and U streets is about to see a bit more action. Shakers, a new bar from the owners of Dirty Goose, is set to debut the weekend of July 21 after a soft opening last weekend.

Located in the former Whitlow’s bar (which has moved a couple storefronts down to the former Brixton building), this indoor-outdoor bar takes a decidedly different approach than its feathered sister. While owners Justin Parker and Daniel Honeycutt expressed a love for the liveliness and pace of nightlife-forward Dirty Goose, Shakers will be an all-day affair, encompassing day-to-night, weekday-to-weekend vibe shifts.

Shakers is set to be a “full-spectrum bar, with everything from family nights to ANC meet-and-greets to drag shows,” they say. They want to “curate a space with balance.”

In 2016, the duo opened Dirty Goose (and got married the same year). Coming out of the pandemic last year and with their bar well in flight, they hatched a plan to expand. Since 2016, and especially since the pandemic, they developed a friendship with restaurateurs and hospitality leaders Hilton brothers (Ian and Eric), who ran Brixton on the corner. (“Great allies,” they note).

When Whitlow’s took over that Brixton corner bar, the Hilton brothers knew the Whitlow’s space would be open – and gave the intel to Parker and Honeycutt. “We visited the space and fell in love.”

Parker notes that “our first bar, the Dirty Goose, didn’t really allow [us] to hold shows and events for larger groups. This new space is perfect for this. We have already built a stage and are planning on holding events from drag performances to community panels.”

In fact, one of the bar’s first events is set to feature a panel on the movement to fight anti-drag legislation – followed by performances from drag queens.

That’s not all that the couple is shaking up.

For one, the new bar dispensed with the moody and darker atmosphere of Whitlow’s. Partnering with the designer of the bar that preceded Whitlow’s, they shifted in favor of a lighter, more neutral color scheme that could adapt to afternoon catch-ups as well as nighttime sweaty dancing. The relaxed patio means that patrons can take a quick break.

While Whitlow’s didn’t have a stage, Parker and Honeycutt knew they needed to build one. They removed all but two booths, put in tables that can be moved for standing-room crowds, and purchased stackable bar stools. The new capacity: more than 250, including indoor and outdoor. They installed dance floor lights and lasers, along with more serene fixtures to use during the day.

“Goose is so special to us, and we wanted to make sure we are giving two different spaces. Goose thrives with the rooftop and music that has been curated over the last seven years. If there is anything we wanted to do that Goose’s layout didn’t really allow was to hold shows and events for larger groups. This new space is perfect for this.”

Parker and Honeycutt did spot a gem in Whitlow’s leftovers. The bar maintained an extensive draft system they were thrilled to inherit. Unlike at Goose with four taps, they’ll now have access to nine. Three had been dedicated to draft cocktails, which Shakers will use for this purpose. The extensive draft lines means that Shakers can be more playful with the drink offerings.

They also noted that at Goose, they always had a martini list. “This fell off a bit post-pandemic,” they said, which they want to revive at Shakers. And as self-described winos, the wine list “will be much more than one white and one red,” they promise.

They also brought in a new toy to play with: one that inspired the bar’s name. On a recent road trip, they encountered an Imperial Shaker. Bright red, the “Gatsby-esque” machine will be a bar centerpiece, around which they’ll curate a special menu.

As for food, they built a partnership with (the new) Whitlow’s. That corner bar will dedicate a small, curated menu for Shakers, with a few snacks and shareables. Food will be delivered right from the Whitlow’s kitchen to Shaker’s guest tables.

In the works: a rotating happy hour, a partnership with DJ Farrah Flosscett, and a host of all-ages events, shows, and community engagement.

Parker and Honeycutt recognize that they’re among a new cadre of bars, and are thrilled to be part of it. “We’re never upset that Kiki opened next door. At the end of the day, we’re excited to create space. Our perspective is that the pie can grow, and we can add another element to the U Street corridor. And in light of recent Supreme Court decisions, we absolutely need more gay bars and safe spaces.”

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Reubens never came out despite character’s roots in camp

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Even though most of us assumed he was gay, Paul Reubens never officially came out.

