Arts & Entertainment
Images of an era
‘Our Heroes’ exhibit shows AIDS impact on D.C.
Photo of the Metropolitan Community Church from the ‘Our Heroes’ exhibit. (Photo by Kevin Kenner; courtesy Kenner)
“Our Heroes,” a community-donated photography exhibit that chronicles the HIV/AIDS history in the District, opens at the Martin Luther King Jr. Memorial Library (901 G St., N.W.) Monday and runs through Jan. 5.
Our Heroes has been a work in progress since 2002. Nine photographers, all of whom are D.C. residents, have documented notable people and places in D.C.’s HIV/AIDS history. The all-black and white photos were displayed in 2006 in a collection of 150 photos. Now, with new pieces added, the collection totals 205 photographs. Biographies accompany the photographs and are all written in first person. It’s as if the people are speaking directly to the visitor and adds a personal connection of past to present. Organizers say it’s the only photography exhibit of its kind in the United States.
Lead organizer Wallace Corbett, a gay man who has been HIV positive since 1989, says “Our Heroes” aims to archive the HIV/AIDS journey by showing the people whose stories are being told and the places at which these monumental events took place. The variety of the photos makes for a diverse history lesson.
“We took the time to document a very long and meticulous journey,” Corbett says. “Some of the pictures are very emotional, some are self-explanatory and some are artistic. The District should be proud that they can go back 50 years from now and understand its journey and who was apart of it, especially for black culture.”
Corbett says his favorite photograph in the exhibit is of a man pushing his dead lover’s body in a coffin over the fence of the White House during the Reagan administration. Along the edges of the photo stand men wearing latex gloves who are afraid to touch the body.
“It was that man’s way of saying to the president this is what is happening in your backyard,” Corbett says. “If you can’t come to the funeral, we will bring the funeral to you.”
Lead photographer Kevin Kenner, also a gay man who is HIV positive, says the photographs were not all easy to come by. Historical photographs of those who had passed away had to be acquired from family members. There was a verification process to confirm the people had contributed to the city’s history in some way.
Some photographs were damaged and had to be replaced. Other photographs were difficult to take such as the one of Enik Alley Coffeehouse, once located on I Street. Since the coffeehouse was out of business and those who had frequented it were long gone, the iconic space that once welcomed LGBT music and literature icons like Essex Hemphill and Michelle Parkerson had been lost.
Kenner hopes the exhibit can serve as a reminder of Washington’s past and help young people shape a different future. He’s saddened that some of the people he met and photographed are no longer here. He says his own HIV experience and those of others has taught him to stop living recklessly. He wants to teach young people to be safer about their decisions.
“The journey has come a long way but still the HIV/AIDS rate is so high,” Kenner says. “I see a lot of young people acting unsafe and uncaring about their life. If you’re going to do things that are not safe than you have to be an adult and deal with the consequences that come about. We need to teach young people to be safe and hopefully people will be aware this journey is still going on and hasn’t ended.”
The exhibit will be displayed on the lower level of the library. After its run, the library will permanently own the exhibit.
“Most people have footsteps in the sand and don’t understand the importance of the footprints until the water washes over them,” Corbett says. “This way those footprints are still there and we won’t forget where we’ve been and we can hopefully see where we’re going.”
Theater
Out dancer on Alvin Ailey’s stint at Warner Theatre
10-day production marks kickoff of national tour
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Through Feb. 8
Warner Theatre
513 12th St., N.W.
Tickets start at $75
ailey.org
The legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Washington’s Warner Theatre, and one of its principal veterans couldn’t be more pleased. Out dancer Renaldo Maurice is eager to be a part of the company’s 10-day stint, the kickoff of a national tour that extends through early May.
“I love the respectful D.C. crowd and they love us,” says Maurice, a member of esteemed modern dance company for 15 years. The traveling tour is made of two programs and different casting with Ailey’s masterwork “Revelations” in both programs.
Recently, we caught up with Maurice via phone. He called from one of the quiet rooms in his New York City gym where he’s getting his body ready for the long Ailey tour.
Based in North Newark, N.J., where he recently bought a house, Maurice looks forward to being on the road: “I enjoy the rigorous performance schedule, classes, shows, gym, and travel. It’s all part of carving out a lane for myself and my future and what that looks like.”
Raised by a single mother of three in Gary, Ind., Maurice, 33, first saw Alvin Ailey as a young kid in the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago, the same venue where he’s performed with the company as a professional dancer.
He credits his mother with his success: “She’s a real dance mom. I would not be the man or artist I am today if it weren’t for the grooming and discipline of my mom. Support and encouragement. It’s impacted my artistry and my adulthood.”
