Arts & Entertainment
Snapshots from the stage
Set of eight mini-plays explore black gay experience
Actors Reginald Richard, left, and Tristan Phillip Hewitt in ‘New and/or Slightly Used,’ a reading slated for two performances Sunday. (Photo by Emile Benjamin; courtesy of ACT)
‘New and/or Slightly Used’
Sunday at 5 and 8 p.m.
Warehouse Theater
645 New York Ave., NW
202-745-3662
alansharpe.org
Two lives can be significantly changed — for better or worse — by one fleeting but momentous encounter. That’s the thematic thread running through “New and/or Slightly Used,” a collection of eight short plays about black gay, bi and questioning men here in Washington.
In celebration of D.C. Black Pride Weekend, the African-American Collective Theater (ACT) is presenting the work as a staged reading for one night only with two performances on Sunday.
Written and directed by ACT’s Artistic Director Alan Sharpe, the 10-minute-long mini-plays thoughtfully explore instances of love, lust and longing as experienced by a cross section of men ranging from hustlers to husbands.
“The plays run the gamut in terms of characters and situations,” Sharpe says. “Some characters are self-identified as gay, some are in relationships with both men and women and some are straight. It’s kind of a salad.”
“The cast is a mix too,” Sharpe says. “We have gay actors playing straight characters and vice versa. And because it’s a staged reading, there’s very little in terms of set, so I tried to pick a gorgeous cast so the audience will have a something to look at. We’re competing with a lot on gay pride day.”
In “Kickin’ It,” young out actor Tristan Phillip Hewitt plays Dante, a straight cocky high school jock who’s unaware that his buddy has feelings for him. When hot weather prompts the friends to trade basketball for a racier indoor game, it means something different to each boy.
“For me,” says Hewitt, a 21-year-old native Washingtonian who says he’s too tall to be confined to any closet, “this show gives me the experience to be someone else for 10 minutes. In reality I’m no good at basketball. I may have the body of an athlete, but I’m not one. I get to play a jock whose personality is nothing like mine.”
On the other hand, out actor Reginald Richard who plays 30-something Eric in “All Over Him,” says he is very similar to his gay character. “When I first read the play it was as if I was seeing my life story written on the page. Like Eric, I’ve been hurt by someone who wasn’t as much in love with me as I was with him. You have that awkward moment when you see them and you’re not sure what to do. As Eric, I have a chance to unload and achieve closure.”
“Sharpe’s writing is refreshingly realistic and natural,” Richard says. “It’s not stereotypical gay humor. He writes honestly about a very diverse community.”
Originally from Memphis, Tenn., Richard has been in D.C. for 10 years and has been acting for the last four. His experiences with ACT have led him to consider acting as a career. “If I want to be with the best I have to learn with the best, so I put myself in school [at the National Conservatory of Dramatic Arts]. It’s very challenging, but I’m always up for a challenge.”
With Sharpe at the helm, ACT has been commemorating Black Pride with LGBT-centric theater for 15 years. “When we first started, there were not a lot of vehicles where black and gay lesbians could see themselves on stage, and they were thirsty for that. The response was so great that it completely altered my artistic focus. I discovered a niche that no else was filling.”
ACT’s mission is to showcase contemporary black gay and lesbian life and culture, promote visibility and raise awareness of issues faced in the African-American community.
“By increasing visibility,” Sharpe says, “We strive to demonstrate to people that regardless of race class and gender we have similar experiences. Everyone has been disappointed. Everyone has fallen in love and had their heart broken. The human experience is very universal.”
Cast member Hewitt concurs: “Be prepared to find a piece of yourself in one of these plays.”
The 2026 Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather competition was held at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill on Sunday. Seven contestants vied for the title and Gage Ryder was named the winner.
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Theater
Voiceless ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ a spectacle of operatic proportions
Synetic production pulls audience into grips of doomed lovers’ passion
‘Antony & Cleopatra’
Through Jan. 25
Synetic Theater at
Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre
450 7th St., N.W.
