Arts & Entertainment
Delicate dances
Studio double header explores romantic nuances
Actors Jon Hudson, left, and Alex Mills in ‘2-2 Tango.’ (Photo by Igor Dmitry; courtesy Studio)
‘Pas de Deux: Plays from New Zealand and Canada’
Through May 19
Studio 2ndStage
1501 14th Street, NW
$30-$35
202-332-3300
studiotheatre.org
Jim only likes to do it with the lights off. And when it’s the first time, he likes to go to the other guy’s place. But James, the interested guy that Jim just met at the club, doesn’t like to bring new guys home either. Sometimes it’s hard to get them out in the morning. This could be problematic. But despite the many little bumps that might derail their destiny before it even gets going, they become a couple — for a while anyway
Out playwright Daniel MacIvor’s “2-2 Tango” (now at Studio 2ndStage) hastily moves through the arc of Jim and James’ brief love affair beginning with their nocturnal meeting, an early passion, the blissful honeymoon to discontent and ultimate parting. Told mostly from inside the respective guys’ heads, MacIvor frames the same-sex romance as an ongoing dance with varied steps (disco, jazz and a seductive tango), beats and counts. And smartly director Eric Ruffin has cast a pair of appealing actors who can really dance as the lovers — Jon Hudson Odom plays Jim, the needier of the pair, and Helen Hayes Award-winning out actor Alex Mills is the more resilient James.
Not long after they meet, James says he’s independent and values an independent partner. Eager to please, Jim hastily nods in agreement, but his actions indicate otherwise. For him, independence isn’t a priority. James wants space. A cloying boyfriend isn’t what he had in mind. Things don’t look good.
But along the way, there are sexy exchanges, some songs and a lot of rug cutting (choreographed by Nancy Bannon) and quality hip shaking. And while McIvor’s one act flirts with the too cutesy, he captures the disparities of love with laser-like precision. The depiction of the couple’s not mutually sought breakup is uncomfortable to watch. It’s also the play and actors’ most honest moment.
“2-2 Tango” is one of two relationship-exploring plays that make up Studio2ndStage’s aptly-titled “Pas de Deux” (dance for two). The evening’s first one act is “Skin Tight,” a couple’s rough tumble down memory lane by New Zealand playwright Gary Henderson. Unlike McIvor’s piece, which focuses more on how people get together, Henderson’s play starkly reveals the details and intimacies of a longer union. But just because we’re dealing with a presumably more settled couple here, don’t expect the action (staged by Johanna Gruenhut) to be desultory or slow moving. Henderson’s one act opens with husband and wife wrestling wildly — a scene that initially reads more violent crime than playful roughhouse.
Tom and Elizabeth have been together forever. Recently they’ve lost their farm and now Elizabeth plans to go away. Together they reminisce: meeting as youths, the horrors of war, Elizabeth’s uneasy relationship with their daughter. Intermittently throughout the long conversation, they romp and wrestle (these kinetic antics belie the characters’ true age and reality). She shaves him with a straight edge razor. He peels an apple with a pocket knife. They engage in erotically charged knife play — the usual stuff. Led by the more emotional and impulsive Elizabeth, the married couple reveal the most tender and painful details of their relationship.
Henderson’s funny and heartfelt script is a stunning mix of poetic and plain language. As Tom and Elizabeth, Jens Rasmussen and Emily Townley are at home with the words and action; they give terrific, fearless performances.
JD Madsen’s simple sets are pleasingly spare: a patch of Astroturf and rusted bathtub for “Skin Tight” and a sleek sunken dance floor for “2-2 Tango.” Jedidiah Roe’s evocative lighting — quiet to fiery, and James Bigbee Garver’s ably done sound design add to the effect.
“Pas de Deux” is all about being with someone. And though dissimilar, they both convey the complexity and universality of relationships. So different, yet so well coupled.
Sports
Jason Collins dies at 47
First openly gay man to actively play for major sports team battled brain cancer
Jason Collins, the first openly gay man to actively play for a major professional sports team, died on Tuesday after a battle with brain cancer. He was 47.
The California native had briefly played for the Washington Wizards in 2013 before coming out in a Sports Illustrated op-ed.
Collins in 2014 became the first openly gay man to play in a game for a major American professional sports league when he played 11 minutes during a Brooklyn Nets game. He wore jersey number 98 in honor of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student murdered outside of Laramie, Wyo., in 1998.
Collins told the Washington Blade in 2014 that his life was “exponentially better” since he came out. Collins the same year retired from the National Basketball Association after 13 seasons.
Collins married his husband, Brunson Green, in May 2025.
The NBA last September announced Collins had begun treatment for a brain tumor. Collins on Dec. 11, 2025, announced he had Stage 4 glioblastoma.
“We are heartbroken to share that Jason Collins, our beloved husband, son, brother and uncle, has died after a valiant fight with glioblastoma,” said Collins’s family in a statement the NBA released. “Jason changed lives in unexpected ways and was an inspiration to all who knew him and to those who admired him from afar. We are grateful for the outpouring of love and prayers over the past eight months and for the exceptional medical care Jason received from his doctors and nurses. Our family will miss him dearly.”
NBA Commissioner Adam Silver said Collins’s “impact and influence extended far beyond basketball as he helped make the NBA, WNBA, and larger sports community more inclusive and welcoming for future generations.”
“He exemplified outstanding leadership and professionalism throughout his 13-year NBA career and in his dedicated work as an NBA Cares Ambassador,” said Silver. “Jason will be remembered not only for breaking barriers, but also for the kindness and humanity that defined his life and touched so many others.”
“To call Jason Collins a groundbreaking figure for our community is simply inadequate. We truly lost a giant today,” added Human Rights Campaign President Kelley Robinson in a statement. “He came out as gay — while still playing — at a time when men’s athletes simply did not do that. But as he powerfully demonstrated in his final years in the league and his post-NBA career, stepping forward as he did boldly changed the conversation.”
“He was and will always be a legend for the LGBTQ+ community, and we are heartbroken to hear of his passing at the young age of 47,” she said. “Our hearts go out to his family and loved ones. We will keep fighting on in his honor until the day everyone can be who they are on their terms.”
The Washington Blade will update this article with additional reaction when it becomes available.
Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week
Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.
The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.
Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.
“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”
Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.
Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.
Event Details:
📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026
⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP
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