Arts & Entertainment
Local events in brief
Gay Men’s Chorus concert opens next weekend, Georgetown Jingle and more
Gay Men’s Chorus plans ‘Nutcracker’ holiday show
The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington begins its 30th anniversary season with its holiday production “Men in Tights: A Pink Nutcracker” on Dec. 17 at 8 p.m. at the Lisner Auditorium at George Washington University (730 21st St., N.W.).
“This year’s holiday extravaganza begins with glorious choral music performed by over 200 singers filling the stage and for the first time in GMCW history we are bringing in an organ of grand proportions for an even more majestic sound,” says Jeff Buhrman, artistic director, in a press release.
The second half of the performance is the chorus’s take on the Nutcracker suite, opening with a holiday party in which the two principal dancers meet and fall in love.
Tickets range from $20 to $50 and can be purchased at gmcw.org or at the door.
Other performances will be Dec. 18 at 3 and 8 p.m. and Dec. 19 at 3 p.m. with ASL interpretation. Look in next week’s edition for more information about this show.
Singer Pamala Stanley plans two weekend performances
Pamala Stanley will be in town this weekend performing at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) and as part of Georgetown Jingle.
Stanley, who often performs at Blue Moon in Rehoboth, is coming back to Cobalt for a performance Saturday at 9 p.m.
Stanley will also be the main entertainment at Georgetown Jingle Sunday night. The event starts at 5 p.m. and goes until 8 at the Four Seasons Hotel Washington (2800 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.).
Created by the Four Seasons Hotel Washington, JDS Designs, Inc., the Washington Design Center and the Georgetown BID, the Georgetown Jingle is an event to celebrate fashions of the holiday season and support families battling cancer.
Funds raised will benefit Georgetown University Hospital and their Pediatric Hematology, Oncology, Blood and Marrow Transplantation Program as well as their Childhood Cancer Survivorship Program.
Proud Bookstore hosts book signing
On Saturday, the Proud Bookstore on Baltimore Avenue in Rehoboth, Del., will have five authors signing books from 3 to 5 p.m.
Three of the authors, Renee Bess, Lisa Gitlin and Sheri Reynolds will be visiting the bookstore for the first time.
Reynolds latest book, “The Sweet In-Between,” is about a gender-confused teenage girl whose mother is dead and father is in jail, growing up a Virginia tidewater town. She also authored “The Rapture of Caanan,” an Oprah Book Club selection and “New York Times” bestseller.
Gitlin’s debut novel, “I Came Out for This?” is a comic coming out tale written like a journal. It was published by Bywater Books.
Bess, whose latest book is “The Butterfly Moments” from Regal Crest publishers, writes about African-American lesbians. Moments is about a Philadelphia parole officer with a homophobic daughter who is given the task of supervising a “renegade” probation and parole officer.
Also appearing at the signing will be Stefani Deoul and Fay Jacobs from Rehoboth.
Jacobs will be reading from her newest book “For Frying Out Loud,” a collection of her latest columns plus some new, never-before-published material.
Deoul will be reading from “The Carousel,” about a woman who stops in a small northeast town to refuel and notices a pile of discarded carousel horses, bringing gossip, mystery and a restorative journey for the horses, the townspeople and herself.
The fourth annual Equality Prince William Pride was held at the Harris Pavilion in Manassas, Va. on Saturday, May 17.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The Washington Blade held its 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach, Del., on Friday, May 16. Delaware Gov. Matt Meyer spoke along with State Sen. Russ Huxtable, CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey, Blade Editor Kevin Naff, and Clear Space Theatre Managing Director Joe Gfaller. The event raises funds for the Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which was awarded to AU student Abigail Hatting.
(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)
In some fowl fiction foreshadowing, a gay-owned chicken joint has come home to roost on U Street, taking a page from the chicken window subplot on the HBO show “Looking.”
Last Friday, Lucky Pollo – much more than just a takeout window – stretched its wings atop the busy nightlife corner of 14th and U Streets NW.
Behind the poultry production place is Zach Renovátes, a D.C.-based nightlife operator and managing partner of LGBTQ venues Bunker and District Eagle, as well as the LGBTQ event production company KINETIC Presents.
Renovátes opened Bunker in February 2023 and District Eagle in January of this year. Lucky Pollo is the third in his growing gay empire, though this time there are noshes.
“Lucky Pollo was meant to be fun and a little provocative,” Renovátes said.
Based around its Peruvian-style rotisserie chicken, Lucky Pollo is a quick-service restaurant boasting a small menu of poultry and sides. Renovátes says that the dishes are deeply rooted in Peruvian culinary tradition, “a playful experience alongside seriously good food.”
Lucky Pollo’s signature chicken is steeped in a dozen-plus-spice marinade for 24 hours. The meat is then slow-roasted, rotisserie-style, over oak-wood charcoal. Chicken options include quarter, half, and whole.
Helming the kitchen at Lucky Pollo is Chef Luis Herrera, who brings Peruvian recipes passed down through three generations, including his grandmother Laura’s original creations.
Beyond the full bird, the menu features Peruvian-inspired sides like yuca fries (“I personally love these,” says Renovátes) and fried plantains, as well as comfort classics such as mac and cheese and mashed potatoes, and bowls, wraps, and salads. Herrera oversees development of the multiple sauces (including staff favorite, the “secret green sauce”), crafted in-house using traditional Peruvian ingredients.
Lucky Pollo, in its streetside perch, is an independent concept from District Eagle, open to the public and staying open late (3 a.m. on weekends) to serve both nightlife guests and the wider U Street crowd hungry for late-night bites. However, just beyond the kitchen, tucked in the back lies a vintage 1950s candy machine—labeled “Out of Order,” which serves as the door leading to subterranean District Eagle.
Renovátes notes that when District Eagle is open, security staff will maintain a strict two-line policy, ensuring that those seeking meat to eat will not get entwined with those looking to gain access to District Eagle.
Lucky Pollo unites the need for sustenance with the idea of a bit of fortune, given its motto, “Get Lucky” and the whimsical brand mascot: a leather-booted chicken perched on a horseshoe. Renovátes and his District Eagle business partner had always been interested in opening a restaurant, and the Lucky Pollo space was indeed lucky: It already came with a functional kitchen. Plus, he says, the nearby fast-casual places around 14th and U streets “don’t offer a lot of quality options,” so opening the chicken spot “was a no-brainer.”
The space, designed by NYC creative Jasin Cadic, blends theatrical street-art-style vibes with Keith Haring-inspired wall prints, neon signs, and ceiling-hung chicken figurines —”some edgy, some sweet,” says Renovátes —creating an immersive, playful atmosphere. Lucky Pollo and District Eagle maintain separate amenities for their respective customers.
Lucky Pollo opened last week with a competition to devour a whole rotisserie chicken in the fastest time, with the winner earning $1,000 and a framed spot on the restaurant’s “Wall of Fame.” The opening also featured other games and prizes, and a full crowd spilling out the door.
“We want it to be a great place to eat, but also serve as a playful front for something completely unexpected.” Renovátes says.
On weekends especially, he jokes, the motto will be, ‘Come for the chicken, stay for the cock.’”
Let love and compassion guide our response to Joe Biden’s cancer diagnosis
D.C. Black Pride 2025: Events, parties, and empowerment
Cuban lawmakers to consider simplifying process for trans people to change IDs
Frank Kameny’s legacy lives on