Maurice is also part of the New York Ballroom scene, an African-American and Latin underground LGBTQ+ subculture where ball attendees “walk” in a variety of categories (like “realness,” “fashion,” and “sex siren”) for big prizes. He’s known as the Legendary Overall Father of the Haus of Alpha Omega.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Like many gay men of his era, Ailey lived a largely closeted public life before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989.
RENALDO MAURICE Not unusual for a Black gay man born during the Depression in Rogers, Texas, who’s striving to break out in the industry to be a creative. You want to be respected and heard. Black man, and Black man who dances, and you may be same-sex gender loving too. It was a lot, especially at that time.
BLADE: Ailey has been described as intellectual, humble, and graceful. He possessed strength. He knew who he was and what stories he wanted to tell.
MAURICE: Definitely, he wanted to concentrate on sharing and telling stories. What kept him going was his art. Ailey wanted dancers to live their lives and express that experience on stage. That way people in the audience could connect with them. It’s incredibly powerful that you can touch people by moving your body.
That’s partly what’s so special about “Revelations,” his longest running ballet and a fan favorite that’s part of the upcoming tour. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, it’s a modern dance work that honors African-American cultural heritage through themes of grief, joy, and faith.
BLADE: Is “Revelation” a meaningful piece for you?
MAURICE: It’s my favorite piece. I saw it as a kid and now perform it as a professional dance artist. I’ve grown into the role since I was 20 years old.
BLADE: How can a dancer in a prestigious company also be a ballroom house father?
MAURICE: I’ve made it work. I learned how to navigate and separate. I’m a principal dancer with Ailey. And I take that seriously. But I’m also a house father and I take that seriously as well.
I’m about positivity, unity, and hard work. In ballroom you compete and if you’re not good, you can get chopped. You got to work on your craft and come back harder. It’s the same with dance.
BLADE: Any message for queer audiences?
MAURICE: I know my queer brothers and sisters love to leave with something good. If you come to any Ailey performance you’ll be touched, your spirit will be uplifted. There’s laughter, thoughtful and tender moments. And it’s all delivered by artists who are passionate about what they do.
BLADE: Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of your life. Thoughts on that?
MAURICE: I’m a believer in it takes a village. Hard work and discipline. I take it seriously and I love what I do. Ailey has provided me with a lot: world travel, a livelihood, and working with talented people here and internationally. Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of my life from boyhood to now. It’s been great.
Catfish Comedy will host “2026 Queer Kickoff Show” on Thursday, Feb. 5 at A League of Her Own (2319 18th Street, N.W.). This show features D.C.’s funniest LGBTQ and femme comedians. The lineup features performers who regularly take the stage at top clubs like DC Improv and Comedy Loft, with comics who tour nationally.
Tickets are $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Arts & Entertainment
Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star and celebrated queer ally, dies at 71
Actress remembered for memorable comedic roles in ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Home Alone’
Catherine O’Hara, the varied comedic actor known for memorable roles in “Beetlejuice,” “Schitt’s Creek,” and “Home Alone,” has died at 71 on Friday, according to multiple reports. No further details about her death were revealed.
O’Hara’s death comes as a shock to Hollywood, as the Emmy award-winning actor has been recently active, with roles in both “The Studio” and “The Last of Us.” For her work in those two shows, she received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series and outstanding guest actress in a drama series.
In 2020, O’Hara won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series award for her work in the celebrated sixth and final season of “Schitt’s Creek.” She was also known as a queer ally and icon for her theatrical and often campy performances over multiple decades. In “Schitt’s Creek,” she played Moira Rose, the wig-loving mother of David Rose (played by series creator Dan Levy). David is pansexual, but the characters around him simply accept him for who he is; the show was embraced by the LGBTQ community with how naturally David’s sexuality was written and portrayed. That show ran from 2015 to 2020 and helped bring O’Hara and her co-stars into a new phase of their careers.
In a 2019 interview with the Gay Times, O’Hara explained why the show got LGBTQ representation right: “Daniel has created a world that he wants to live in, that I want to live in. It’s ridiculous that we live in a world where we don’t know how to respect each other and let each other be. It’s crazy. Other shows should follow suit and present the world and present humans as the best that we can be. It doesn’t mean you can’t laugh, that you can’t be funny in light ways and dark ways. It’s all still possible when you respect and love each other.”
Additional credits include “SCTV Network” (for which O’Hara won a writing Emmy), “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Six Feet Under,” “Best in Show,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” and “Dick Tracy.” O’Hara also lent her voice to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Chicken Little,” “Monster House,” and “Elemental.” O’Hara was expected to return for Season 2 of “The Studio,” which started filming earlier this month.
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