Arts & Entertainment

Journalists promote literacy

D.C. tradition continues with Wednesday’s ‘Love Letters’ event

Published

14 years ago

February 9, 2012

‘Love Letters for Literacy’
National Museum of Women in the Arts
1250 New York Ave., N.W.
Cocktails, 6:30; dinner and program at 7:30 p.m.
Reservations: $275
Washlit.org
202-387-9029
Go here for reservations

When John Arundel’s 9-year-old recently mentioned plans to follow in his father’s journalistic footsteps, the Washington Life Magazine associate publisher didn’t tell the precocious reporter to pick up a pen.

He told him to grab a book.

Former Defense Secretary William Cohen and his wife, Janet Langhart at last year’s literacy event. (Photo courtesy Washington Literacy Council)

“I told him he couldn’t be a journalist unless he stepped up his reading and read every day,” says Arundel, an LGBT community ally and one of three local journalists who will read from literary works they love at an event to raise adult illiteracy awareness in Washington.

The Washington Literacy Council hosts its annual “Love Letters for Literacy” fundraiser Wednesday. Now in its 19th year, the fundraiser and reception showcases the area’s top broadcasters, journalists and authors: Arundel will join Andrea Roane, an anchor at WUSA 9 and Washington Post writer Ruth Marcus.

Proceeds will help the nonprofit relocate and launch a branding campaign aimed at raising its profile and connecting more Washingtonians with reading help. The group estimates roughly 38 percent of the city’s adults have “very poor” reading skills. About 200 attended last year’s dinner.

“The need is great and we want to raise our capacity to help meet it,” says Helen Dalton, president of the board of directors at the council.

The event will include a dinner, a silent auction and an award ceremony recognizing champions of literacy.

But the highlight is arguably getting to hear local celebrities share some of the literature that shaped their careers and lives.

For Arundel, the book choice was obvious. The New York Times veteran will read from “The Kingdom and the Power: Behind the Scenes at the New York Times: The Institution That Influences the World,” a journalism classic by Gay Talese.

“Like Talese, I came to the New York Times in 1989 fresh out of college as an entry-level copy boy and spent two years covering the gritty underbelly of New York,” Arundel says. “It was a great education.”

The experience marked a seminal point in a journalism career that began with a kid’s column in the Fauquier Times-Democrat in Warrenton, Va. — “I wrote about skateboarding and all the things that kids like to read about,” he said — and has taken him through stints at The Miami Herald and The Washington Post. He now covers the philanthropic world at Washington Life, a publication he says has ties to the Human Rights Campaign.

Over the years, Arundel has watched as the rise in online media has dimmed the fortunes of larger publications like the Times. Nonetheless, Arundel believes the online revolution will ultimately prove to be a good thing.

“The positive side of all these blogs and this move toward self publishing is that there are more voices out there, so definitely it’s more of an opportunity for the LGBT community to expand its voice,” he says.

The Washington Literacy Council wants to ensure that more people can understand that voice. The council’s 100 volunteers provide one-on-one and group tutoring, computer training and job coaching to roughly 140 students each year, Dalton says.

This year’s Love Letters event, sponsored by the Washington Blade, coincides with a revamp of the group. The nonprofit will move from a location in Adams Morgan to a spot along 12th Street. Group leaders also will announce plans to change the group’s name to the Washington Literacy Center and unveil a new motto playing off their initials: “Where Lives Change.”

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FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Photos

PHOTOS: ‘Studio 69’

Glitterati Productions hold party at Bunker

Published

12 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

18 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Theater

National tour of ‘Gatsby’ comes to National Theatre

Out actor Edward Staudenmayer talks playing the show’s gangster

Published

2 days ago

May 10, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Edward Staudenmayer plays Meyer Wolfsheim in ‘The Great Gatsby.’ (Photo courtesy National Theatre)

‘The Great Gatsby’
May 12-24
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$59-$196
Thenationaldc.com

Often dubbed “The Great American Novel” for its depiction of ambition and self-invention alongside the reversals of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” says it all in a fast read.