He scarcely had to, really. His public image – indelibly associated with a character whose name became essentially synonymous with his own – was built on a foundation of camp, and the children’s TV series that brought him into the households of millions of grateful parents was renowned for its ability to offer genuinely innocent entertainment for kids while simultaneously keeping the grown-ups in the room laughing with the kind of winking adult humor that would go right over the little ones’ heads. Much of that humor was laced with obvious queer subtext, and the overall look and tone of the show, from its kitschy design to its to Pee-Wee’s starry-eyed fondness for his friend Cowboy Curtis (as portrayed by a young Laurence Fishburne), made his queerness appear so obvious that coming out would be a mere formality. This was queer underground culture exploding into the mainstream under camouflage of whimsy, all being orchestrated by a master showman who had to know exactly what he was doing.

Yet in the public record, there was never any verification of Reubens’s place on the sexuality spectrum. Indeed, the facts favor a heterosexual orientation – a temporary “marriage” to Doris Duke heiress Chandi Heffner, concocted as an impromptu publicity stunt, and his long-term relationship with actress Debi Mazar, whom he credited with helping him overcome his depression after the notorious 1991 public indecency charge that derailed his career.

As to that incident, Reubens came to be as known for it as much as for being Pee-Wee. Arrested for public masturbation during a surprise police inspection at an adult theater in Sarasota, Fla., he avoided the misdemeanor charge with a plea bargain and 75 hours of community service – but the real punishment, which no court of law could stay, was assured as soon as the news of his salacious “crime” broke to the press the day after his arrest.

A victim of “cancel culture” before the term had ever been coined, he became the butt of 1,000 prurient jokes by late-night TV comedians; worse, he was the target of countless tabloid “exposés” playing to the alarmist fears and prejudices of religious conservatives. Both Reubens and his bow-tied alter-ego quickly became persona non grata in the eyes of pop culture.

A decade later, there was another scandal. In 2002, after Reubens was named by an informant in the child pornography case against fellow actor Jeffrey Jones, Los Angeles police raided his home and found images they claimed depicted minors engaged in sexual conduct; though the material consisted mostly of old beefcake magazines and other gay-themed vintage erotica, he was charged with misdemeanor possession. There was another plea bargain, this time leading to a three-year registration as a sex offender, but Reubens maintained his innocence, characterizing the images in question as art rather than pornography – an eternal debate that hardly mattered to anyone who had already made up their mind about him.

Incredibly, perhaps, that wasn’t the end of his story. In 2010, he mounted a new version of “The Pee-Wee Herman Show” stage performance that had originally launched the character in the early 1980s, and thanks to a shift in attitudes, coupled with inexorable childhood nostalgia from the now-grown fans of his TV show, the rebooted Pee-Wee was a hit once more. After a sold-out Los Angeles run, the production moved to Broadway for a limited engagement and played to equally packed houses.

Reubens would continue to be active. After several attempts to develop a new film project for the character – the first, “Pee-Wee’s Big Adventure” (1985), had been a surprise sensation that established director Tim Burton as a star in his own right – he succeeded with Netflix’s “Pee-Wee’s Big Holiday” (2016), which took him on a cross-country quest fueled by his budding “bromance” with hunky actor Joe Manganiello. More overtly gay in subtext than any of his prior efforts, it still became a hit; in retrospect it felt like the moment when Reubens – and Pee-Wee, of course – finally achieved redemption.

Looking at the legacy he has left behind, however, perhaps he never really needed redemption. In the context of their time, his “crimes” were surely sensationalized by what is now an all-too-familiar pattern of culture warfare, in which the hardcore religious right, emboldened by the Reagan-era political maneuvering that amplified their influence and bent on enforced conformity to social “norms” as they defined them, embarked on a campaign to dismiss, demean, and demonize a beloved public figure they saw as dangerous. That he was never officially “out” was immaterial – what he represented was queer as could be, and that was all that mattered. They took him down with gleeful abandon, either way, because they recognized the subversive message of acceptance embedded in his goofy comedy.

They weren’t wrong. It’s easy to draw a direct line of influence between the subversive camp of “Pee-Wee’s Playhouse” and the drag queen story hours that have so many conservatives clutching their pearls today. Pee-Wee was paving the way for a future they feared, and they made it their mission to stop him. That might sound like a conspiracy theory, but no conspiracy is necessary when there’s a shared commitment to a common goal; given the well-documented history of police persecution toward openly queer expression, it doesn’t take much imagination to read between the lines to surmise a deeper intent behind his arrests, and all that would then be required from civilian homophobes would be to decry his immorality in the name of “saving the children”— a tactic so familiar as to be banal.

