Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: Dec. 30
Parties, events, exhibits and more for the coming week
TODAY (Friday)
‘Okvango Delta’ is one of the paintings by Paula Lantz on display at Touchstone Gallery starting Wednesday. (Image courtesy Touchstone Gallery)
Busboys & Poets will be hosting ASL open mic poetry 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 to recite a poem or sign a song by e-mailing [email protected]. There is a $5 cover.
SAGE Metro D.C., D.C. Black LGBT Coalition, the Metropolitan Community Church of D.C. and other community partners are celebrating Kwanzaa at MCC (474 Ridge St., N.W.) at 7 p.m. Light refreshments will be served. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Cajun cellist Sean Grissom hosts “Holiday Vaudeville” at the Kennedy Center (2700 P St., N.W.) tonight at 6 p.m. with Mallory Lewis, daughter of Shari Lewis, appearing with Lamb Chop, and the Alexandria Kleztet, a modern Klezmer quartet. This is a free performance. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org.
Saturday, Dec. 31
Black Cat’s (1811 U St., N.W.) New Years Eve Ball will feature Peaches O’Dell and her Orchestra performing throughout the night as well as Tony Anthony and his Malvivants and DJ Dredd and Grap Luva on the Backstage. Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at blackcatdc.com. Doors open at 8 p.m.
The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) presents A Celtic New Year with Zan McLeod, New Century Dancers, Peter Brice and Rosie Shipley at 6 p.m. This is a free performance. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org.
Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) will be showing the Washington Capitals take on the Columbus Blue Jackets tonight at 7 p.m.
Omega Party, a new black gay entertainment company, presents “New Year’s Eve Extravaganza” at 901 Lounge (901 9th St., N.W.). Tickets are $15 in advance and only 100 are available. Tickets will be sold at the door as space permits. VIP packages are $50. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit omegapartydc.com.
A live big band called the Tom Cunningham Orchestra will perform tonight in the Spanish ballroom at Glen Echo Park (7300 MacArthur Blvd., Glen Echo, Md.) tonight. Doors open at 7 p.m. Admission is $25 with special kids’ rates available. Visit tomcunningham.com for more information.
The Lambda Sci-Fi group has a potluck video party tonight for LGBT fans of sci-fi, fantasy and horror films and stories. Bring your favorite DVDs, blu-ray discs or AVI files (on USB) to share along with food and non-alcoholic drinks. The group will meet at 1425 S Street, N.W. Contact Peter at 202-483-6369 or [email protected] for details. Or visit the group online at lambdascifi.org.
Sunday, Jan. 1
Black Cat (1811 U St., N.W.) presents the “Post Amateur-Hour” happy hour for everyone who had to work Saturday night. This is a free event and doors open at 8 p.m.
The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) presents its production of “Billy Elliot: The Musical” directed by Stephen Daldry and featuring music by Elton John, today at 1:30 and 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $25 to $150 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.
Monday, Jan. 2
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) is having its monthly volunteer night tonight from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Tonight’s activities could range from sorting through book donations, cleaning up around the center and taking inventory for Fuk!ts, as well as socializing. Pizza will provided.
Busboys & Poets presents Monday night open mic poetry hosted by Rich Hanks tonight at 8 p.m. at its Shirlington location (4251 South Campbell Ave., Arlington). Wristbands are $4 and will be on sale starting at 10 a.m. in the Global Exchange store until sold out.
Tuesday, Jan. 3
The Chesapeake Squares, a gay square dancing group, are having a mainstream-through-advanced club night tonight at the Waxter Center (1000 Cathedral St.) in Baltimore from 8 to 10 p.m. For more information, visit chesapeakesquares.org.
Riot Act Comedy Theater (801 E St., N.W.) presents its weekly trivia night, hosted by Ashley Linder and Lauren Zoltick tonight at 8 p.m. in the upstairs bar. There are also bonus question worth three extra points online atriotactcomedy.com.
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, Jan. 4
Riot Act Comedy Theater’s (801 E St., N.W.) monthly gay and gay-friendly comedy show “Gay-larious” returns tonight at 8:30 p.m. with Jim David and co-founders Chris Doucette and Zach Toczynski. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online at riotactcomedy.com.
Emmy Award-winning actress Holland Taylor comes to the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) with her one-woman play “Ann,” tonight at 7:30 p.m. The show tells the story of Ann Richards, the second female governor of Texas. Tickets range from $54 to $95 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.
Touchstone Gallery’s (901 New York Ave., N.W.) newest exhibit, “Into the Wild,” featuring abstract paintings by Paula Lanta, opens today. There will be a reception on Jan. 13. The gallery is open from 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. For more information and the rest of the gallery’s hours, visit touchstonegallery.com.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club, for gay bridge players, meets tonight for social bridge at the Dignity Center (721 8th Street, S.E.). No partner is needed. Visit lambdabridge.com for details and click on “social bridge in Washington.”
Thursday, Jan. 5
D.C. Lambda Squares, a local gay square dancing group, is having its plus with as-needed mainstream club night tonight from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. at National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.). For more information, visit dclambdasquares.org.
