Arts & Entertainment

‘Pop!’ goes the easel

Warhol Factory recreated in new Studio production

Published

15 years ago

July 21, 2011

‘Pop!’
Through Aug. 7
The Studio 2ndStage
1501 14th Street, NW
$38-$43
202-332-3300

There’s a happening on 14th Street. It has all the essential ‘60s elements: music, sex, drugs, counterculture sensibility, art, some dancing, and even a cast of Warhol superstars. But be warned — it’s a violent crime scene too.

The Studio 2ndStage’s summer show “Pop!” is a musical mystery that asks not so much who shot Andy Warhol (everyone knows it was radical feminist writer and hanger-on Valerie Solanos who pulled the trigger), but why? Was the non-lethal shooting a random act of craziness or did the seemingly soulless Warhol ask for it? In 90 fast-paced minutes of song, fun, and complaint, we’re asked to figure it out.

An Andy Warhol self portrait. The eccentric late gay artist is the subject of a current Studio Theatre production, ‘Pop!’ (Photo courtesy of the Andy Warhol Museum, Pittsburgh)

Action kicks off interactively, and getting seated is parted of the fun. On entering Studio Stage 4, theatergoers find a party already in progress filled with scenesters (costumed in bell bottoms, fringy vests and mod frocks by Ivania Stack) and a few artists in action. Here a woman paints the inside of a bathtub; across the room, a videographer films a young man in various states of undress. His image is projected largely on a back wall.

Set designer Giorgos Tsappas has morphed the black box venue into a slightly smaller version of Warhol’s legendary Factory (his silver-walled Manhattan studio/party space) with aluminum foil and varied touches of iconography including brightly labeled Brillo boxes and 15 outsized handgun silk screens.

Eventually the milling about ends, the stage lights come up and we meet the famously bewigged Warhol — played with marvelous languor by Tom Story. We learn he has blithely offered each of his minions an empty brown paper lunch bag in lieu of money or contracts (no wonder he was shot). And in response to that shooting, he utters an underwhelming “Ouch,” quickly setting the tone and introducing Warhol in all of his deadpan glory.

Sleuthing begins in earnest when the evening’s hostess — transsexual star Candy Darling (young actor Matthew Delorenzo) — assigns detective duties to Factory factotum Gerard Malanga (Luke Tudball) and opera-loving, speed freak Ondine (Sean-Maurice Lynch) who proceeds to snort up the chalk used to mark where Warhol’s injured body had fallen. While all and sundry are suspect, inspector magnifying glasses are trained on a trio of Factory ladies: beautiful heiress turned junkie, Edie Sedgewick (Marylee Adams); smart, sexy Viva (Deborah Lubega); and finally the fore-mentioned Valerie Solanas (Rachel Zampelli), the proud lesbian author of the SCUM (society for cutting up men) manifesto. Seems each has her reasons to resent Warhol, and all three are called on to express it rather formulaically in song.

The score (played by a terrific six-person band led by Christopher Youstra) makes reference to various musical genres — rock, Latin, vaudeville and Gospel. Highlights include a spot lit Candy Darling singing a lament to her fading star, and the madcap funeral sequence in which the cast dons outré clerical garb and sing long and loud about their injured leader. Even Mama Wahola (the artist’s original surname) makes the scene.

Then there’s “Big Gun,” a rousing disparagement of the male member sung by Solanas backed by Edie and Viva. But what’s missing from the score — considering many of the Factory girls and boys’ prodigious drug habits — is a musical paean to heroine or maybe a zippy patter song about methamphetamine.

Stylishly staged by Studio 2ndStage’s artistic director Keith Alan Barker, the production is a strong collaboration of designers and performers. They’ve recreated a feel for the Factory in a musical theater setting — not easy. But don’t come to “Pop!” expecting to find doppelgangers for coltish Edie, aquiline Viva, and pouty, floppy-haired Melanga, you won’t. Instead you will find an energized, diverse cast of talented actors working looks of their own.

After Warhol’s brush with death, the Factory changed. Things became less sloppy; security was upped — no longer were quirky nonentities allowed in from the street. Warhol changed too. He began to focus even more on making money and cultivated a different crowd, befriending tonier It girls like Bianca Jagger and Lee Radziwill.

We know who shot Andy Warhol. Why still remains a matter of opinion. Solonas the gatecrasher was nuts, but like most of Warhol’s real superstars, she also craved attention and may possibly have felt used by the man who ultimately and unwittingly gave them all fame. In some gray but mostly candy-colored bright tones, this “Pop!” makes revisiting the crime scene fun.