Of course, it’s easy to see patterns and speculate about what’s behind them; but even if Paul Reubens was an unfortunate victim of overzealous law enforcement who literally got caught with his pants down, the result was the same. He was made into a pariah because he carried a vision of a world where queerness could be family-friendly, too.

Seen that way, the eventual comeback of Paul Reubens seems less like a redemption than a triumph against small-minded bigotry. In the end, the good will he temporarily lost came back with a vengeance, because instead of giving up, he kept fighting. He survived the best efforts to erase him from cultural memory and was welcomed back to the spotlight with open arms.

Now, in the wake of his passing at 70 after a six-year bout with cancer that he kept secret, headlines of his obituary are describing him as “beloved.”

Reubens’s real contribution may well be summed up in the example he set for the rest of us. Though he never declared himself to be queer, he became a queer hero, simply by outlasting the hatred until it was forgotten and irrelevant. In a time when such hate has turned itself against so many, and with such terrifying virulence, that accomplishment stands as a much-needed reminder that though it may sometimes overwhelm us, it can never truly defeat us if we stay the course – and if Pee-Wee was able to do it, then maybe the rest of us can, too.

New novel ‘Humble Lover’ features sex, unrequited passion, and ballet

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“It’s remarkable,” Edmund White, the acclaimed queer novelist memoirist, playwright, biographer and essayist, told the Blade this summer in a telephone interview, “I’m 83 years old! A lot of people my age would give up.”

“Not me,” he added, “I still feel sharp.”

White, born in 1940, is more than as good as his word. At a time of life when many rest on their laurels, he has not only published his latest novel, “The Humble Lover,” (Bloomsbury), but is working on new literary projects.

Don’t be fooled by White’s age. “The Humble Lover” is no sleepy, “octogenarian” novel. Yes, its protagonist, Aldwych West, who’s desperately in love with 20-year-old August Dupond, a principal dancer in the New York City Ballet, sleeps. But that’s all “The Humble Lover” has in common with staid novels for “the elderly.” The novel features lots of sex, unrequited passion, ballet, Champagne, and Ernestine, a dominatrix, who makes Joan Crawford or Bette Davis at their bitchiest seem tame. August doesn’t return Aldwych’s affections. In an effort to spike August’s interest, Aldwych, who’s incredibly wealthy, creates a ballet company so August can have his own ballet troupe to star in. Poor Aldwych! August still doesn’t lust for him. Instead, he hooks up with Padro, a sex worker, and Ernestine, who’s married to his investment banker nephew Bryce. It’s deliciously wicked.

“Why don’t they have more gay villains,” White said, “I liked writing Ernestine. She’s a real bitch!”

“The Humble Lover” is one of the more than 30 novels that White has written. To say that White, who grew up in Evanston, Ill., has had a creative and productive life is an understatement. White, who lives in New York, was a co-founder of the Gay Men’s Health Crisis and of the 1980s queer writers group The Violet Quill. In addition to his many novels, he has written memoirs, essay collections, book reviews as well as biographies of Rimbaud, Genet, and Proust. White wrote a novel (unpublished) when he was a teen at Cranbrook School, a boarding school in Broomfield Hills, Mich.

White has received more honors than you could imagine. His many awards include the PEN/Saul Bellow Award for Career Achievement in American Fiction and Lambda Literary’s Visionary Award.

The National Book Foundation presented White with the 2019 Medal for Distinguished Contribution to American Letters. “A master of narrative and craft across fiction, journalism, memoir and more,” David Steinberger, chair of the board of directors of the Foundation said of White. “Whether it’s evocative depiction of gay life during the tumultuous 1980s, painstakingly researched biography or elegant memoir, White’s work stands out across decades as its resonance … for a multitude of devoted readers.”

Along with being a legendary queer literary lion, White is professor emeritus of creative writing at Princeton. (He taught at Princeton for 19 years.) White has been called the “godfather of gay American literature,” Princeton Alumni Weekly has reported.

In 2013, White and the writer Michael Carroll, who is 25 years younger than White, were married. White has lived much of his life in New York and Paris.

From early on, White was imaginative. As a child, White, like many writers thought up stories and had imaginary friends. “One of my imaginary friends was named Cottage Cheese,” White said.

Today, White is one of the most out, unabashedly, joyfully queer people you’d ever want to meet. “I’m working now on a sex memoir about the loves of my life,” White, who in 1977 co-wrote with Charles Silverstein, “The Joy of Gay Sex,” said.

