Arts & Entertainment

Looking ahead

A few events for your 2011 social calendar

Published

15 years ago

December 29, 2010

Plans are still being made but many of the region’s signature annual LGBT events have been penciled in for 2011, mostly — but not always — in their usual slots.

The biggest out-of-the-norm loop will be Reel Affirmations, Washington’s annual LGBT film festival which has moved from its usual October slot to April 28 to May 7 (2011).

The 20-year-old festival staged by the non-profit One in Ten has moved its screening marathon because the economic crash of 2008 and the resignation of its former director left it in the red after the 2009 event. Three films were shown in October but the main event was bumped to 2011.

One in Ten has monthly selections now at the D.C. JCC on 16th Street. Look for “The Secret Diaries of Miss Anne Lister” on Jan. 21, “Children of God” on Feb. 11 and “You Should Meet My Son” on March 11. Screenings are at 7 and 9:15 p.m. on those nights. Tickets are $12. Visit HYPERLINK “http://reelaffirmations.org/”reelaffirmations.org for details.

Phasefest, the indie music festival hosted each fall by lesbian bar Phase 1, will return with its fifth annual event. Founder Angela Lombardi starts making plans each year in January.

“I haven’t even started looking for headliners yet,” she says. “Basically I get through New Year’s and then start planning. I was just thinking today this is kind of my last week of not worrying about Phasefest. But we were really off the train last year with MEN headlining and I hope we have an even stronger year in 2011.

Phasefest runs from a Thursday to a Saturday in late September. The exact weekend hasn’t been selected.

Also usually in September is Ganymede’s GLBT Fall Arts Festival, though it wasn’t held per se this year and plans are still being decided for 2011. Ganymede had several strong productions this year — “Naked Boys Singing!,” “Falsettos,” “Edie Beale Live at Reno Sweeney” and several Galactica shows, but the organization has struggled financially.

Artistic Director Jeffrey Johnson says nothing for sure is planned.

“We have a lot to figure out,” he says. “Home, budget, etc., before we can announce anything.”

Capital Pride will be June 2 to 12 with all the usual events. No headliners have been announced yet. Latino Pride and Trans Pride usually plan their events to coincide with Capital Pride week.

D.C. Black Pride is usually the last weekend in May but no dates have been announced yet.

Another big event will likely be the 25th anniversary of Michael Kahn‘s spot as artistic director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company. Publicist Lindsay Mady says an anniversary season is planned but details haven’t been finalized. Look for more information in late January or early February.

Team DC holds its annual fashion show and model search on March 12 at Town and look for the return of Night Out at the Nationals in July.

Other annual staples are the AIDS Walk, a Whitman-Walker benefit (usually the first Saturday in October), the Human Rights Campaign national dinner (Oct. 1), the SMYAL Fall Brunch (usually a Sunday in late September), and the Victory Fund’s National Champagne Brunch on March 20, among others.

a&e features

Television loses a legend, longtime ‘Will & Grace’ director James Burrows

Iconic hitmaker leaves behind a legacy of telling LGBTQ stories

Published

19 hours ago

June 23, 2026

Christian Cintron

James Burrows (Photo by kathclick/Bigstock)

You don’t have to be a pretentious film major to name 10 movie directors. But naming television directors is not that simple. They’re the unsung heroes of your favorite shows, and the late James Burrows was the television director. He passed on June 19, but his DNA runs through television history.

He directed over 1200 episodes of television and over 50 pilots. He co-created “Cheers” and directed many episodes of long-running series like “Friends,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Two and a Half Men.” You also may remember him from playing a heightened version of himself on the Lisa Kudrow comedy “The Comeback.”

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He has left an indelible mark on the LGBTQ community. As recently as last year, he directed the series run of “Mid-Century Modern” starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Linda Lavin. He was also a longtime director of “Will & Grace” and directed every episode of the series revival. He even directed the unaired “Absolutely Fabulous” pilot with Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Johnston, and Zosia Mamet.

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Not to mention he’s worked with queer icons throughout history, including Betty White and Stockard Channing on their single-season series, and Jennifer Coolidge in “2 Broke Girls.”

He started his career on shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and the first four seasons of “Taxi.”

He continued to work steadily and directed successful pilots that went to series for “Roc,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “Wings.” He directed multiple episodes of “Friends,” “Caroline in the City,” and “Frasier.”

This magic continued into the 2000s with him directing the pilots for “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and multiple episodes of “Mike & Molly,” and the entire return series of “Will & Grace.”

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What was the secret to his success? He’d enact the “fun clause” in his contract. In his words, “Life is too short to deal with obnoxious leads,” he shared. “So as long as the writing is good and the cast is fun, I’m going to enjoy the experience.”

He had the magic touch, having multiple pilots turned into long-running series. He was nominated for an Emmy 24 times in 26 years and worked consistently until a year before his death.

The secret was the way he brought the cast together. He describes, “it was my job to mold them into an ensemble, and they did round into a group of people who loved each other.”

This earned him 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards, including being awarded the inaugural DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Television Direction.

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In a 2003 interview by the Television Academy, he was asked how he wants to be remembered, and he said, “That every night forever you can tune in somewhere, and there’ll be a show I did.”

He’s survived by his wife, Debbie, four daughters, seven grandchildren, and the countless people whose careers he launched and the countless viewers he inspired with his television legacy.