Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: March 18

Concerts, parties, galleries, meetings and more through March 24

Published

15 years ago

March 17, 2011

Feeling nasty? JR.'s and the Blade are sponsoring a post-concert party in honor of Janet Jackson. Join us Tuesday beginning at 9:30 p.m. at JR.'s for Janet music and videos and drink specials for those with ticket stubs from her concert that night. JR.'s is at 1519 17th St., N.W. (Photo courtesy of Live Nation)

Today

The Committee on the Judiciary will have its annual oversight hearing on the Metropolitan Police Department today at 10 a.m. Persons wishing to testify should contract Brian Moore at 202.724.7808 or [email protected].

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) is hosting its first open interest meeting for the 2012 Gay Men’s Heath Summit at 6 p.m. today. Different issues will be discussed from locational logistics to what the event will look like.

Ziegfeld’s (1824 Half St., S.W.) presents Miss Gay D.C. American review tonight with Coti Collins, Coco Montrese, Victoria DePaula, Catia Lee Love, Jessica Jade, Victoria Parker, Ashley Bannks, Gigi Couture and Monet Dupree. Doors open at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover until 10:30 and a $10 afterward.

Gay District presents St. Patty’s Gay Happy Hour tonight from 7 to 9:30 p.m. at Larry’s Lounge (1836 18th St., N.W.) Stay for an extended happy hour with a $4 donation to Gay District.

D.C. Women in Their Thirties will meet tonight at 8 p.m. at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.).

The New Gay presents Homo/Sonic at the Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) tonight from 9:30 p.m. to 3 a.m. with DJs Zack and Michael. This is an all ages party and there is a $10 cover.

Caliente Grande is tonight at Apex (1415 22nd St., N.W.) starting at 9 p.m. DJ Michael Brandon will be spinning the Latin dance party in the main hall. There is a $10 cover charge. Attendees must be 18 to enter, 21 to drink.

Saturday, March 19

The 12th annual Youth Law Fair, a joint effort of the D.C. Superior Court and the D.C. Bar, will focus on cyberbullying with a mock trial, youth speak out sessions and raffle giveways at the Moultrie Courthouse (500 Indiana Ave., N.W.) from 9 a.m. to 4 p.m. For more information, visit dcbar.org/youthlawfair. This is a free event.

La Clinica Del Pueble/Mpoderate! Youth Center will be working in partnership with HAHSTA to makeover the S.E. STD Clinic waiting room (1900 Massachusetts Ave., S.E., Bldg. 8) and will be holding a planning meeting today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.

Capital Queer Prom is tonight from 7 to 11:30 p.m. aboard the Spirit of Mount Vernon.

Mixtape D.C. is tonight the Rock & Roll Hotel (1353 H St., N.E.) from 10 p.m. to 2:30 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 $5 cover for this 21 and older event.

The Servicemembers Legal Defense Network’s 19th annual national dinner “Making History, Moving Forward” is tonight at the National Building Museum (401 F St., N.W.) The reception begins at 6:30 p.m. and dinner is at 7:30. MSNBC’s Chris Matthews is the master of ceremonies and Democratic Minority Whip, Rep. Steny Hoyer is the keynote speaker. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit sldn.org.

The Ladies of Lure present “Bare: Military Style” at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) tonight at 10 p.m. with DJs Rosie and Keenan to benefit SLDN. Cover is $5 before midnight. Attendees with a SLDN national dinner ticket will get in free.

Sunday, March 20

The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) will be showing the film “Fire,” the first Indian film to portray homosexual relations, today at 1:30 p.m. There will be an introduction and a post-screening question and answer with actresses Shabana Azmi and Nandita Das. This screening is part of maximum India. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.

Victory Fund is celebrating 20 years of success in growing the number of openly LGBT leaders in elected offices across the country with its National Champagne Brunch today from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Washington Hilton (1919 Connecticut Ave.). Congressman David Cicilline, Oregon Secretary of State Kate Brown and University of Michigan Student Assembly President Chris Armstrong will be present. This event will feature a silent auction. Individual tickets are $150. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit victoryfund.org.

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers are celebrating their 10th anniversary with a happy hour at Pinzimini Lounge at the Westin Arlington Gateway (801 N. Glebe Rd.) from 5 to 7 p.m.

Pocket Gays present “Shamerock Sunday School” tonight at Local 16 (1602 U St., N.W.) from 3 to 9 p.m. There is no cover.

More Light Presbyterians will host a special screening and discussion of the film “Bullied” today from 3 to 5 p.m. at the Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P St., N.W.) with special guests Diane Bruce, director of Health and Wellness and Andrew Barnett, the executive director of Sexual Minority Youth Action League (SMYAL).

Monday, March 21

WEAVE is holding a support group for survivors of intimate partner violence from 6:30 to 8 p.m. at the WEAVE Lighthouse Center for Healing (5321 First Place, N.E.).

Bears do Yoga at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court N.W.) tonight at 6:30 p.m. Class lasts for an hour and serves as an introduction to yoga for people of all different body types and physical abilities. It’s taught by Michael Brazell. For more information, visit dccenter.org.

Tuesday, March 22

The Gay and Lesbian Activists Alliance will be holding a membership meeting tonight from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Charles Sumner School Museum and Archive (1201 17th St., N.W.).

Janet Jackson’s Number Ones, Up Close and Personal World Tour comes to DAR Constitution Hall (1776 D St., N.W.) for the first of two concerts tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $98 to $149 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. The second concert is Thursday, also at 8 p.m.

Wednesday, March 23

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) will be holding volunteer training today at 6:30 p.m. Training is require for all new front desk volunteers and encourage for all current front desk volunteers. Other volunteers are also welcome to attend.

Rock & Roll Hotel’s (1353 H St., N.E.) WTF Wednesdays presents “Freaks and Geeks” tonight. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins at 7:30. Three 50-minute episodes will be shown on the big screen. There’s limited seating and attendees are welcome to bring their own seats. This is a free, 21-and-older event.

Thursday, March 24

Dance Gavin Dance will be performing at Rams Head Live (20 Market Place) in Baltimore with Iwrestledabearonce, In Fear and Faith, Close to Home, Just like Vinyl and DJ Big Chocolate tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at ramsheadlive.com. This is an all-ages show.

E-mail calendar items to [email protected] two weeks prior to your event. Space is limited so priority is given to LGBT-specific events or general events with LGBT participants. D.C.-area only.

Photos

PHOTOS: Denali at Pitchers

‘Drag Race’ alum performs at Thirst Trap

Published

3 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Michael Key

Denali performs at the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show at Pitchers DC on April 9. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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’

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Last year, Baltimore Center Stage refused to give up its DEI focus in the face of losing federal funding. They've tripled down. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz of the Baltimore Banner)

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.

Books

Susan Lucci on love, loss, and ‘All My Children’

New book chronicles life of iconic soap star

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Blackstone Publishing)

‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages

They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.

You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.

When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.

Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.

That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”

She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.

Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.

She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.

And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.

And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”

“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.

If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.

These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.

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