Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: Sept. 24

Published

14 years ago

September 21, 2010

Today (Friday)

Phasefest continues tonight at Phase 1, 525 8th St., S.E., with Hunter Valentine, Jen Urban and the Box, The Pushovers, Athens Boys Choir, Terrance Williams, Lost Boi’s, and Mzery Loves Company. Tickets are $15 for the night. More information and a link to purchase tickets can be found at phasefestdc.com. Doors open at 7 p.m. Must be 21 to enter.

DJ Jim Gade will be at Cobalt, 1639 R St., N.W., tonight with Gruff: Rock and Retro Happy Hour. From 4 to 7 p.m. rail drinks will be $1 and domestics will be $2. From 7 to 10 p.m. beers and rail drinks are $3. From 4 to 10 p.m. martinis will be $5.

Cazwell, a gay rapper and DJ from New York City, will be at Town, 2009 8th St., N.W., tonight to perform live and DJ in the main room, tag teaming with Wess in the booth. Rail drinks are $3 from 10 to 11 p.m. Doors open at 10 p.m. Drag show starts at 10:30. For those 18 to 20, the cover is $10 all night. For those 21 and over, the cover is $5 before 11 p.m. and $10 afterward.

Gigi Paris Couture will perform at Ziegfeld’s, 1824 Half St., S.W., tonight at 11 p.m. Cover is $5 from 9 to 10:30 p.m. and $10 afterward and always includes $1 off your first drink. Must be 21 to enter. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Beat the Clock at Nellie’s Sports Bar, 900 U St., N.W. All bottles of Miller Lite or house Vodka drinks are $1 from 5 to 6 p.m., $2 from 6 to 7 p.m., and $3 from 7 to 8 p.m.

Gay District, a weekly, non-church affiliated discussion and social group for GBTQ men between 18 and 35, meets tonight from 8:30 to 10:30 p.m. at St. Margaret’s Episcopal Church, 1820 Connecticut Ave., N.W. For more information, e-mail [email protected].
Celebrate Shabbat services, 8:30 to 10 p.m. at the Washington, D.C. Jewish Community Center, 1529 16th St. Services are followed by an Oneg social.

Saturday, Sept. 25

Kyocera presents Virgin Mobile FreeFest today at Merriweather Post Pavillion. Some of the acts include M.I.A., LCD Soundsystem, Jimmy Eat World and Joan Jett & the Black Hearts. There are no more free tickets to this event, but pavilion seats are still available for $125 and can be purchased by following the link on virginmobilefestival.com. These tickets include access to the pavilion and the full festival, donation, digital download and all service charges.

The Federal Triangles Soccer Club and D.C. United host the first LGBT fan night in the history of Major League Soccer tonight at RFK Stadium as the United take on the Houston Dynamo.

Phasefest continues tonight at Phase 1, 525 8th St., S.E., with MEN with JD from Le Tigre, Tayish Busay, Shondes, Rad Pony, Clinical Trials, Mittens, Renny Sanz, Tiik With Guts, Erin Brown and Candi Hearts. Tickets are $20 for the night. More information and a link to purchase tickets can be found at phasefestdc.com. Doors open at 6 p.m. Must be 21 to enter.

Washington Shakespeare Company presents By Any Other Name: An Evening of Shakespeare in Klingon at the Rosslyn Spectrum Theater, 1611 North Kent St., in Arlington, at 8 p.m. WSC’s first-ever gala event will feature scenes from Shakespeare in both English and Klingon by WSC’s company and special guest, George Takei with an introduction by Marc Okran, creator of the Klingon language. Tickets are $125 for regular admission and $250 for VIP admission. These prices include admission to four more shows.

The Ladies of Illusion, hosted by Ella Fitzgerald, will perform at Ziegfeld’s, 1824 Half St., S.W., tonight at 11 p.m. Cover is $5 from 9 to 10:30 p.m. and $10 afterward, always includes $1 off your first drink. Must be 21 to enter. Doors open at 9 p.m.

