Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Jan. 21
Parties, movies and events through Jan. 27
Lace Lounge has a "Social Climax" party Friday night. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Friday, Jan. 21
Chely Wright will be at the Birchmere (3701 Mt. Vernon Ave.) in Alexandria, Va., tonight at 7:30 p.m. with special guest, Deep River. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at birchmere.com.
Gross National Product returns with “The Sound of Palin” at Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H St., N.E.) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $10 to $20 and can be purchased at atlas arts.org.
Apex (1415 22nd St., N.W.) presents Caliente Grande with DJ Michael Brandon in the main hall. Jamaica and Friends will perform in a drag show at midnight. Drink specials include $4 margaritas. Attendees must be 18 to enter and there is a $10 cover. For more information, visit apex-dc.com or calientedc.com.
Enigma, a monthly substance-free, no-alcohol party, is tonight at the Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. on the second floor with a separate entrance and a security guard working the door to make sure no one with drinks from downstairs comes up. Cover is $5 and all are welcomed.
Lace Lounge (2214 Rhode Island Ave., N.E.) presents Social Climax from 10 p.m. to 3 a.m. with free drinks before 11:30 p.m. Attendees must be 21 or older and there is a $10 cover. For more information, visit lacedc.com.
Metropolitan Community Church of Washington’s fundraising team is hosting a bingo night tonight at 7 p.m. at the church (474 Ridge St., N.W.). The evening begins with four early bird games which costs $2 for four cards or $3 for eight cards. This is followed by 17 regular and special games which are packaged for as low as $25. There will be homemade refreshments available.
Saturday, Jan. 22
Merrifield Garden Center is returning with its free gardening, landscaping and now cooking seminars today at 10 a.m. Next to the Merrifield location, in the Merrifield Community Hall (8104 Lee Highway), Vivian Mitchell, a tropical plant specialist, will be teaching about easy-to-grow houseplants. Jonathan Kavalier, a horticulturist with the Smithsonian Institution, will be at the Fair Oaks location (12101 Lee Highway) in Fairfax teaching how to grow orchids. Lilienne Conklin, a chef, will be teaching about cooking with line at the Gainesville location (6895 Wellington Rd.). Registration is not required for any of the seminars, but Merrifield asks attendees of the wine seminar to register online at merrifieldgardencenter.com.
Mixtape D.C. is tonight at DC9 (1940 9th St., N.W.) from 10 p.m. to 3:00 a.m. Mixtape is a dance party for queer music lovers and their pals that features DJs Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer playing an eclectic mix of electro, alt-pop, indie rock, house, disco, new wave and anything else danceable. $5 cover for 21 and over.
Chantry, a classical vocal group, presents “Three Kings: Masterpieces for the Magi” tonight at 8 p.m. at St. Mary Mother of God (727 5th St., N.W.).
DJ Brett Henrichsen will be at Town (2009) tonight at 10 p.m. with music and video downstairs by Wess. The drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Cover is $8 before 11 p.m. and $12 after. Attendees must be 21 or older.
Starting tonight, every fourth Saturday of the month, Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) is hosting Jocks vs. Jocks from 10 p.m. to 2 a.m. Cover is $5 if wearing sports attire, $7 if not. There’s a trophy and cash prizes for the winning team.
Sunday, Jan. 23
The Shakespeare Theatre Company presents “Cymbeline,” directed by Rebecca Bayla Taichman, tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Lansburgh Theatre (450 7th St., N.W.). Tickets range from $37 to $70 and can be purchased online at shakespearetheatre.org. Before the performance, there will be a “Windows Discussion,” which offers an introduction and a talk about the show moderated by literary manager, Akiva Fox. The discussion is at 5 p.m. in the Sidney Harman Hall (610 F. St., N.W.) and is free to the public.
Camp Rehoboth Chorus presents “Strike Up the Band” today with two performances, one at 3 p.m. and another at 7. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased by calling 302-227-5620.
Burgundy Crescent Volunteers is holding a karaoke social tonight at 6:30 p.m. at Banana Café (500 8th St., S.E.) in the upstairs piano bar.
Monday, Jan. 24
SAGE Metro D.C. will be holding its monthly meeting tonight at 6:30 p.m. at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.).
Tuesday, Jan. 25
Synetic opens its limited engagement presentation of “A Midsummer Night’s Dream” at 8 p.m. at Crystal City (1800 South Bell St.) in Arlington.
Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) will be have a watch party for President Obama’s State of the Union address tonight at 7 p.m. with the usual drag bingo and “Glee” watch party at 8 p.m.
Busboys and Poets (2021 14th St., N.W.) hosts an open mic poetry night tonight from 9 to 11 p.m. featuring SMYTE-IX and hosed by Jenny Lares. This event is $4 and wristbands will be sold in the bookstore beginning at 10 a.m.
Wednesday, Jan. 26
Whitman-Walker will have HIV testing today from 9 a.m. to 6 p.m. at the Elizabeth Taylor Medical Center (1701 14th St., N.W.) and from 9 a.m. to 4:30 p.m. at the Max Robinson center (2301 Martin luther King Jr., Ave., S.E.).
Thursday, Jan. 27
Lambda Sci-Fi will have its book discussion group meeting tonight at 7 p.m. at 1425 S St., N.W. This month’s book is “The Steel Remains” by Richard K. Morgan. Call James at 202-232-3141 or e-mail to [email protected] to RSVP. For more information, visit the group’s website, lambdascifi.org.