Set against the excesses and energy of the Roaring Twenties, “The Great Gatsby,” novel and now the same-titled hit Broadway musical with a jazz/pop original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, tells the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire intent on reuniting with ex-lover, Daisy Buchanan.

It was during a four-month 2025 run in Seoul, South Korea, that out actor Edward Staudenmayer first played the show’s heavy, Meyer Wolfsheim, a gangster who helped Gatsby make his murkily acquired fortune. As Meyer, Staudenmayer opens the second act with, appropriately enough, “Shady.”

Now three months into a year-long North American tour, the show is poised to enjoy a brief run at Washington’s National Theatre (5/12-5/24).

While putting on his eyeliner prior to a recent Wednesday matinee at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, the upstate New York-based actor shared about Gatsby and a life in theater.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Despite your good looks and terrific voice, you’re rarely the leading the man. How is that?

EDWARD STAUDENMAYER: I’m definitely a character man. I’ve been painting lines on my face to play old men since I was in high school. I was the youngest freshman in college playing old Uncle Sorin [in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”].

There have been many villains. Some darker than others. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very bad guy, but he doesn’t haunt me once I’m offstage. I play a lot of pickleball.

BLADE: Is it true that like so many of Fitzgerald’s characters, Wolfsheim is famously based on someone the writer encountered in life.

STAUDENMEYER: That’s true, Wolfsheim is pretty much a direct portrayal of real-life mobster and 1919 World Series fixer [Arnold Rothstein].

BLADE: When did the 1925 novel first surface on your radar?

STAUDENMAYER: Like many of us, I was assigned “The Great Gatsby” in high school. It was short, and filled with sex and illicit activities. I thought it was great. Definitely wasn’t a Judy Blume novel.

Interestingly, the book wasn’t originally a huge a success for Fitzgerald, but because it was about war and having the girl at home, they gave it to GIs leaving for WWII. After returning, a lot of those guys went on the GI Bill and became English teachers. They assigned the book to their students.

BLADE The idea that the book’s first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, is gay and enamored with Jay Gatsby is long discussed among readers and scholars. Does the musical touch on that?

STAUDENMAYER: Yes, there’s conjecture about Jay and Nick, and it’s implied in our show. It’s also implied about Jordan Baker, Jay’s fleeting romantic interest. Ultimately, she’s a confirmed bachelor, and a professional golfer who only wears pants.

Our performers are really good. Josh Grasso who plays Nick is fantastic. I’ve had to stop watching him in his last scene; it’s not good for Meyer Wolfsheim to take his curtain call crying. Our Gatsby, Jake David Smith, is good too. He’s gorgeous like Superman and sings like an angel.

BLADE: Do you ever imagine backstory for your characters whose sexuality is undefined?

STAUDENMAYER: I do, but not with Wolfsheim. I don’t see it. I’m trying to be as butch as possible with this ruthless killer.

BLADE: Have you had to do that in your career?

STAUDENMAYER: For a long time, I wore a mask to hide my gayness. I worked hard on being believable, that I was into the girl or that I was a tough guy.

It’s a different world now, and it’s so refreshing to be around the younger actors today; they’re remarkably open and comfortable.

BLADE: What was your coming of age like?

STAUDENMAYER: I played high school football in Palm Springs [he chuckles, alluding to the arid gay mecca], and I was pretty good too. But much to the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit the team to act in our senior year play. My super butch dad played semi-pro football and he was an ex-cop. I’m named after him. While I didn’t become my dad, I’ve played him often on stage. He was a true Gaston [the bumptious rival in “Beauty and the Beast”]. And like Gaston, he used antlers in all his interior decorating.

BLADE: Did he live to see your success in theater?

STAUDENMAYER: He did. Life was challenging growing up but the last 10 years of his life we couldn’t get off the phone with each other [his voice catches with emotion]. He accepted me entirely, and we became very close.

BLADE: Looking ahead, is there a part you’d especially like to play?

STAUDENMAYER: Like all baritones I’d love to play Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” I’ve come close but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s still time.