Sunday, Sept. 26

Crumland Farms Fall Festival starts today and runs until Halloween. The opening day will feature Frederick Rock School, Denim N Lace, Mason Vixon and Julienna Irwin, a finalist on “America’s Got Talent.” There will be prizes and games including Bovine Bingo to benefit Saint Thomas More Academy. Gates open at 11 a.m. and the event runs until 5 p.m. Admission is $5 per person. For more information, visit crumland.com.

Metropolitan Community Church of Washington, D.C.’s largest mostly gay church located at 474 Ridge St., N.W., presents “An Evening of Live Jazz” tonight, featuring jazz standards interpreted and played by a jazz trio, Swing, and vocals by members of MCC’s choir. There will also be dinner and dancing. Tickets are $12 and can be reserved by calling Shirli Hughes at 202-638-7373 or e-mailing her at [email protected].

Monday, Sept. 27

SAGE Metro D.C.’s monthly meeting at the D.C. Center, 1318 U St., N.W., is today from 6:30 to 8 p.m. SAGE Metro D.C. provides support and advocacy for the aging LGBT population.

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, Sept. 28

Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers to help pack safer sex kits for FUK!T from 7 to 9 p.m. at Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct., N.W.

Wednesday, Sept. 29

The cast of the play “Gay: Accept Me If You Love Me” will be holding a happy hour at Nellie’s Sports Bar, 900 U St., N.W., tonight from 6 to 11 p.m. Some of the cast members planning to appear include Timothy Adams, Matt Ward, international top model Edith Tapia and Patrick D. Smith. “Gay” will be in D.C. next summer. All beer sales will support the theater production. No cover charge. Visit facebook.com/spotlightcomunicaciones for more information.

Thursday, Sept. 30

The Spanish Wine Society’s Inaugural Fall Wine Tasting Event is tonight at Mio, 1110 Vermont Ave., N.W., in support of HIV/AIDS Prevention in the Latino/a Community. There will be five Spanish and Latin American white wines available for tasting as well as a tasting of some of Mio’s menu items. There will also be a raffle for tours and tastings at area vineyards. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online at cherryfund.org.

GLOE at the D.C. Jewish Community, 1529 16th St., N.W., is hosting a Queer Simchat Torah to mark the end and beginning o the annual Torah reading cycle. D.C. Minyan will be having its annual Simchat Torah service tonight at 7. After the service there will be food and dancing. The even costs $10. More information can be found at washingtondcjcc.org/gloe.

College Night at Apex, 1415 22nd St., N.W., is tonight. Free admission with a valid college ID and a $5 cover charge without one. DJ Randy will be in the main hall with VJ Frenchie at the Video Bar. Doors open at 9 p.m. There will be $4.50 rail drinks all night. Must be 18 to enter and 21 to drink.

Photos

PHOTOS: Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2025

Jason Elliott wins 40th annual competition

Published

19 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Michael Key

Jason Elliott, center, was named Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2025. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 40th annual Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather competition was held on Sunday, Jan. 12 at the Hyatt Regency Washington. The event was one of the highlights of 2025 Mid-Atlantic Leather Weekend. Eight competitors vied for the title of Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather 2025, with Jason Elliott named the winner.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

2025 Most Eligible LGBTQ Singles nominations

Published

23 hours ago

January 15, 2025

Staff reports

Are you or a friend looking to find a little love in 2025? We are looking for the most eligible LGBTQ singles in the Washington, D.C. region. Nominate you or your friends until January 26th using the form below or by clicking HERE.

Our most eligible singles will be announced online in February. View our 2024 singles HERE.