Synetictheater.org
A spectacle of operatic proportions, Synetic Theater’s “Antony & Cleopatra” is performed entirely voiceless. An adaptation of the Bard’s original (a play bursting with wordplay, metaphors, and poetic language), the celebrated company’s production doesn’t flinch before the challenge.
Staged by Paata Tsikurishvili and choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili, this worthy remount is currently playing at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, the same venue where it premiered 10 years ago. Much is changed, including players, but the usual inimitable Synectic energy and ingenuity remain intact.
As audiences file into the Klein, they’re met with a monumental pyramid bathed in mist on a dimly lit stage. As the lights rise, the struggle kicks off: Cleopatra (Irina Kavsadze) and brother Ptolemy (Natan-Maël Gray) are each vying for the crown of Egypt. Alas, he wins and she’s banished from Alexandria along with her ethereal black-clad sidekick Mardian (Stella Bunch); but as history tells us, Cleopatra soon makes a triumphant return rolled in a carpet.
Meanwhile, in the increasingly dangerous Rome, Caesar (memorably played by Tony Amante) is assassinated by a group of senators. Here, his legendary Ides of March murder is rather elegantly achieved by silver masked politicians, leaving the epic storytelling to focus on the titular lovers.
The fabled couple is intense. As the Roman general Antony, Vato Tsikurishvili comes across as equal parts warrior, careerist, and beguiled lover. And despite a dose of earthiness, it’s clear that Kavsadze’s Cleopatra was born to be queen.
Phil Charlwood’s scenic design along with Colin K. Bills’ lighting cleverly morph the huge pyramidic structure into the throne of Egypt, the Roman Senate, and most astonishingly as a battle galley crashing across the seas with Tsikurishvili’s Antony ferociously at the helm.
There are some less subtle suggestions of location and empire building in the form of outsized cardboard puzzle pieces depicting the Mediterranean and a royal throne broken into jagged halves, and the back-and-forth of missives.
Of course, going wordless has its challenges. Kindly, Synectic provides a compact synopsis of the story. I’d recommend coming early and studying that page. With changing locations, lots of who’s who, shifting alliances, numerous war skirmishes, and lack of dialogue, it helps to get a jump on plot and characters.
Erik Teague’s terrific costume design is not only inspired but also helpful. Crimson red, silver, and white say Rome; while all things Egyptian have a more exotic look with lots of gold and diaphanous veils, etc.
When Synetic’s voicelessness works, it’s masterful. Many hands create the magic: There’s the direction, choreography, design, and the outrageously committed, sinewy built players who bring it to life through movement, some acrobatics, and the remarkable sword dancing using (actual sparking sabers) while twirling to original music composed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze.
Amid the tumultuous relationships and frequent battling (fight choreography compliments of Ben Cunis), moments of whimsy and humor aren’t unwelcome. Ptolemy has a few clownish bits as Cleopatra’s lesser sibling. And Antony’s powerful rival Octavian (ageless out actor Philip Fletcher) engages in peppy propaganda featuring a faux Cleopatra (played by Maryam Najafzada) as a less than virtuous queen enthusiastically engaged in an all-out sex romp.
When Antony and Cleopatra reach their respective ends with sword and adder, it comes almost as a relief. They’ve been through so much. And from start to finish, without uttering a word, Kavsadze and Tsikurishvili share a chemistry that pulls the audience into the grips of the doomed lovers’ palpable passion.
Out & About
Love board games and looking for love?
Quirk Events will host “Board Game Speed Dating for Gay Men” on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at KBird DC.
Searching for a partner can be challenging. But board games are always fun. So what if you combined board games and finding a partner?
Picture this: You sit down for a night of games. A gaming concierge walks you through several games over the course of the night. You play classics you love and discover brand new games you’ve never heard of, playing each with a different group of fun singles. All while in a great establishment.
At the end of the night, you give your gaming concierge a list of the folks you met that you’d like to date and a list of those you met that you’d like to just hang out with as friends. If any two people put down the same name as each other in either column, then your gaming concierge will make sure you get each other’s e-mail address and you can coordinate a time to hang out.
Tickets cost $31.80 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
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