Arts & Entertainment
Baltimore arts briefs: Feb. 3
‘Sunrize: the Musical,’ Disney on Ice and more
Musical revue showcases songs of the ‘50s
“Smokey Joe’s Café” is playing at Toby’s Dinner Theatre in Baltimore (5625 O’Donnell St.) now through Mar. 18, featuring songs written by Jerry Leiber and Mike Stoller.
The show, a musical revue taking place in the ‘50s, features an ensemble cast singing pop standards like “Hound Dog,” “Stand By Me” and many more.
Tickets range from $52.50 to $50.50 for adults and are $36.50 for children 12 and younger. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit todbysdinnertheatre.com.
Broadway satire event Saturday
Sunrize Highway will give her take on Broadway and more in a one-night-only performance at the Theatre Project.
The Theatre Project (45 West Preston St.) in Baltimore presents “Sunrize: The Musical” from Iron Crow Theatre Company on Saturday at 8 p.m. with a special reception on stage following the show.
Sunrize Highway is the creation of Iron Crow member Joseph Ritsche, and is a “loving” satire of contemporary musical theater divas.
The musical features renditions from Broadway and more as well as whimsical reflections, advice tales and showbiz stories.
Tickets are $25 and can be purchased online at theatreproject.org.
Disney magic comes to life
“Disney on Ice: 100 Years of Magic” opens Wednesday at 1st Mariner Arena (201 W. Baltimore St., Baltimore) at 7:30 p.m.
The show will feature 65 of Disney’s characters from 18 stories including Mickey Mouse, Minnie Mouse, Goofy, Donald Duck, Jiminy Cricket, Pinocchio, many of the Disney princesses and more. These characters will bring to life moments from movies such as “The Lion King,” “Finding Nemo,” “The Incredibles” and many more.
Tickets range from $14 to $56 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.
Reggae revolution
The Creative Alliance at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Ave.) is screening the movie “Holding On to Jah: The Genesis of a Revolution” for its Baltimore premiere on Saturday at 6 p.m.
A Reggae soundtrack featuring music from Bob Marley and more, sets the history and struggle of the Rastafarians and all Jamaicans, to music. The film includes interviews with some of Reggae’s greatest singers and musicians. This documentary tells the story of the merging of the Rasta ideology with music.
Following the film at is a dinner at 7:30 p.m. and a dance party to celebrate what would be Bob Marley’s birthday at 9 p.m.
Tickets to the screening or party only are $10 for general admission and $5 for CA members. Those who want to attend both events can for only $5 more. Dinner is sold separately.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit creativealliance.org.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
HIV/AIDS group NMAC is ‘destabilized’ and in financial crisis: sources
Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