Theater

Two queer artists ready to debut new operas at Kennedy Center

Works by JL Marlor, Omar Najmi part of American Opera Initiative

Published

5 days ago

January 11, 2025

Patrick Folliard

JL Marlor (Photo by Sy Chounchaisit)

American Opera Initiative
Kennedy Center Terrace Theater
Jan. 18, 7 p.m. and 9 p.m.
$25.00 – $39.00
Kennedy-center.org

For those who find traditional opera off-putting or mired in the past, there’s the American Opera Initiative (AOI). Now in its 12th season, the Washington National Opera’s well-known program pairs composers and librettists who under mentorship spend months collaborating on new work, culminating with the premiere of three 20-minute operas.

Included in this year’s exciting group are queer artists JL Marlor and Omar Najmi. While these multi-taskers lend their composition talents to AOI, they are also performers and arts administrators. Marlor’s bio includes electric guitarist, and performer (she fronts the celebrated indie rock band Tenderheart Bitches), and Najmi divides most of his time writing music and performing as an operatic tenor.

Marlor and librettist Claire Fuyuko Bierman’s “Cry, Wolf” is a short yet probing opera about three males (a late teen and two college age) who are navigating some dark internet ideologies. The work explores how the red-pilled manosphere pipeline serves as spaces of community for some people.

“To me it’s a very timely piece inspired by an outlook that has consequences in the real world.” She adds, “We’ve heard a lot about how angry incels [involuntary celibates] think about women. I want to hear what incels think about themselves.”

While Marlor tends to gravitate toward more serious opera pieces, Fuyuko Bierman, whose background includes standup, tends toward humor.

“I think this work brought out the best in both of us. The libretto feels like a comedy until suddenly it doesn’t.”

Marlor was introduced to opera through osmosis. At her gay uncles’ house there was always music – usually Maria Callas or Beverly Sills. She appreciated grand opera but not with the same ardor of true buffs. But her relationship with opera changed dramatically while attending Smith College.

“I was lucky enough to have Kate Soper as my first composition teacher and saw her opera ‘Here Be Sirens’ as my first piece of modern opera. I was totally hooked.”

Originally from picturesque Beverly, Mass., Marlor now lives in Brooklyn with her partner and their very senior dog. For Marlor, coming out at 25 in 2017 wasn’t entirely smooth, but finding support among the many queer women in the world of classical music helped. And more recently, AOI has bolstered her confidence in continuing a career in the arts, she says.

Najmi and librettist Christine Evans’ opera is titled “Mud Girl.” Set against a post-apocalyptic, climate-affected world, it’s the story of a mother, daughter, and the daughter’s child Poly, created from toxic detritus, trying to navigate relationships.

“Most people go into opera without having had a ton of exposure. Often through musical theater or choir,” says Najmi, 37. In his case, he was pursuing a BFA in musical theater at Ithaca College. After an unanticipated internal transfer to the School of Music, where he transitioned from baritone to young gifted tenor, his interest veered toward opera.

While enjoying a performance career, he wrote his first opera on a whim. “And now,” he says “composition is my creative passion. Singing is more like a trade or sport. I love the action of doing it and practicing.”

In one of his recent operas, “Jo Dooba So Paar,” Najmi, who is half Pakistani American, draws specifically from personal experience, exploring how queer and Muslim don’t necessarily need to be conflicting identities. And while he grew up in liberal Boston in a secular environment, he still had insights into what it means to exist in two worlds. It’s a story he wanted to tell.

On a broader level, he says coming of age in the 1990s and aughts, on the cusp of homosexuality becoming normalized and accepted, created certain angsts. Today, his artist’s voice is drawn to the sentimentality that comes with unrequited longing.

What’s more, Najmi collaborates with his husband Brendon Shapiro. In 2022, the Boston-based couple co-founded Catalyst New Music, an organization dedicated to fostering, developing, and producing new works.

AOI’s three 20-minute operas will be led by conductor George Manahan and performed by Cafritz Young Artists on Jan. 18, at 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. in the Kennedy Center Terrace Theater.

Following their world premiere at the Kennedy Center, the three operas will travel to New York City in a co-presentation with the Kaufman Music Center. The Jan. 23 performance will mark AOI’s first appearance in New York City.