Arts & Entertainment
Arts briefs: March 18
Jackie Beat at Cobalt, queer prom, drag pageant and more
Jackie Beat
Jackie Beat at Cobalt tonight with two shows
Drag queen and celebrity entertainer Jackie Beat will have two performances at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) tonight.
First, at 9 p.m., Beat will be performing a dinner show downstairs at Level One. She’ll move upstairs at midnight for another show with DJ DeMarko.
Beat is the drag persona of Kent Fuher. She has appeared in many movies such as “Bam Bam and Celeste” and on television, including an episode of “Sex and the City.”
Beat also writes a weekly column, “Little Miss Know-It-All,” for FrontiersWeb.com, covering topics like Facebook, movie fashions and many others. The event will feature free vodka drinks will be available from 11 p.m. to midnight upstairs. DJ Keenan Orr will spin. Reservations for Beat’s dinner show can be made at opentable.com. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.
Capital Queer Prom to benefit Youth Pride Alliance
The fifth annual Capital Queer Prom is Saturday from 9 p.m. to midnight abroad the Spirit of Mount Vernon (600 Water St., S.W., Pier 4).
Queer Prom is a formal gala that gives LGBT men and women a second chance at their dream prom.
This year the celebration spans three days. There’s a pre-Prom maritime meet and greet tonight from 7:30 to 9 p.m. at The Reef (2446 18th St., N.W.) that will include complimentary wine, happy hour specials and music.
The celebration ends with a post-Prom drag brunch at Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.). The brunch includes an all-you-can-eat buffet, complimentary mimosas, drag queen performances and a special treat exclusively for prom guests. Every year, the prom benefits a local non-profit organization. This year it’ll benefit the Youth Pride Alliance, an organization in its 15th year dedicated to creating safe events and support for LGBT youth, including its annual Youth Pride Day, which is Apr. 30.
The Queer Prom is for ages 21 and older. Tickets to the prom and brunch are $95 each. Tickets are also available for the prom only and are $75 each. For more information on Queer Prom and to purchase tickets, visit capitalqueerprom.com.
Coti Collins (David Lowman) being crowned Miss Gay D.C. America last year. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Miss Gay Regional Pageant this weekend
The Miss Gay D.C. America 2011 regional pageant is Saturday at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.).
This is the 40th anniversary of the Miss Gay America pageant, the first female impersonator pageant.
Miss Gay honors regional pageants that stand out and the D.C. one has been honored as such. Since 2004, more than 50 local contestants have competed for the crown.
Pre-judging and evening gown starts at 5:45 p.m. and the pageant will begin at 6:45.
The winner will be crowned Miss Gay D.C. America 2011 and receive a prize package worth $4,025. The first alternate will received a prize package worth $2,000.
Last year, Coti Collins not only won Miss Gay D.C. America 2010, but went on to be crowned Miss Gay America 2011. Victoria DePaula, who won Miss Gay D.C. America in 2008, also went on to be crowned Miss Gay America 2009.
Special guests at this year’s pageant will include Collins and DePaula, as well as Jessica Jade, Miss Gay D.C. America 2009 and first runner-up for Miss Gay American 2010, Victoria Parker, Miss Gay D.C. America 2007, Ashley Bannks, Miss Gay D.C. America 2006, Catia Lee Love, Miss Gay America 2000, Miss Peaches, Miss Gay D.C. America 2005, Maxine Blue, Miss Gay D.C. America 1998 and Champagne Douglas, Miss Gay D.C. America 1990 and Miss Gay D.C. America 1991.
There will be a $10 cover. For more information, visit missgaydcamerica.com.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
HIV/AIDS group NMAC is ‘destabilized’ and in financial crisis: sources
Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
