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.
Italy
Olympics Pride House ‘really important for the community’
Italy lags behind other European countries in terms of LGBTQ rights
The four Italian advocacy groups behind the Milan Cortina Winter Olympics’ Pride House hope to use the games to highlight the lack of LGBTQ rights in their country.
Arcigay, CIG Arcigay Milano, Milano Pride, and Pride Sport Milano organized the Pride House that is located in Milan’s MEET Digital Culture Center. The Washington Blade on Feb. 5 interviewed Pride House Project Manager Joseph Naklé.
Naklé in 2020 founded Peacox Basket Milano, Italy’s only LGBTQ basketball team. He also carried the Olympic torch through Milan shortly before he spoke with the Blade. (“Heated Rivalry” stars Hudson Williams and Connor Storrie last month participated in the torch relay in Feltre, a town in Italy’s Veneto region.)
Naklé said the promotion of LGBTQ rights in Italy is “actually our main objective.”
ILGA-Europe in its Rainbow Map 2025 notes same-sex couples lack full marriage rights in Italy, and the country’s hate crimes law does not include sexual orientation or gender identity. Italy does ban discrimination based on sexual orientation in employment, but the country’s nondiscrimination laws do not include gender identity.
ILGA-Europe has made the following recommendations “in order to improve the legal and policy situation of LGBTI people in Italy.”
• Marriage equality for same-sex couples
• Depathologization of trans identities
• Automatic co-parent recognition available for all couples
“We are not really known to be the most openly LGBT-friendly country,” Naklé told the Blade. “That’s why it (Pride House) was really important for the community.”
“We want to use the Olympic games — because there is a big media attention — and we want to use this media attention to raise the voice,” he added.
Naklé noted Pride House will host “talks and roundtables every night” during the games that will focus on a variety of topics that include transgender and nonbinary people in sports and AI. Another will focus on what Naklé described to the Blade as “the importance of political movements now to fight for our rights, especially in places such as Italy or the U.S. where we are going backwards, and not forwards.”
Seven LGBTQ Olympians — Italian swimmer Alex Di Giorgio, Canadian ice dancers Paul Poirier and Kaitlyn Weaver, Canadian figure skater Eric Radford, Spanish figure skater Javier Raya, Scottish ice dancer Lewis Gibson, and Irish field hockey and cricket player Nikki Symmons — are scheduled to participate in Pride House’s Out and Proud event on Feb. 14.
Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood representatives are expected to speak at Pride House on Feb. 21.
The event will include a screening of Mariano Furlani’s documentary about Pride House and LGBTQ inclusion in sports. The MiX International LGBTQ+ Film and Queer Culture Festival will screen later this year in Milan. Pride House Los Angeles – West Hollywood is also planning to show the film during the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Naklé also noted Pride House has launched an initiative that allows LGBTQ sports teams to partner with teams whose members are either migrants from African and Islamic countries or people with disabilities.
“The objective is to show that sports is the bridge between these communities,” he said.
Bisexual US skier wins gold
Naklé spoke with the Blade a day before the games opened. The Milan Cortina Winter Olympics will close on Feb. 22.
More than 40 openly LGBTQ athletes are competing in the games.
Breezy Johnson, an American alpine skier who identifies as bisexual, on Sunday won a gold medal in the women’s downhill. Amber Glenn, who identifies as bisexual and pansexual, on the same day helped the U.S. win a gold medal in team figure skating.
Glenn said she received threats on social media after she told reporters during a pre-Olympics press conference that LGBTQ Americans are having a “hard time” with the Trump-Vance administration in the White House. The Associated Press notes Glenn wore a Pride pin on her jacket during Sunday’s medal ceremony.
“I was disappointed because I’ve never had so many people wish me harm before, just for being me and speaking about being decent — human rights and decency,” said Glenn, according to the AP. “So that was really disappointing, and I do think it kind of lowered that excitement for this.”
Puerto Rico
Bad Bunny shares Super Bowl stage with Ricky Martin, Lady Gaga
Puerto Rican activist celebrates half time show
Bad Bunny on Sunday shared the stage with Ricky Martin and Lady Gaga at the Super Bowl halftime show in Santa Clara, Calif.
Martin came out as gay in 2010. Gaga, who headlined the 2017 Super Bowl halftime show, is bisexual. Bad Bunny has championed LGBTQ rights in his native Puerto Rico and elsewhere.
“Not only was a sophisticated political statement, but it was a celebration of who we are as Puerto Ricans,” Pedro Julio Serrano, president of the LGBTQ+ Federation of Puerto Rico, told the Washington Blade on Monday. “That includes us as LGBTQ+ people by including a ground-breaking superstar and legend, Ricky Martin singing an anti-colonial anthem and showcasing Young Miko, an up-and-coming star at La Casita. And, of course, having queer icon Lady Gaga sing salsa was the cherry on the top.”
La Casita is a house that Bad Bunny included in his residency in San Juan, the Puerto Rican capital, last year. He recreated it during the halftime show.
“His performance brought us together as Puerto Ricans, as Latin Americans, as Americans (from the Americas) and as human beings,” said Serrano. “He embraced his own words by showcasing, through his performance, that the ‘only thing more powerful than hate is love.’”
Drag artists perform for crowds in towns across Virginia. The photographer follows Gerryatrick, Shenandoah, Climaxx, Emerald Envy among others over eight months as they perform at venues in the Virginia towns of Staunton, Harrisonburg and Fredericksburg.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
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