Busboys & Poets presents Thursday night open mic poetry hosted by Regie Cabico tonight at 9 p.m. at its Hyattsville location (5331 Baltimore Ave., Suite 104). Wristbands are $4 and will be on sale starting at 10 a.m. and until sold out.
Celebrity News
Silky Nutmeg Ganache talks sex and dating, gender, politics, weight loss journey
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Uncloseted Media published this interview on July 7.
By SPENCER MACNAUGHTON, ISABEL STOKES, and BELLA SAYEGH | After appearing on the 11th season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” the first season of “Canada’s Drag Race: Canada vs. the World,” the sixth season of “RuPaul’s All Stars” and now the 11th season of “All Stars,” Silky Nutmeg Ganache, known by many as the Reverend, is undoubtedly a legend.
Born and raised in Moss Point, Miss., Ganache bears all in this episode of “UNCLOSETED with Spencer Macnaughton.” She speaks about her relationship with gender, her 100-pound weight loss, what it’s like living as a queer person of color in a red state and why she’s calling on allies to stand up for the trans community.
Patrons enjoyed a night out at the popular LGBTQ venue Crush Dance Bar on Friday, July 3.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Theater
‘My Favorite Sociopath’ debuts at Shepherdstown’s CATF
Gay playwright Aurin Squire’s take on D.C. journalism in the ‘90s
‘My Favorite Sociopath’
Contemporary American Theater Festival
July 10-Aug. 2
Shepherdstown, W.Va.
Catf.org
Discernment. It’s a thing some people have, explains playwright Aurin Squire, especially when you’re gay or Black in America (Squire is both).
“You instinctively know when the mob is teaming up for the best interests of the powers that be. You can feel it in the air.”
In his sharp new satire “My Favorite Sociopath,” Squire writes about life experiences but set in a different time and place: It’s the 1990s, early days of the 24-hour news cycle, and three ambitious journalism students are pursuing success in D.C.
And now, Squire’s play, along with other new works, are making their world premieres at the annual Contemporary American Theater Festival (CATF) at Shepherd University in historic, queer-friendly Shepherdstown, W.Va. (just a 90-minute drive from D.C.).
“All of my plays are queer in some way,” says Squire, 46. “This one touches on harmless and dangerous lies. The characters are on the spectrum sexually, and it’s interesting how all that falls out.”
And he’s given it a lot of thought.
“Already as a kid, it seemed to me that the rage against rap music and sex was coming from closeted people resisting their own urges and temptations. For me, it was interesting to see a witch hunt led by witches. Queer people can always call out a lie.”
Since September, Squire has also been working with a TV show about the tech industry set in Silicon Valley. He says, “It seems the general flow of the tech industry is that humanity and civilization is finished and it’s just about accumulating as many goods as possible before everything collapses. In fact, those who are profiting actually agree. But for those who disagree, they believe the solution is to build bigger gates, but activists believe we can stop this”
Yet, he’s learned from folks associated with the show. “Many say the quickest way to divorce yourself from any responsibility or regulations — smash and grab. Otherwise, you have to stop and think and regulate your desires for greed and power”
Squire possesses a penchant for pithy titles. He laughs, explaining the first thing he wrote as a student at Juilliard was “Obama-ology,” the comedy with contemporary message. While a lot of people liked the name, it didn’t necessarily vibe with the author. He concedes that he chooses names based on “easy to remember” and titles that won’t be easy to lose as a file.
Another is “Defacing Michael Jackson,” a coming-of-age dramedy set in rural Florida in 1984, specifically Squire’s native town Opa-locka, Miami, a fantastical place famed for its fanciful Moorish revival architecture.
Living in the shadow of exotic structures, he wasn’t particularly fazed. Squire says “It wasn’t until returning to visit after my freshman year at Northwestern University in Chicago that I realized how weird it was: When you grow up in a place, you take surroundings for granted no matter how over the top.”
Now based in New York (where for two happy years, 2017-2019, he shared digs with drag king Murry Hill), Squire returns frequently to Miami to be with family, but this summer has been filled with both work and travel.
Currently, he’s in Shepherdstown with CATF shaping up “My Favorite Sociopath.” Later this summer he will travel to South Africa for research, followed by a silent writing retreat in Santa Fe, N.M.
Much of Squire’s work reflects the Latino, African, Caribbean, African-American, and Jewish cultures he grew up around in South Florida.
When asked if today’s winds of anti-multiculturalism worry him, he replies, “No, because that’s going to pass. Most people don’t like, people are seeing the negative results of it, and the young people coming up despise it. White male gamers were tricked momentarily through the algorithms into voting against their own interests and they’re now seeing how it’s not working out for them.
“Conservatives always try to stop progress and eventually they always lose. It’s just a question of where we’ll be in the middle of the end of civilization before that happens. I’d like to hope we can turn the ship around before then.”
In addition to “My Favorite Sociopath,” CATF summer season features three other world premieres (Lisa D’Amour’s comedy “The Smoker,” “Refugee Rhapsody” by Yussef El Guindi, “Best Line Wins: A Play Inspired by the Improvised Lives of Elaine May & Mike Nichols” by Beth Kander) and “¡VOS!” by Christina Pumariega.
CATF runs from July 10-Aug. 2 in three venues on the Shepherd University campus: Frank Center, Marinoff Theater, and Studio 112.
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