Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Nov. 11
Concerts, happy hours, parties and more through Nov. 17
Melissa Manchester, once a back-up singer for Bette Midler, plays Wolf Trap Thursday. (Photo courtesy of Wolf Trap)
TODAY
The Foo Fighters play Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. with Social Distortion and The Joy Formidable. Tickets range from $37.50 to $57.50 and are available for purchase online at ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) presents Fahrenheit with music by Anthony Murphy, tonight from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. with free rail vodka upstairs from 10 to 11 p.m. There’s a $5 cover after 10 p.m.
This week’s Bear Happy Hour at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) will featuring a special comedy show with Frank Liotti and special guest, Neil Thornton. Happy Hour starts at 6 p.m. and there’s no cover.
Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) presents Beat the Clock happy hour tonight from 5 to 8 p.m. Prices for all bottles, Miller Light and house vodka drinks start at $2 and go up a $1 every hour.
DJ Petworth of Moon/Bounce DJs, will be spinning at Red Palace (1212 H St., N.E.) tonight from 10 p.m. to close. Pentworth spins hip hop, house disco, pop and more.
The Kensington Arts Theatre (2710 Mitchell St.) presents “Hair: The American Tribal Love-Rock Musical” tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $13 to $20 and can be purchased online atkatonline.org.
Saturday, Nov. 12
DJ Drew G will be spinning at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight with Wess downstairs and the drag show starting at 10:30 p.m. Doors open at 10 p.m. Cover is $8 from 10 to 11 p.m. then goes up to $12. Attendees must be 21 or older.
Zoom Urban Lesbian Excursions presents Equestrian today. The group will be meeting at Marriott Ranch (5305 Marriott Lane) Trail Ride Barn in Hume, Va. at 11:30 a.m. before going on a 90 minute guided trail ride followed by lunch. Tickets are $75 and must be purchased in advance. Visit phatgirlchic.om/zoom for more information and to purchase tickets.
Mixtape D.C. is tonight the Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) from 9:30 p.m. to 2:15 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 $10 cover for this all ages event.
Washington National Opera presents “Lucia di Lammermoor” at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) tonight at 7 p.m. “Lucia” tells the story of a woman who loses her sanity, kills her bridegroom and succumbs to madness. Tickets range from $25 to $300 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.
Laurel Mill Playhouse (508 Main St.) in Laurel presents “In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)” tonight at 8 p.m. “Next Room” tells the story of Dr. Givings, who has invented a device for treating “hysteria” in women — the vibrator. Tickets range from $10 to $13. For more information, visit laurelmillplayhouse.org.
Sunday, Nov. 13
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) is screening the film “Signified” today at 4 p.m. followed by a question-and-answer session with the creators Anna Barsan and Jessie Levandov and a panel discussion. “Signified” is a web-based, multi-platform documentary project featuring the work of queer identified individuals who are fostering, enriching and sustaining vibrant and diverse communities.
The Fridge (516 1/2 8th St., S.E.) is hosting a curators talk with Luna George and Alex Goldstein for its current exhibit, Above the Radar II, which will be on display through Dec. 3. The exhibit features more than 100 pieces by more than 140 artists, specifically, graffiti and street artists. For more information, visit thefridgedc.com.
D.C.’s Different Drummers is putting on its second annual “DCDD Does Drag Too!” fundraiser tonight at Omega D.C. (2122 P St., N.W.) at 7 p.m. There is a suggested donation of $5 at the door. For more information, visit dcdd.org.
The D.C. Kings present a “Thankful” king show tonight at Phase 1 hosted by Rock and Ken Vegas. Doors open at 7 p.m. and the show begins and 10. There’s a $10 cover for this 21-and-older event. For more information, visit dckings.com.
Monday, Nov. 14
Busboys & Poets presents its Monday open mic poetry night hosted by poet-in-residence Beny Blaq tonight at 8 p.m. at its Shirlington location (4251 S. Campbell Ave.) in Arlington. There’s a $4 cover charge for this event and wristbands will be available for purchase starting at 10 a.m. until sold out.
WEAVE, a support group for LGBT survivors of intimate partner violence/abuse will be meeting from 7 to 8 p.m. at the Lighthouse Center for Healing (5321 First Place, N.E.). For more information and to register, call 202-280-6391.
Tuesday. Nov. 15
The National Center for Transgender Equality is celebrating its eighth anniversary tonight with an event at The Mayflower Renaissance (1127 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 7 to 9 p.m. in the State Ballroom. Shaun Donovan, secretary of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development will be the keynote speaker and Brian Bond, former Deputy Director of the White House Office of the Public Liaison and Donna Cartwright, founding NCTE board member and co-president of Pride at Work will be honored. Tickets are $125 and can be purchased online attransequality.org.
Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers to help pack safer sex kits from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at FUK!T’s packing location, Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct., N.W.
Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Glee” watch party tonight at 8 p.m. on the deck in the pub room.
Wednesday, Nov. 16
Owl City plays an early show at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) tonight. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased online at 930.com. Doors open at 5:30 p.m.
The D.C. Ice Breakers will be having its monthly skate and social tonight. The group will be skating at Kettler Capitals Iceplex (627 N. Glebe Rd.) in Arlington from 8:15 to 9:15 p.m. then they’ll hit a local bar for a social hour. Skating is $8 and skate rentals are $3.
Thursday, Nov. 17
Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Melissa Manchester will be performing at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd.) in Vienna tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased online atwolftrap.org.
