Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Feb. 18
Events, parties, concerts and more through Feb. 24
‘Green Bridesmaid Chair’ by John D'Orazio is part of a series of works featuring found or donated chairs wrapped with colored industrial wire. It is part of the exhibit, ‘Listen to Me’ exhibit on display now at Zenith Gallery.
Friday, Feb. 18
Apex (1415 22nd St., N.W.) presents Caliente Grande with DJ Michael Brandon in the main hall. Jamaica and Friends will perform 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.
The D.C. Queer Writers Collective is holding its monthly writing circle tonight from 7 to 9 p.m. at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.).
Trade and Ivan’s Holiday Weekend Party is tonight from 11 p.m. to 3 a.m. at Layla Lounge (501 Mores St., N.E.). There is a $5 cover before midnight at $10 after. All attendees must be 21 or older. For more information, visit trade202.com.
DJ Wesley D will be providing music and videos tonight in Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) new dining room bar starting at 7 p.m.
Enigma, a monthly substance-free, no-alcohol party, is tonight at 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.
D.C. Women in Their Thirties will meet tonight at 8 p.m. at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.).
Saturday, Feb. 19
DJ Chris Cox will be providing the music tonight at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) for its annual Mardi Gras Party. Doors open at 10 p.m. with music and video downstairs by Wess. Drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Cover is $8 before 11 p.m. and $12 after. Attendees must be 21 or older.
Ultrabar (911 F St., N.W.) hosts Ladies Night: Glow in the Dark Edition tonight from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. Ladies 21 and over can get a free shot at the bar at midnight when the song “Shots” by LMFAO is played. There will also be an open bar on the main floor from 9 to 10 p.m.
Mixtape D.C. is tonight Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) from 9:30 p.m. to 2 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. There is a $7 cover for this all ages event.
Team D.C. is hosting its first casino night tonight from 9 p.m. to midnight at Buffalo Billards (1330 19th St., N.W.). Games will include blackjack, poker, billiards and more. The event will also be co-hosted by D.C. Ice Breakers, Federal Triangles Soccer Club, the D.C. Gay Flag Football League, the Wetskins, the D.C. Strokes, the CARA bowling league and the D.C. Aquatics Club. Prizes, including a two-night stay at Intercontinental Barclay NYC during Pride weekend with theater tickets to “Priscilla Queen of the Desert,” will be awarded.
Sunday, Feb. 20
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) introduces its new “Make Out Room” tonight as part of WTF with music by Ryan Duncan from Pink Sock and Bill Todd from Raw. Doors open at 10 p.m. Cover is $5 and all attendees must be 18 or older.
The D.C. Jazz Jam, a weekly jam free for both musicians and jazz lovers, is tonight from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Dahlak (1771 U St., N.W.).
Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) brings “The Brother/Sister” trilogy to a close with “Marcus; Or the Secret of Sweet” by Tarell Alvin McCraney in two final performances today at 2 and 7 p.m. Tickets range from $46 to $57 for the 2 p.m. performance and $57 to $65 for the 7 p.m. performance. For more information and to purchase tickets, studiotheatre.org.
Monday, Feb. 21
The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) presents National Presidents Day Choral Festival today in the Concert Hall at 2 p.m. The program will feature Barber’s “Adagio for Strings,” a series of Aaron Copland’s work and “Memorial,” written by Rene Clausen in remembrance of the 9-11 attacks. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.
Zenith Gallery presents “Listen to Me,” sculpture and paintings by Joel D’Orazio, a former architect. D’Orazio uses found objects and industrial materials to create his art. The show is at The Gallery (1111 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.), which is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m. The exhibit will be on display through May 13.
Tuesday, Feb. 22
Women over Forty will meet tonight from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.).
The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance is having its membership meeting tonight from 7 to 8:30 p.m. at the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archive (1201 17th St., N.W.).
Wednesday, Feb. 23
Secrets (1824 Half St., S.W.) is holdings its monthly amateur dance contest tonight beginning at 11 p.m. Contests must sign up at the main bar between 10 and 10:45 p.m.
Higher Achievement D.C. Metro presents its sixth annual Literary Love Poetry Performance tonight at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center’s Family Theater (2700 F St., N.W.). This is a free event. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org.
The Cultural Competency Action Team will be holding a conference call today with youth speakers Carlos and Antonio sharing their experiences about coming out as youth of color from 2:30 to 4:30 p.m. To participate, call 1-800-503-2899 and use I.D. 1599272#.
The D.C. Log Cabin Republicans will hosting its first February general meeting tonight from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the Camden Roosevelt (2101 16th St., N.W.) with a viewing of a film on the Log Cabin v. U.S. lawsuit on “Don’t Ask, Don’t Tell” featuring a representative from the law firm representing Log Cabin in the suit. For more information, visit dclogcabin.org.
Thursday, Feb. 24
“The Monster Ball Tour” starring Lady Gaga returns to the Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) tonight featuring Semi Precious Weapons. Doors open at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $52.50 to $178 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.
The Duke Ellington School of the Arts presents Earth, Wind & Fire in a gala benefit concert celebrating the school’s 40th anniversary at 7:30 p.m. in the Kennedy Center’s Concert Hall (2700 F St., N.W.). Tickets range from $50 to $175 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.
Celebrity News
D.C. goes gaga for Gaga
Bisexual icon brought ‘The Mayhem Ball’ tour to Washington this week
Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.
The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.
“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.
“You are precious to us,” she said on Tuesday night before she performed “Born This Way.”
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.”
DeSantis signs emergency bill that restores Fla. ADAP funding
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Trans-led HIV clinic in Portsmouth struggles amid funding cuts
D.C. goes gaga for Gaga
Gay priest credited with boosting church support for LGBTQ Catholics
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
Calendar: March 21-26
PHOTOS: Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary
‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think
