Arts & Entertainment
Gearing up for laughs
Out gay comedian Jason Stuart has D.C. engagement next week
Comedian and actor Jason Stuart will be at the Riot Act Comedy Theater from Nov. 17-19. (Photo by Shannon Youngclaus)
Actor/comedian Jason Stuart
Riot Act Comedy Theater
801 E Street, N.W.
Nov. 17-19
Tickets — $20 ($17 for Thursday’s show)
Riotactcomedy.com
Jasonstuart.com
Jason Stuart came out to his friends and family about 25 years ago, but sometimes he’s still questioned about it, even by his own mother.
“My mom calls me on the phone and we’re talking and I say, ‘Mom, I met this really great guy’ and she says to me, ‘Is he gay?’ and I say, ‘No, he’s a leprechaun, of course he’s gay’ and she says, ‘Why are you yelling at me?’ I said, ‘I’m not yelling at you but I came out 25 years ago,’ and she says, ‘Oh, I forgot.’ That’s how its evolved, that being gay doesn’t really mean anything to her anymore. It’s just another thing she has to remember.”
Stuart is bringing his new show, “I’m the Daddy and I Have Candy” to D.C. when he performs at Riot Act Comedy Theater Nov. 17-19.
While he likes performing at clubs and other venues, Stuart wishes he could do his show on the terrace of his apartment, to step out like Evita, perform and then go right back inside.
“I wouldn’t even have to wear pants,” he says.
Stuart’s show is about him. It’s about getting older, wanting to fall in love and stories about his family.
The smallest things can inspire a joke for Stuart, taking things that happen in his life and just telling them in a funny way. While being interviewed, Stuart figured out the punchline to a joke he intends on using in his show.
“I don’t say, ‘Oh, I’m going to sit down and think of things that are funny today,'” Stuart says of coming up with jokes. “As you think of things that are funny, you write them down and you work on them on stage.”
He’s opened for people such as Jennifer Holiday, RuPaul and Ellen DeGeneres. Stuart’s even been on Broadway, doing shows with Sandra Bernhard and Joan Rivers.
“She’s so current … she so seems to enjoy doing what she’s doing, even at her age, I think she’s 106. It’s hard to tell,” Stuart says of Rivers. “When I saw ‘American Idol’ … and Steve Tyler, I thought it was [Rivers] and how great she looked, but I was wrong.”
Most recently, he’s appeared in Logo’s comedy series “One Night Stand Up.”
Stuart has also performed at various benefits supports issues such as AIDS and homelessness. He is the chairman for the first ever Screen Actors Guild LGBT Committee, created to provide support to LGBT actors and to educate the membership, the industry and the public on LGBT actor’s issues, with a focus on ending discrimination against LGBT actors in the workplace.
“I would say, living in the closet is a very difficult thing to do. It’s the whole symbolism of it,” Stuart says. “What happens is … you’re standing on shoes, there’s a leather jacket in front of you … the door opens every once and a while and light flashes in your eyes … they take things out and they put things back … and that’s how you make all your decisions in your life.”
He often gives his lecture “Coming Out in Hollywood” on being openly gay in the workplace, at corporate programs based on his connection with his audience.
Even with all his success, comedy isn’t Stuart’s passion. Acting is. He’s appeared on numerous television shows ranging from “It’s Always Sunny in Philadelphia” to “The Closer.”
“I just loved working with Kyra Sedgewick. I thought she was so present. I thought the writing was fabulous … the director was terrific,” Stuart says of working on “The Closer.” “My passion is to work with really talented people.”
Stuart has definitely worked with some big names throughout his career, both on television and the big screen. He’s done movies with Martin Short, Faye Dunaway, Wilson Cruz and Angelina Jolie. He has upcoming appearances in the films “BearCity 2” and “K-11.”
“I’m really sexy,” Stuart says. “If any gay man that’s hot, sexy, smart and wants to relocate to L.A. should come to the show and profess their love to me.”
The 2026 Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather competition was held at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill on Sunday. Seven contestants vied for the title and Gage Ryder was named the winner.
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Theater
Voiceless ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ a spectacle of operatic proportions
Synetic production pulls audience into grips of doomed lovers’ passion
‘Antony & Cleopatra’
Through Jan. 25
Synetic Theater at
Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre
450 7th St., N.W.
