Arts & Entertainment
Calendar for July 16
Friday, July 16, to Thursday, July 22
Friday, July 16
Gay District, a weekly, non-church affiliated discussion and social group for GBTQ men between 18 and 35, meets tonight from 8:30-10:30 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
Queer Pulp For the Girls and Bois at Black Squirrel, 2427 18th St., N.W., is tonight at 9. No cover charge, 21 and over to enter.
Kylie Minogue CD Release Party tonight at Ultrabar, 911 F St., N.W. at 9 p.m. Minogue returns with her highly anticipated new album. There will be giveaways including CDs, posters, vouchers and more. 18 and over to enter. Visit popnightlife.com for more information.
DC Cowboys present “Brodeo” tonight at Remington’s, 639 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E., from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m. There will be country/western and disco/club music, live performances, giveaways, Jell-O shots, an auction and lots of sexy Cowboys.
Experience Silver Starr Art Studios LLC’s Ninth Annual Exhibition featuring Fred Budin’s Flag Series and Jay Hayden’s live R&B melodies at L’Eclat de Verre, 3336 M St., N.W. at 7 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $5, benefiting WVSA Arts Connection.
Saturday, July 17
Charity Cornhole Tournament at Nellie’s Sports Bar, 900 U St., N.W., at 1 p.m. 75 percent of the proceeds will benefit the “Remembering Nikki Yoder” scholarship at Montrose High School in Montrose, Pa. You can pre-register by e-mailing [email protected] and include team name, participant names, and contact phone. Registration is $25 for a team or $15 for individuals. There will be cash prizes, door prizes and drink specials.
Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers as they prune the sucker branches of the National Cherry Trees around the Tidal Basin from 9 to 11 a.m. Volunteers will meet at the Tidal Basin parking lot. For the fifth year in a row, BCV has been asked by the National Park Service to return to the Jefferson Memorial Tidal Basin for the annual Cherry Tree Pruning activity. Fifteen volunteers are needed for each shift.
Star Wars: In Concert, the unique multimedia event featuring music from all six of John Williams’ epic Star Wars scores, plays at the Verizon Center at 2 p.m. and 7 p.m. Tickets are $35, $55 and $75 and can be purchased at ticketmaster.com. With live narration by Anthony Daniels (C-3PO), the production features a full symphony orchestra and choir, accompanied by specially edited footage from the films displayed on a three-story-tall, high-definition LED super-screen.
Wolf Trap presents An Evening with Idina Menzel and Marvin Hamlisch at the Filene Center at 8:15 p.m. Menzel—the Tony Award-winning “Elphaba” from Wicked—joins award-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch for a one-night-only special engagement with the National Symphony Orchestra. Repertoire will include songs from Rent, Wicked, and Idina Menzel’s new album I Stand. Tickets range from $20 to $52 and can be purchased at wolftrap.org.
REMIX & A2Z Events present Al Sura’s 2010 White Attire Affair, “The Garden of Envy” at Longview Gallery, 1234 9th St., N.W., from 7 p.m. to 1 a.m. VIP tickets are $125 and include a VIP reception with an open bar, live entertainment by Tamika Jones, and entrance to the official after-party. General admission is $75 and includes an open bar, live entertainment by Bry’NT, and discounted entrance to the official after party.
DJ Hector Fonseca spins at Town, 2009 8th St., N.W. Fonseca holds residencies at some of the most popular venues worldwide, and recently released two new music compilations. Doors open at 10 p.m. A drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. There will be music and videos downstairs by Wess. $8 cover before 11 p.m. and $12 after. 21 and over to enter.
Sunday, July 18
Ladies Kickball on the Mall at 3 p.m. between the National Museum of History and Smithsonian Castle. Join Zoom as they play kickball on the mall. Even if you don’t play you’re welcome to come and watch the fun from the sidelines; look for the purple balloons to locate the group. In case of inclement weather the event will be rescheduled for the following Sunday at the same time.
Monday, July 19
The GLB Youth Support Group will meet at the GW Center Clinic, 1922 F St., N.W., Suite 103, at 4:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 20
Vans Warped Tour at Merriweather Post Pavilion starting at 11 a.m. featuring Reel Big Fish, Face to Face, Pennywise, Alkaline Trio, Andrew W.K, We the Kings, and many more. Vans Warped Tour is a “punk rock summer camp” on wheels where music, athletes and lifestyles co-mingle and thrive in an atmosphere dedicated to music fans of punk, alternative, hip-hop, ska, pop punk, electronica, alternative rock, emo, hardcore and more. Tickets are $32.75 until the day of the show when they go up to $40. Visit merriweathermusic.com for more information and to purchase tickets.
Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers to help pack safer sex kits tonight from 7-9 p.m. at EFN Lounge, on 9th Street between O and N streets.
Wednesday, July 21
Yappy Hour: Happy Hour for Dogs at Larry’s Lounge, 1836 18th St., N.W., is today from 4 to 8 p.m. featuring drink specials and giveaways.
DC Gurly Show at Phase 1, 525 8th St., S.E., at 10 p.m. Drink specials will include $3 PBR and $4 Jager shots. There is a $5 cover.
