Connect with us

Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: Nov. 25

Plays, support groups, club meetings and more through Dec. 1

Published

on

Alex Mills and Natalie Berk in Synetic Theater’s ‘Romeo and Juliette,’ which will be performed tonight in Arlington. (Photo by Graeme B. Shaw; courtesy of Synetic)

TODAY

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) and Pop-Up Vintage have partnered up for a special Black Friday sale today from noon to 5 p.m. Pop-Up is a monthly vintage clothing, art, books and houseware shop. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The Lodge (21614 National Pike) in Boonsboro presents the Royal Rumble: Battle of the Drag Queens Jello Wrestling. All contestants will walk the runway and have 30 seconds to impress the crowd to win Best Wrestling Costume then there will be a series of wrestling matches. Contestants get in without a cover and get a $20 bar tab. For more information on signing up, contact [email protected] Doors open at 9 p.m.

Busboys & Poets will be having an American Sign Language open mic night tonight at 11 p.m. in the Langston room at its 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.). Anyone with sign language knowledge may sign up by e-mailing [email protected]. There is a $5 admission at the door.

The Music Center at Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane) in North Bethesda presents classic albums live with “The Beatles Abbey Road.” The show brings musicians together for live performances of classic rock albums.

Synetic Theater (2788 S. Arlington Mill Drive) in Arlington continues its Speak No More: The Silent Shakespeare Festival with the return of “Romeo and Juliet” opening tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $45 to $55 and can be purchased online at synetictheater.org.

Saturday, Nov. 26

Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave.) in Arlington presents its production of “Hairspray” starring Robert Aubry Davis and Carolyn Cole today at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets range from $62 to $67 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.

Greenbelt Arts Center (123 Centerway) presents “Alice in Wonderland” tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $17 for general admission and $14 for students, seniors and military. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit greenbeltartscenter.org.

Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) presents Hellmouth Happy Hour, where every week an episode of “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” will be screened and drink specials will be offered. This week the episode is “Beauty and the Beasts.”

The Lodge (21614 National Pike) in Boonsboro presents DJ Ryan W Backtracks Retro tonight from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. featuring music from the ‘70s, ‘80s, ‘90s and now. There’s a $3 cover before 11 p.m. and $5 after with $5 “Refreshers” drink specials all night.

The National Symphony Orchestra Pops presents “An Unforgettable Tribute to Nat King Cole” featuring Grammy Award-winning guitarist/vocalist George Benson and conductors Randy Waldman and Steven Reineke tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $20 to $85 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.

Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd.) in Vienna presents local pianist John Eaton for “Indiana on Our Minds” featuring the music of Cole Porter and Hoagy Carmichael tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.

Sunday, Nov. 27

National Theatre (1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) presents the Tony Award-winning musical, “Jersey Boys” today at 2 p.m. Tickets range from $36.50 to $276.50 and can be purchased online at jerseyboysinfo.com.

Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., N.W.) has two exhibits on display, one is an all-member show and the other is “The Privileged Series” by Anthony Dortch. This is the last day of the exhibit. The gallery is open from noon to 5 p.m. For more information, visit touchstonegallery.com.

Monday, Nov. 28

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.

Author Andrew Skerritt will be at Busboys & Poets 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.) to discuss his new book, “Ashamed to Die: Silence, Denial, and the AIDS Epidemic in the South.” This event is free and open to everyone.

Tuesday, Nov. 29

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) is hosting a foster parent information night tonight at 7 p.m. There will be people who are foster parents, who have recently finished the application process and people from the Latin American Youth Center about how to become a foster parent. The event will have a special focus on being a foster parent for older, LGBT youth. For more information, thedccenter.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.

Wednesday, Nov. 30

Singer Robin Thicke plays the 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) at 7 tonight. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online a 930.com.

The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) across from Marine Barracks, for duplicate bridge. No reservations are needed and newcomers are welcome. If a partner is needed, visit lambdabridge.com.

Thursday, Dec. 1

Gays & Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) holds its monthly meeting tonight in the main room at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) from 7 to 8:30 p.m.

Capital Splats, an LGBT racquetball group, is having its happy hour tonight at Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) from 5 to 8 p.m. For more information, visit capitalsplats.org.

The Lambda Sci-Fi Book Group meets today at 1425 S St., N.W. This month’s book is the anthology “Naked City: Tales of Urban Fantasy” edited by Ellen Datlow. Attendees are asked to bring a snack and/or non-alcoholic drink to share. For more information, email [email protected], [email protected] or visit the group’s website lambdascifi.org.

Advertisement
FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM
SIGN UP FOR E-BLAST

Books

A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat

New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

Published

on

(Book cover image courtesy of Random House)

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages

Happy is the bride the sun shines on.

Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.

He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.

He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.

But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.

Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.

Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.

What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.

In short, this book is quite stunning.

Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.

If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

Continue Reading

Photos

PHOTOS: Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch

LGBTQ politicians gather for annual event

Published

on

Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.) speaks at the 2025 Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Continue Reading

Music & Concerts

Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’

Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Published

on

Singer Tom Goss is back. (Photo by Dusti Cunningham)

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co. 

Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.

For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.

Continue Reading

Popular