Arts & Entertainment
Cabaret explores D.C. intern life
‘Two Guys’ returns to Black Fox with new storyline
Mikey Cafarelli (left) and Paul Scanlan in ‘Two Guys Become Interns,’ a gay-penned cabaret act at Black Fox. (Photo by Mark Braswell)
The cabaret show “Two Guys,” which premiered at Black Fox Lounge in June, is back but in a substantially different incarnation. Conceived as a musical revue, it now has a storyline and new players.
Gay composer/playwright Mark Braswell, a local attorney by day, came up with the premise while observing interns at his own federal office.
“I just realized it’s kind of a Washington institution,” he says. “It’s filled with potential humor and I don’t think that anyone has ever written about it.”
Going by their own first names in the show, local actors Mikey Cafarelli and Paul Scanlan, both straight, play interns who swap war stories at a bar. One is interning at the White House, the other on the Hill. The show is fleshed out with Braswell’s original compositions, which he began in 1995. Braswell saw Scanlan at a Signature Theatre open house this summer and offered him the part. The two actors are friends so once cast, Scanlan brought Cafarelli onboard.
“His songs, especially his ballads, are really heartfelt and come from a real place,” Cafarelli says. “And the more up-tempo ones are fun and light and provide good contrast to the more dramatic material. I think it’s pretty good musical theater.”
Pianist Jason Solounias will accompany. Braswell is self-financing the production and also directing. He’s also written several musicals that have been produced both here and in other cities such as “Love Notes,” “Private Love Notes,” “That Funny Kind of Feeling” and “Paying the Price.”
Braswell, 53, says his day job has given him the means to pursue his creative side in his spare time.
“People say all the time, ‘How do you have time for this,’” he says. “I just say, ‘While you’re out on the golf course or playing bridge, I’m writing musicals.’”
He enjoys theater and cabaret for its chance to gauge immediate reactions.
“It’s live and immediate and I guess if I were to write a short story or something like that instead, then I’m not around to see the impact of how it unfolds. Plus live theater is a little different every night. … There’s a closeness and a warmth that everybody seems to enjoy so much.”
Songs include some, such as “Before Tomorrow,” that the composer has used in other productions. Others are new and were written to propel the “Interns” storyline.
For more information or to reserve tickets, go to truenote.com.
BOX INFO:
‘Two Guys Become Interns’
Black Fox Lounge
1723 Conn. Ave., N.W.
Monday at 8 p.m. and the following three Mondays as well (Sept. 26, Oct. 3 and Oct. 10)
$15 in advance; $20 at door; $10 for interns
truenote.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.
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Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