Busboys & Poets presents “Smokin’ Words!” a night of spoken word, poetry and other performances about the LGBT community and its struggles with smoking, tonight at its 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.), featuring Regie Cabico, Liz Prescott and more. This is a free event and for more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Photos
PHOTOS: Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary
D.C. LGBTQ political group celebrates milestone at Pepco Edison Place Gallery
The Capital Stonewall Democrats held a 50th anniversary celebration at Pepco Edison Place Gallery on Friday. Rayceen Pendarvis served as the emcee.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Theater
‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think
Holly Twyford on new role and importance of listening to different opinions
‘Inherit the Wind’
Through April 5
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $73
Arenastage.org
When “Inherit the Wind” premiered on Broadway in 1955 with a cast of 50, its fictional setting of Hillsboro, an obscure country town described as the buckle on the Bible Belt, was filled with townspeople. And now at Arena Stage, director Ryan Guzzo Purcell has somehow crowded Arena’s large Fichandler space with just 10 actors, five principals and a delightful ensemble of five playing multiple roles.
Inspired by the real-life Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s fictionalized work pits intellectual freedom against McCarthyism via the imagined trial of Bertram Cates (Noah Plomgren), a Tennessee educator charged with teaching evolution. Drawn into the fracas are big shot lawyers, defense attorney Henry Drummond (Billy Eugene Jones), and conservative prosecutor, Matthew Harrison Brady (Dakin Matthew). On hand to cover the closely watched story is wisecracking city slicker and Baltimore reporter E.K. Horneck (played by nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan).
Out actor Holly Twyford, a four-time Helen Hayes Award winner who has appeared in more than 80 Washington area plays, is part of the ensemble. In jeans and boots, she memorably plays Meeker, the bailiff at the Hillsboro courthouse and the jailer responsible for holding Cates in the days leading to his trial.
Twyford also plays Sillers, a slack jawed earnest employee at the local feed store who’s called to serve on the jury. And more importantly she plays Brady’s quietly strong wife Sarah whom he affectionately calls “Mother.”
When Twyford makes her memorable first entrance as Meeker, she’s wiping shaving cream from her face with a hand towel. With shades of Mayberry R.F.D., the jail is run casually. Meeker says Cates isn’t the criminal type, and he’s not.
“There’s a joke among actors,” says Twyford. “When an actor gets his shoes, they know who their character is. And it’s sort of true. When you put on boots, heels, or flip flops, there’s a different feeling, and you walk differently.”
Similarly, shares Twyford, it goes for clothes too: “When Mother slips a pink coat dress over her cowboy boots, dons a little hat and ties her scarf, or Meeker puts on his work shirt, I know where I am. And all of that is thanks to a remarkable wardrobe crew.
“Additionally, some of the ensemble characters are played broadly which is helpful to the actors and super identifying for the audience too.”
During intermission, an audience member loudly described the production as “a proper play” filled with beautifully written passages. And it’s true. Twyford agrees, adding “That’s all true, and it’s also been was fun for us to be a part of the Arena legacy as well. Arena took ‘Inherit the Wind’ to the Soviet Union in the early ‘70s when the respective governments did a cultural exchange. At the time, the iron curtain was very much in place, and they traveled with a play about a man with his own thoughts.”
When the ensemble was cast, actors didn’t know which tracts exactly they were going to play. “What came together was a cast, diverse in different ways. Some directors, including myself when I direct, are interested in assembling a cast that’s a good group. No time for egos. It’s more about who will make the best group to help me tell this story.”
At one point during rehearsal, ensemble members began to help one another with minor onstage costume changes, like jackets and hats: “We just started doing it and Ryan [Guzzo Purcell] picked up on it, saying things really began to come alive when we helped each other, so we went with that.”
“For me, it was reminiscent of ‘The Laramie Project’ [Ford’s Theatre in 2013] when we played five different parts and we’d help each other with a vest or jacket in a similar way. It worked so well then too,” says Twyford.
“Inherit the Wind” isn’t about science versus religion. It’s about the right to think, playwright Jerome Lawrrence has been quoted as saying. And it’s a quote that makes the play that much more relevant today.
Twford remembers a chat in a hair salon: “I was getting my hair cut and the woman next to me shared that she was tired of message plays. Understandably there are theater makers who believe that message plays are the point, while others think it’s all about entertainment. I feel like ‘Inherit the Wind’ sits in a nice place in the middle.”
She adds “the work is a creative way of showing different opinions and that, I think, is what we should be paying attention to right now. Clearly, it’s not right or wrong to express what you think.”
Out & About
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
‘Living History’ discussion to be held at Spark Social
Friends of Dorothy Cafe will host “Part One, Living History: How We Survived,” will take place on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Spark Social House.
This event will be moderated by Abby Stuckrath, host of the “Queering the District” podcast. Panelists include: Earline Budd, activist, trans rights advocate; TJ Flavell of Go Gay DC; DC LGBTQ+ Center Board Member David Bissette; and Alexa Rodriguez, founder and executive director, Trans-Latinx DMV.
This event is part of a four-part storytelling series called “Living History,” which centers LGBTQ elders, activists, artists, and icons sharing their lived experiences and reflections with younger generations. The conversations explore themes like resilience, community organizing, chosen family, and the lessons earlier generations hope today’s LGBTQ+ and ally communities will carry forward.
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Trans Day of Visibility events planned
Virginia General Assembly’s 2026 legislative session ends
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Queer American in Israel discusses Iran war’s impact
Calendar: March 21-26
‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