“It’s so much more sex positive now,” he added.

But when White grew up in the Midwest in the 1940s and 1950s, there was nothing sex positive about being queer. Being gay was sinful and illegal. At best, it was believed to be a sickness. In that era, “the three most heinous things in America were heroin, communism and homosexuality,” White wrote in an essay.

White knew he was queer early on (even though he secretly perused the dictionary to find words for his feelings).

In his 2018 memoir “Unpunished Vice: A Life of Reading,“ White recounts that, when he was 12, his mother gave him a biography of Nijinsky, the queer Russian ballet dancer. “Was it just that he was an iconic artist…and she wanted to stoke my artistic fires,” he writes, “Or was it innocent compliance with a sissy streak I’d already manifested?”

When he was a teen and underage, men would come by, cruising, in their cars. He’d have sex with them. But, “I was jailbait,” White said, “they’d never meet me a second time.”

White always wanted to be a writer. “But, I knew writers can’t support themselves,” White said, “so I thought, maybe I’ll be a professor.”

At boarding school, White’s favorite teacher had studied Chinese. White decided to follow in his footsteps. In 1962, he graduated from the University of Michigan, where he studied Chinese. White was accepted into Harvard University’s doctoral program in Chinese. But he decided against entering the program. He opted to follow a lover and move to New York.

For several years, he pursued journalism. Working for Time-Life Books, freelancing for Newsweek, editing the Saturday Review and Horizon as well as freelancing for publications such as The New Republic.

White is best known for his trio of autobiographical novels: “A Boy’s Own Story,” “The Beautiful Room Is Empty” and “The Farewell Symphony.”

But not all of his fiction, especially, his most recent novels (such as “A Previous Life” and “A Saint from Texas”) are about his life.

“I got tired of writing autobiographical fiction,” White said, “I enjoy making people up.”

White talked enthusiastically about creating “The Humble Lover.” “When I was in my 20s, I had an affair with a well-known ballet dancer,” White said, “and I’ve always been fascinated by the ballet.”

His fascination with ballet and his acquaintanceship with wealthy, WASPy people helped him to imagine the characters in “The Humble Lover.”

“I had an office mate who was the ultimate WASP from a good family in New York City,” White said. “They had their own brownstone. He’d gone to Harvard. He had a way of pronouncing words that was different from anybody else.”

White, like an anthropologist, studied him. “He became the basis for Aldwych,” White said.Part of writing for White is finding characters equivalent to people in your life. “When I worked for Vogue magazine, I met a lot of society people,” he said. “They interest me in an anthropological way.”

“I had a boyfriend who was on the best-dressed list,” White added, “these jet set people talk all the time about their schedules.”

At the same time, White thinks people spend too much time thinking about celebrities. “They’re not that interesting,” he said.

In addition to working on a memoir about sex, White is writing a new novel. The novel, White said, is based on his nephew who killed himself at age 50. “It was 10 years ago. He was hetero and lived with me for a little bit,” White said. “He was a little bit crazy. He wouldn’t stay on lithium. I was very close to him.”

“I’ve always wondered if I could find a way to do it,” White added.

Before Stonewall, queer writers would try to explain LGBTQ people to readers. “Or they would try to get compassion for gays and present us as sick in sad stories,” White said. “Or, as in Gore Vidal’s case, they’d show us as campy.”

It’s very different, today. “It’s sex positive.” White said.

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Not escaping D.C. for the beach? Don’t worry, there’s plenty to keep you busy

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Summer is here and if your calendar needs to be filled, we’ve got you covered. From the summer of Barbie to concerts to museums, there’s no weekend without something happening in the District.

Tirgan Market, July 8. Hosted at the Brookland Arts Walk from 3-7 p.m., the Tirgan Market will have local vendors, food and performances by Sarah and Ehsan Khatami, Kamyar Arsania and more. Tirgan is an ancient Zoroastrian summer festival dedicated to Tishtrya.

The RAMMYS, July 9. D.C.’s favorite food awards will be hosted at the Walter E. Washington Convention Center and will feature a red carpet, awards ceremony and a celebration lasting into the early morning. Tickets are $325 for non-RAMW members and $250 for members.

Electric Cool-Aid Night Market, July 10. Join Shaw’s own Electric Cool-Aid with a night market including tarot readings, body painting, local vendors and more. Entry is free and dogs are welcome.

