Arts & Entertainment
One final theatrical prank
Cherry Red closes shop this weekend with raunch-fest ‘The Aristocrats’

‘The Aristocrats’
Sat at 8:30 and 11 p.m.
Cherry Red Productions
Warehouse Theater
645 New York Ave N.W.
$30

Ian Allen, Cherry Red’s artistic director. He lives in New York but has continued working in Washington. (Photo by Isabel Sinistore; courtesy of Cherry Red)
After 16 years of making D.C. audiences laugh, wince and gag, Cherry Red Productions is calling it quits. Since its creation, the company has attracted a loyal following who appreciate an insane sensibility, late night performances and small venues (sometimes bars). For those reasons, and a vacillating oeuvre of dark and light plays with titles like “Thumbsucker” and “Cannibal Cheerleaders on Crack,” Cherry Red will be sorely missed.
“We knew that we couldn’t go on forever,” says Ian Allen, Cherry Red’s artistic director. “And now that we’re ending, we’re presented with the opportunity to go out on an unmistakable Cherry Red high. Of course that’s something we’d never pass up. It’s going to be awkward, insane and fun.”
The smutty swan song to which Allen alludes is titled “The Aristocrats.” Inspired by a joke about a showbiz family whose act includes incest, bestiality and murder, the play — written and directed by Allen (who’s gay) and longtime company member Kate Debelack — is rumored to truly go there. Unlike Paul Provenza’s same-titled 2005 documentary, which features comedians telling their own versions of the joke, Cherry Red’s interpretation calls for 40 of the company’s alumni to reenact the filthy gag onstage.
There will be no holding back, promises Allen. Cherry Red’s design teams and actors have developed a lot of skills over time. Past productions have required staging insane violence including scalping, projectile body fluids and all sorts of sex acts. No doubt, there’ll be lots of that. Also, Cherry Red’s website offers a sneak peek featuring an actor igniting a part of his anatomy that is ordinarily kept under wraps. If this is an indication of what’s in store, Cherry Red may be reaching new heights of raunchiness.
After less than two days of rehearsal, “The Aristocrats” will play for one night only (two performances) on Saturday at the Warehouse Theater. Proceeds benefit District of Columbia Arts Center (DCAC), a nonprofit organization that proved instrumental in the company’s early development.
“Cherry Red’s demise is bittersweet,” says Debelack who also teaches acting at Studio Theatre. “Honestly, there’s not a lot left for us to do, but I’ll still miss it. Collaborating on this final project with Ian has been so much fun. Where else will I be able to come up with so much ridiculousness and actually put it onstage?”
She credits the company with allowing her to let go and be bold onstage. And whether attacking a zombie cat or leading a bevy of mean teens in “Worm Girl” (one of my favorites), she has always taken her Cherry Red work seriously.
Cherry Red, says Allen, has always produced shows that speak first to the body and then to the mind. The goal is to elicit an immediate response: sexual arousal, disgust or fear. What’s unique about theater is that it’s always present; it can actually threaten audience members. Allen seamlessly references an example: “When we were doing ‘Dingleberries,’ it called for the actors to eat pooh. From the audience you could smell that it was chocolate — Snickers bars dipped in pudding to be exact — but the impression was still too much for some people and sent them running from the theater.”
“Cherry Red has never been anyone’s day job,” Allen says. “But our company members have always been a combination of experience and enthusiastic youth. We’ve lasted by the sheer indecent determination on the part of many people and now we’re done.”
Eight years ago Allen moved from Washington to New York where he is marketing director for the MCC Theater in the West Village. Since then he has happily made the trip south now and then to work on Cherry Red productions. Despite the company’s closing, Allen hopes to continue to be involved in interesting local projects.
“After all,” he says, “D.C. is where my friends are.”
Books
A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat
New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages
Happy is the bride the sun shines on.
Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.
He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.
He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.
But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.
Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.
Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.
What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.
In short, this book is quite stunning.
Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.
If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

















Music & Concerts
Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’
Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co.
Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.
For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.
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