Arts & Entertainment

Strongly brewed ‘Tea’

Black gay performance piece gives author one-man tour de force

Published

15 years ago

September 22, 2011

Patrick Folliard

‘Sweet Tea’
Through Oct. 9
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington
703-820-9771
signature-theatre.org

E. Patrick Johnson in ‘Sweet Tea,’ a pastiche-based performance piece on stage now at Signature. (Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy Signature)

As a chubby little gay boy growing up in Hickory, N.C., E. Patrick Johnson staved off bullies by making them laugh. His specialty was imitations. The moment would-be tormentors planned to attack, Johnson typically averted imminent pain by breaking into an uncanny impersonation of a less-than-loved teacher.

Today Johnson, a performance artist and professor of performance studies and African-American studies at Northwestern University in Chicago, is neither class clown nor chubby, but mimicry remains an integral part of his skill set. In his one-person performance piece “Sweet Tea” — now in production at Signature Theatre — Johnson portrays himself as well as a dozen other gay black characters drawn from real life interview subjects. With names like Countess Vivian, Chaz/Chastity and D.C., the men Johnson brings to life are a part of the South that sometimes goes unnoticed.

Amiable and soft spoken offstage, Johnson says, “I can assure theatergoers that they haven’t seen this play before — these kind of gay black experiences have never been shared before in a theater. LGBT audiences in particular will connect with these men’s stories in ways that may even surprise themselves.”

Johnson’s desire to record black gay men’s stories was sparked on a visit to Washington back in 1995. “I was at a cookout for Us Helping US, and I became engrossed with a group of African-American gay men who were sitting around a table sharing experiences about growing up in the day in the South. Then and there, I vowed that when I had the time and the resources to collect these stories I would. I feel it’s important to create an archive of these never-before-documented lives.”

Eventually, Johnson followed through: In 2004, he took a sabbatical from Northwestern and began collecting narratives from 77 African-American gay men ages 19 to 92 from all the southern states as well as Oklahoma and Missouri (both of which had been slave states). In 2008, he published an oral-history anthology titled “Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South.”

It was about a year into the project when Johnson realized that in addition to making a book, the interviews would also make a great performance. The material is rich and covers a wide range of topics: coming out, love and relationships, HIV/AIDS, bullying (Freddie recounts carrying a razor blade for protection), religion, mama drama, and of course sex (another character had sex with the entire football team in high school). Full of humor and poignancy, the tales are ultimately universal.

“In the past,” says Johnson, 44, “I’ve done staged readings of collected monologues in which I’d sit on a stool giving vocal impressions of different characters. But with ‘Sweet Tea’ it’s different — it’s a play and I fully embody the characters.”

“From the start, I intuitively knew that I was part of the ‘Sweet Tea’ story but it took me a while to understand that it’s my story too. While we were workshopping the play in Chicago, the show’s producer Jane Saks and others involved in the project agreed that I needed to interject my own story into the work. As it turned out, my own experiences are a through line: I’m in search of something and the other men help me to find it.”

Johnson has enjoyed electrifying rapport with audiences. He remembers a specific sold out performance of “Pouring Tea” (an earlier performance piece also comprised of gay black men’s stories) at the University of Pennsylvania.

“The crowd was mostly black and gay, and they were identifying with the show’s coming out stories, the church stories. The energy was unreal. We were levitating.”

His audiences at Signature will most likely be drawn primarily from a different demographic. Does that worry Johnson?

“I’ve been schooled about Signature’s blue-haired crowd, but I learned long ago never to make assumptions about audiences. I remember performing at the main library in downtown Mobile, Alabama, for a mostly white, straight crowd. During the post-show Q&A session, a minister thanked me for bringing the show to town. He approved of open talk about sexuality. After all, he said, God was there for the first wet vagina and the first erection. A hush fell over the room, and after what felt like an endless silence, I offered up an ‘Amen!’ It seemed right.”

Related Topics:E. Patrick Johnson Out & About Signature Theatre Sweet Tea

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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.

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7 hours ago

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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.