Summer Restaurant Week, Aug. 28-Sept. 3. The biannual D.C. restaurant week will offer diners specials at restaurants across the city. Sit down for a Michelin-star meal, sweet desserts or a casual family option. To-go meals will also be available at select participating restaurants.

Jollof Festival, Aug. 5. The Jollof Festival travels across the country each summer to host vendors competing for the title of best Jollof rice, a West African classic. This summer, the festival will be held at 1201 Half St. SE. Ticket packages range from $28 to $140.

Ziggy Stardust & the Spiders From Mars, July 9. The E Street Cinema will host a screening of one of the most iconic musical performances of all time. On July 3, 1973, David Bowie forever retired his Ziggy Stardust alter ego in concert, which was captured on film. On the 50th anniversary of the concert, the original, uncut version of the film will be shown. Tickets can be purchased online.

Rocky Horror Picture Show, July 14-15. Also at the E Street Cinema will be “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” with a live shadow cast. Come dressed in your best Dr. Frank N. Furter get up and be ready to do the Time Warp again! Tickets can be purchased online.

Capital Fringe Festival, July 12-23. The Capital Fringe Festival is an annual event in Georgetown that brings together artists from across the D.C. area for plays and performance art. With more than 45 performances this year, you won’t want to miss it. Tickets can be purchased online or at the box office.

DC Asian Pacific American Film Festival, July 13-16. With more than 30 films, from full-length to short, the DCAPAFF has something for everyone. Hosted at five different venues across the city, moviegoers and film buffs have their choice of everything from heart-warming tales to an elderly getaway cab driver. Reserved tickets are free with a suggested donation of $10.

The Culture– July 16. The Baltimore Museum of Art is currently hosting The Culture: Hip Hop and Contemporary Art in the 21st Century. The exhibit looks at the emergence of Hip Hop, its connections to art and artists that have transformed the genre. Paid tickets range from $5 to $15 from now until July 16.

Ibero-American Showcase, through July 18. See the best in Ibero-American film at this film festival hosted by the Ibero-American Cultural Attaches Association. Films like “My Emptiness and I,” “Finlandia” and “A Skeleton In The Closet” shine a spotlight on LGBTQ Iberian stories. Registration is free.

DC JazzFest– Aug. 30-Sept. 3. Featuring the best in Jazz, DC JazzFest is the summer’s largest music festival. With live music, food and fun for all ages, this summer’s festival is a can’t miss. Tickets start at $20 for individual concerts and $50 for all-access.

The Renaissance World Tour, Aug. 5-6. Queen Bey has landed in the U.S. and is coming to the DMV’s own FedEx Field this summer. Touring for her latest album “Renaissance,” inspired by post-1970s Black, LGBTQ dance music, this tour is already one for the ages. The time to start learning Blue Ivy’s choreography was yesterday. Resale tickets start at $279.

Summer Carnival, Aug. 7. Nationals Park will be home to pop royalty this summer as Pink takes the stage in support of her newest album, “Trustfall.” Joined by Pat Benatar and Neil Giraldo, the show will be one to remember. Just don’t forget to bring a wheel of brie. Tickets start at $46.

The Celebration Tour– Sept. 2. The dancing continues throughout the summer into Madonna’s Celebration Tour at Capital One arena. Expected to be a set list of her greatest hits, lifelong fans won’t want to miss the Queen of Pop’s 12th tour; no word yet on whether this date will be rescheduled after Madonna’s recent illness. Resale tickets start at $147.

National Arboretum, 8 a.m.-5 p.m. Have friends in town or just need a good place to read a book? Stop by the National Arboretum to see some truly stunning flora and fauna. As one of only two arboretums in D.C., the collections are a must-see.

Malcolm X Park, closes at midnight. There’s probably no more scenic place in D.C. than the fountains at Malcolm X Park. Listen in on drum circles or picnic next to Joan of Arc in one of D.C.’s most historic parks.

Barbie Parties, July 15-21. Ready for the Barbenheimer double feature? Wundergarten will host five “Barbie” parties leading up to the movie’s release. Come dressed in your best Barbie fashion, take a dip in the pool and bring along your best Ken. Tickets are free.

FANCY: Queens of Country Party, Aug. 4. Put on your cowboy hat and boots to dance at the 9:30 club for the Queens of Country Party. Playing the best hits from Dolly Parton, The Chicks, Shania Twain and more, this party is a country fan’s dream. Tickets are $22.50.

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