Synetictheater.org
A spectacle of operatic proportions, Synetic Theater’s “Antony & Cleopatra” is performed entirely voiceless. An adaptation of the Bard’s original (a play bursting with wordplay, metaphors, and poetic language), the celebrated company’s production doesn’t flinch before the challenge.
Staged by Paata Tsikurishvili and choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili, this worthy remount is currently playing at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, the same venue where it premiered 10 years ago. Much is changed, including players, but the usual inimitable Synectic energy and ingenuity remain intact.
As audiences file into the Klein, they’re met with a monumental pyramid bathed in mist on a dimly lit stage. As the lights rise, the struggle kicks off: Cleopatra (Irina Kavsadze) and brother Ptolemy (Natan-Maël Gray) are each vying for the crown of Egypt. Alas, he wins and she’s banished from Alexandria along with her ethereal black-clad sidekick Mardian (Stella Bunch); but as history tells us, Cleopatra soon makes a triumphant return rolled in a carpet.
Meanwhile, in the increasingly dangerous Rome, Caesar (memorably played by Tony Amante) is assassinated by a group of senators. Here, his legendary Ides of March murder is rather elegantly achieved by silver masked politicians, leaving the epic storytelling to focus on the titular lovers.
The fabled couple is intense. As the Roman general Antony, Vato Tsikurishvili comes across as equal parts warrior, careerist, and beguiled lover. And despite a dose of earthiness, it’s clear that Kavsadze’s Cleopatra was born to be queen.
Phil Charlwood’s scenic design along with Colin K. Bills’ lighting cleverly morph the huge pyramidic structure into the throne of Egypt, the Roman Senate, and most astonishingly as a battle galley crashing across the seas with Tsikurishvili’s Antony ferociously at the helm.
There are some less subtle suggestions of location and empire building in the form of outsized cardboard puzzle pieces depicting the Mediterranean and a royal throne broken into jagged halves, and the back-and-forth of missives.
Of course, going wordless has its challenges. Kindly, Synectic provides a compact synopsis of the story. I’d recommend coming early and studying that page. With changing locations, lots of who’s who, shifting alliances, numerous war skirmishes, and lack of dialogue, it helps to get a jump on plot and characters.
Erik Teague’s terrific costume design is not only inspired but also helpful. Crimson red, silver, and white say Rome; while all things Egyptian have a more exotic look with lots of gold and diaphanous veils, etc.
When Synetic’s voicelessness works, it’s masterful. Many hands create the magic: There’s the direction, choreography, design, and the outrageously committed, sinewy built players who bring it to life through movement, some acrobatics, and the remarkable sword dancing using (actual sparking sabers) while twirling to original music composed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze.
Amid the tumultuous relationships and frequent battling (fight choreography compliments of Ben Cunis), moments of whimsy and humor aren’t unwelcome. Ptolemy has a few clownish bits as Cleopatra’s lesser sibling. And Antony’s powerful rival Octavian (ageless out actor Philip Fletcher) engages in peppy propaganda featuring a faux Cleopatra (played by Maryam Najafzada) as a less than virtuous queen enthusiastically engaged in an all-out sex romp.
When Antony and Cleopatra reach their respective ends with sword and adder, it comes almost as a relief. They’ve been through so much. And from start to finish, without uttering a word, Kavsadze and Tsikurishvili share a chemistry that pulls the audience into the grips of the doomed lovers’ palpable passion.
Out & About
Love board games and looking for love?
Quirk Events will host “Board Game Speed Dating for Gay Men” on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at KBird DC.
Searching for a partner can be challenging. But board games are always fun. So what if you combined board games and finding a partner?
Picture this: You sit down for a night of games. A gaming concierge walks you through several games over the course of the night. You play classics you love and discover brand new games you’ve never heard of, playing each with a different group of fun singles. All while in a great establishment.
At the end of the night, you give your gaming concierge a list of the folks you met that you’d like to date and a list of those you met that you’d like to just hang out with as friends. If any two people put down the same name as each other in either column, then your gaming concierge will make sure you get each other’s e-mail address and you can coordinate a time to hang out.
Tickets cost $31.80 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
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Comings & Goings