Related Topics:Andy Warhol Out & About pop Studio Theatre

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2 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

8 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Theater

National tour of ‘Gatsby’ comes to National Theatre

Out actor Edward Staudenmayer talks playing the show’s gangster

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Edward Staudenmayer plays Meyer Wolfsheim in ‘The Great Gatsby.’ (Photo courtesy National Theatre)

‘The Great Gatsby’
May 12-24
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$59-$196
Thenationaldc.com

Often dubbed “The Great American Novel” for its depiction of ambition and self-invention alongside the reversals of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” says it all in a fast read.

Set against the excesses and energy of the Roaring Twenties, “The Great Gatsby,” novel and now the same-titled hit Broadway musical with a jazz/pop original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, tells the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire intent on reuniting with ex-lover, Daisy Buchanan.

It was during a four-month 2025 run in Seoul, South Korea, that out actor Edward Staudenmayer first played the show’s heavy, Meyer Wolfsheim, a gangster who helped Gatsby make his murkily acquired fortune. As Meyer, Staudenmayer opens the second act with, appropriately enough, “Shady.”

Now three months into a year-long North American tour, the show is poised to enjoy a brief run at Washington’s National Theatre (5/12-5/24).

While putting on his eyeliner prior to a recent Wednesday matinee at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, the upstate New York-based actor shared about Gatsby and a life in theater.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Despite your good looks and terrific voice, you’re rarely the leading the man. How is that?

EDWARD STAUDENMAYER: I’m definitely a character man. I’ve been painting lines on my face to play old men since I was in high school. I was the youngest freshman in college playing old Uncle Sorin [in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”].

There have been many villains. Some darker than others. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very bad guy, but he doesn’t haunt me once I’m offstage. I play a lot of pickleball.

BLADE: Is it true that like so many of Fitzgerald’s characters, Wolfsheim is famously based on someone the writer encountered in life.

STAUDENMEYER: That’s true, Wolfsheim is pretty much a direct portrayal of real-life mobster and 1919 World Series fixer [Arnold Rothstein].

BLADE: When did the 1925 novel first surface on your radar?

STAUDENMAYER: Like many of us, I was assigned “The Great Gatsby” in high school. It was short, and filled with sex and illicit activities. I thought it was great. Definitely wasn’t a Judy Blume novel.

Interestingly, the book wasn’t originally a huge a success for Fitzgerald, but because it was about war and having the girl at home, they gave it to GIs leaving for WWII. After returning, a lot of those guys went on the GI Bill and became English teachers. They assigned the book to their students.

BLADE The idea that the book’s first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, is gay and enamored with Jay Gatsby is long discussed among readers and scholars. Does the musical touch on that?

STAUDENMAYER: Yes, there’s conjecture about Jay and Nick, and it’s implied in our show. It’s also implied about Jordan Baker, Jay’s fleeting romantic interest. Ultimately, she’s a confirmed bachelor, and a professional golfer who only wears pants.

Our performers are really good. Josh Grasso who plays Nick is fantastic. I’ve had to stop watching him in his last scene; it’s not good for Meyer Wolfsheim to take his curtain call crying. Our Gatsby, Jake David Smith, is good too. He’s gorgeous like Superman and sings like an angel.

BLADE: Do you ever imagine backstory for your characters whose sexuality is undefined?

STAUDENMAYER: I do, but not with Wolfsheim. I don’t see it. I’m trying to be as butch as possible with this ruthless killer.

BLADE: Have you had to do that in your career?

STAUDENMAYER: For a long time, I wore a mask to hide my gayness. I worked hard on being believable, that I was into the girl or that I was a tough guy.

It’s a different world now, and it’s so refreshing to be around the younger actors today; they’re remarkably open and comfortable.

BLADE: What was your coming of age like?

STAUDENMAYER: I played high school football in Palm Springs [he chuckles, alluding to the arid gay mecca], and I was pretty good too. But much to the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit the team to act in our senior year play. My super butch dad played semi-pro football and he was an ex-cop. I’m named after him. While I didn’t become my dad, I’ve played him often on stage. He was a true Gaston [the bumptious rival in “Beauty and the Beast”]. And like Gaston, he used antlers in all his interior decorating.

BLADE: Did he live to see your success in theater?

STAUDENMAYER: He did. Life was challenging growing up but the last 10 years of his life we couldn’t get off the phone with each other [his voice catches with emotion]. He accepted me entirely, and we became very close.

BLADE: Looking ahead, is there a part you’d especially like to play?

STAUDENMAYER: Like all baritones I’d love to play Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” I’ve come close but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s still time.