Thursday, July 22
Atlas Performing Arts Center presents Summer Film Series: Gay 101 showing 1967’s “Valley of the Dolls” starring Barbara Parkins and Patty Duke at the Paul Sprenger Theatre, 1333 H St., N.E., at 8 p.m. Buy tickets at atlasarts.org or at the box office one hour prior to the movie.
Celebrity News
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
‘RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars’ semifinalist grew up in Bible Belt
Uncloseted Media published this interview on July 7.
By SPENCER MACNAUGHTON, ISABEL STOKES, and BELLA SAYEGH | After appearing on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the first season of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World,” the sixth season of “RuPaul’s All Stars” and now the 11th season of “All Stars,” Silky Nutmeg Ganache, known by many as the Reverend, is undoubtedly a legend.
Born and raised in Moss Point, Miss., Ganache bears all in this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton.” She speaks about her relationship with gender, her 100-pound weight loss, what it’s like living as a queer person of color in a red state and why she’s calling on allies to stand up for the trans community.
Patrons enjoyed a night out at the popular LGBTQ venue Crush Dance Bar on Friday, July 3.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Theater
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
Gay playwright Aurin Squire’s take on D.C. journalism in the ‘90s
‘My Favorite Sociopath’
Contemporary American Theater Festival
July 10-Aug. 2
Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Catf.org
Discernment. It’s a thing some people have, explains playwright Aurin Squire, especially when you’re gay or Black in America (Squire is both).
“You instinctively know when the mob is teaming up for the best interests of the powers that be. You can feel it in the air.”
In his sharp new satire “My Favorite Sociopath,” Squire writes about life experiences but set in a different time and place: It’s the 1990s, early days of the 24-hour news cycle, and three ambitious journalism students are pursuing success in D.C.
And now, Squire’s play, along with other new works, are making their world premieres at the annual Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) at Shepherd University in historic, queer-friendly Shepherdstown, W.Va. (just a 90-minute drive from D.C.).
“All of my plays are queer in some way,” says Squire, 46. “This one touches on harmless and dangerous lies. The characters are on the spectrum sexually, and it’s interesting how all that falls out.”
And he’s given it a lot of thought.
“Already as a kid, it seemed to me that the rage against rap music and sex was coming from closeted people resisting their own urges and temptations. For me, it was interesting to see a witch hunt led by witches. Queer people can always call out a lie.”
Since September, Squire has also been working with a TV show about the tech industry set in Silicon Valley. He says, “It seems the general flow of the tech industry is that humanity and civilization is finished and it’s just about accumulating as many goods as possible before everything collapses. In fact, those who are profiting actually agree. But for those who disagree, they believe the solution is to build bigger gates, but activists believe we can stop this”
Yet, he’s learned from folks associated with the show. “Many say the quickest way to divorce yourself from any responsibility or regulations — smash and grab. Otherwise, you have to stop and think and regulate your desires for greed and power”
Squire possesses a penchant for pithy titles. He laughs, explaining the first thing he wrote as a student at Juilliard was “Obama-ology,” the comedy with contemporary message. While a lot of people liked the name, it didn’t necessarily vibe with the author. He concedes that he chooses names based on “easy to remember” and titles that won’t be easy to lose as a file.
Another is “Defacing Michael Jackson,” a coming-of-age dramedy set in rural Florida in 1984, specifically Squire’s native town Opa-locka, Miami, a fantastical place famed for its fanciful Moorish revival architecture.
Living in the shadow of exotic structures, he wasn’t particularly fazed. Squire says “It wasn’t until returning to visit after my freshman year at Northwestern University in Chicago that I realized how weird it was: When you grow up in a place, you take surroundings for granted no matter how over the top.”
Now based in New York (where for two happy years, 2017-2019, he shared digs with drag king Murry Hill), Squire returns frequently to Miami to be with family, but this summer has been filled with both work and travel.
Currently, he’s in Shepherdstown with CATF shaping up “My Favorite Sociopath.” Later this summer he will travel to South Africa for research, followed by a silent writing retreat in Santa Fe, N.M.
Much of Squire’s work reflects the Latino, African, Caribbean, African-American, and Jewish cultures he grew up around in South Florida.
When asked if today’s winds of anti-multiculturalism worry him, he replies, “No, because that’s going to pass. Most people don’t like, people are seeing the negative results of it, and the young people coming up despise it. White male gamers were tricked momentarily through the algorithms into voting against their own interests and they’re now seeing how it’s not working out for them.
“Conservatives always try to stop progress and eventually they always lose. It’s just a question of where we’ll be in the middle of the end of civilization before that happens. I’d like to hope we can turn the ship around before then.”
In addition to “My Favorite Sociopath,” CATF summer season features three other world premieres (Lisa D’Amour’s comedy “The Smoker,” “Refugee Rhapsody” by Yussef El Guindi, “Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols” by Beth Kander) and “¡VOS!” by Christina Pumariega.
CATF runs from July 10-Aug. 2 in three venues on the Shepherd University campus: Frank Center, Marinoff Theater, and Studio 112.
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