Put On the Gloves, an organization to help fight against bullying, is hosting a fashion show at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight from 7 to 9:30 p.m. The show will be hosted by celebrity stylist and author Phillip Block and Will Thomas of Fox 5 with a special performance by Mya. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased online at putonthegloves.com. Proceeds will benefit the Trevor Project.
Mautner Project presents a yoga wellness workshop tonight from 6 to 7:30 p.m. at 1875 Connecticut Ave., N.W. on the seventh floor with Danielle Polen from Tranquil Space. The workshop is free.
Photos
PHOTOS: Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary
D.C. LGBTQ political group celebrates milestone at Pepco Edison Place Gallery
The Capital Stonewall Democrats held a 50th anniversary celebration at Pepco Edison Place Gallery on Friday. Rayceen Pendarvis served as the emcee.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Theater
‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think
Holly Twyford on new role and importance of listening to different opinions
‘Inherit the Wind’
Through April 5
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $73
Arenastage.org
When “Inherit the Wind” premiered on Broadway in 1955 with a cast of 50, its fictional setting of Hillsboro, an obscure country town described as the buckle on the Bible Belt, was filled with townspeople. And now at Arena Stage, director Ryan Guzzo Purcell has somehow crowded Arena’s large Fichandler space with just 10 actors, five principals and a delightful ensemble of five playing multiple roles.
Inspired by the real-life Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s fictionalized work pits intellectual freedom against McCarthyism via the imagined trial of Bertram Cates (Noah Plomgren), a Tennessee educator charged with teaching evolution. Drawn into the fracas are big shot lawyers, defense attorney Henry Drummond (Billy Eugene Jones), and conservative prosecutor, Matthew Harrison Brady (Dakin Matthew). On hand to cover the closely watched story is wisecracking city slicker and Baltimore reporter E.K. Horneck (played by nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan).
Out actor Holly Twyford, a four-time Helen Hayes Award winner who has appeared in more than 80 Washington area plays, is part of the ensemble. In jeans and boots, she memorably plays Meeker, the bailiff at the Hillsboro courthouse and the jailer responsible for holding Cates in the days leading to his trial.
Twyford also plays Sillers, a slack jawed earnest employee at the local feed store who’s called to serve on the jury. And more importantly she plays Brady’s quietly strong wife Sarah whom he affectionately calls “Mother.”
When Twyford makes her memorable first entrance as Meeker, she’s wiping shaving cream from her face with a hand towel. With shades of Mayberry R.F.D., the jail is run casually. Meeker says Cates isn’t the criminal type, and he’s not.
“There’s a joke among actors,” says Twyford. “When an actor gets his shoes, they know who their character is. And it’s sort of true. When you put on boots, heels, or flip flops, there’s a different feeling, and you walk differently.”
Similarly, shares Twyford, it goes for clothes too: “When Mother slips a pink coat dress over her cowboy boots, dons a little hat and ties her scarf, or Meeker puts on his work shirt, I know where I am. And all of that is thanks to a remarkable wardrobe crew.
“Additionally, some of the ensemble characters are played broadly which is helpful to the actors and super identifying for the audience too.”
During intermission, an audience member loudly described the production as “a proper play” filled with beautifully written passages. And it’s true. Twyford agrees, adding “That’s all true, and it’s also been was fun for us to be a part of the Arena legacy as well. Arena took ‘Inherit the Wind’ to the Soviet Union in the early ‘70s when the respective governments did a cultural exchange. At the time, the iron curtain was very much in place, and they traveled with a play about a man with his own thoughts.”
When the ensemble was cast, actors didn’t know which tracts exactly they were going to play. “What came together was a cast, diverse in different ways. Some directors, including myself when I direct, are interested in assembling a cast that’s a good group. No time for egos. It’s more about who will make the best group to help me tell this story.”
At one point during rehearsal, ensemble members began to help one another with minor onstage costume changes, like jackets and hats: “We just started doing it and Ryan [Guzzo Purcell] picked up on it, saying things really began to come alive when we helped each other, so we went with that.”
“For me, it was reminiscent of ‘The Laramie Project’ [Ford’s Theatre in 2013] when we played five different parts and we’d help each other with a vest or jacket in a similar way. It worked so well then too,” says Twyford.
“Inherit the Wind” isn’t about science versus religion. It’s about the right to think, playwright Jerome Lawrrence has been quoted as saying. And it’s a quote that makes the play that much more relevant today.
Twford remembers a chat in a hair salon: “I was getting my hair cut and the woman next to me shared that she was tired of message plays. Understandably there are theater makers who believe that message plays are the point, while others think it’s all about entertainment. I feel like ‘Inherit the Wind’ sits in a nice place in the middle.”
She adds “the work is a creative way of showing different opinions and that, I think, is what we should be paying attention to right now. Clearly, it’s not right or wrong to express what you think.”
Out & About
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
‘Living History’ discussion to be held at Spark Social
Friends of Dorothy Cafe will host “Part One, Living History: How We Survived,” will take place on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Spark Social House.
This event will be moderated by Abby Stuckrath, host of the “Queering the District” podcast. Panelists include: Earline Budd, activist, trans rights advocate; TJ Flavell of Go Gay DC; DC LGBTQ+ Center Board Member David Bissette; and Alexa Rodriguez, founder and executive director, Trans-Latinx DMV.
This event is part of a four-part storytelling series called “Living History,” which centers LGBTQ elders, activists, artists, and icons sharing their lived experiences and reflections with younger generations. The conversations explore themes like resilience, community organizing, chosen family, and the lessons earlier generations hope today’s LGBTQ+ and ally communities will carry forward.
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