Arts & Entertainment

Cowboys’ last hurrah

Local hunks wrap up storied run; gay-led classical troupes plan performances

Published

14 years ago

March 1, 2012

Jonathan Howard

Look for the D.C. Cowboys’ farewell performance this summer at Capital Pride. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Several of the region’s dance offerings feature gay performers, themes and directors. Among the highlights:

The D.C. Cowboys, a gay line dancing company, are saying farewell this season after 17 years of performing with several upcoming events in D.C. and across the country. The first stop on the “Farewell Tour” is a performance at D.C. Jewish Community Center (1529 16th Street N.W.) Purim Party hosted by GLOE on Saturday from 8:30 to midnight. Tickets are $20 in advance and $30 at the door and can be purchased at dcjcc.org. The tour comes to a close in June at the Capital Pride Festival. Take this moment to say goodbye to your favorite dancers. For more information visit dccowboys.org.

On Sunday at 3 p.m. Intersections Presents SMYAL’s Youth Arts Ensemble and Dance Exchanges Teen Exchange. SMYAL (The Sexual Minority Youth Assistance League) engages youth in the arts as part of its programs to support self-confident, healthy, productive lives for LGBT youth. Dance Exchange’s Teen Exchange offers young people opportunities to grow as movers and thinkers. This is a free performance that will take place at the Atlas Performing Arts Center (1333 H Street N.E.).

VT Dance/Vincent Thomas premieres “Shadows” Sunday and Monday at the Theatre Project Baltimore in Baltimore (45 West Preston Street). “Shadows” explores the ideas of manhood and masculinity. Tickets are $20 and can be purchased btp.taxato.com. They will also take the Kennedy Center Millennium Stage (2700 F Street N.W.) on June 13.

On March 30-April 1, Ballet Preljocaj, led by artistic director Angelin Preljocaj, brings Blanche Neige (Snow White) to the Kennedy Center Eisenhower Theater (2700 F St., N.W.). With costumes designed by Jean Paul Gaultier, the gay designer who’s designed beautifully outlandish costumes for Madonna and Lady Gaga, this retelling is bound to be a delight. Tickets start at $18 and are available at kennedy-center.org.

American tap dancer and prodigy Savion Glover will take the stage at the Warner Theatre (1513 13th Street N.W.) on March 30-31 with his performance SoLe Sanctuary. Tickets are available at warnertheatredc.com and range from $29-$59.

The renowned New York City Ballet will perform twice at the Kennedy Center Opera House (2700 F Street N.W.) and will be accompanied by the Opera House Orchestra April 3-8. Tickets are $25-$85 and are available at kennedy-center.org.

Gay choreographer Dana Tai Soon Burgess and his company will kick off their 20^th anniversary season April 4-5 with performances showcasing the highlights of The Dana Tai Soon Burgess and Company performances. This performance will include the works “Becoming American,” “Hyphen,” “Khaybet” and “Fractures.” The dance company will take the stage at The George Washington University Dorothy Betts Marvin Theatre (800 21st St., N.W.). This is the same theater where Burgess launched his company two decades ago. Tickets are $15 for students, $22 for artists and $25 for general admission. For information, visit dtsbco.com.

Dana Tai Soon Burgess and company will also dance at the National Portrait Gallery (800 F St., N.W.) on May 18.

The Washington Ballet presents the world premiere of “Alice (in Wonderland)” at the John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts Eisenhower Theater (2700 F St., N.W.) April 11-15. This piece is choreographed by gay director and choreographer Septime Webre. Tickets range from $50-$155 and can be purchased at kennedy-center.org.

The Washington Ballet also premieres its piece “Once Upon a Time” this spring at the THEARC Theater (1901 Mississippi Ave., S.E.) on May 19-20. This piece is inspired by fairy tales around the world and includes dancer Lucy Bowen McCauley. Tickets are $50.

Dance Place (3225 8th St., N.E.) has a wide selection of exciting performances set for spring. For details, visit danceplace.org

Gay choreographer Wally Cardona comes to Dance Place on April 6-7 at 8 p.m. with Jennifer Lacey to present “Tool is Loot.” Tickets are $22 and are available at danceplace.org.

Dakshina/Daniel Phoenix Singh Dance Company has several events planned for spring in the area including an appearance at Dance Place on April 29. This gay-helmed outfit is celebrating its eighth year. For more information on their spring season, visit dakshina.org.

The D.C. Lambda Squares, an LGBT square-dancing social group, has many square dance events coming up in the spring including community dances and club format dance nights. For more information, visit dclambdasquares.org. Lambda DanceSport D.C. is an organization that supports the art and sport of same-gender dancing across all genres and has classes taught in Dupont Circle. For more information and a schedule of classes, visit LambdaDanceSport.com.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Vitamin C at JR.’s

Live drag show follows ‘Drag Race All Stars’ viewing party

Published

7 hours ago

July 19, 2026

Landon Shackelford

Brooke N Hymen performs at JR.'s at the Vitamin C drag show on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

JR.’s Bar held a “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” watch party followed by a live drag show on Friday, July 17. The Vitamin C weekly drag show was hosted by Citrine with performers Brooke N Hyman and Rosie Beret.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

Photos

PHOTOS: Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival

LGBTQ celebration held at convention center

Published

10 hours ago

July 19, 2026

Daniel Truitt

A scene from the 2026 Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)

The 2026 Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival was held at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center on Saturday, July 18.

(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)

Books

Liza’s book a tale that’s better than most celebrity memoirs

‘Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!’ dishes on marriages, heartbreak

Published

11 hours ago

July 19, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Grand Central)

‘Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! My Memoir’
By Liza Minnelli, as told to Michael Feinstein
c.2026, Grand Central
$36/ 421 pages

Twenty feet In front of you, and you can’t see a thing.

Even the closest faces are in shadow – lit, but not quite enough for you to see for sure what the people there are thinking. Still, you can hear them, their gasps, their laughter, and applause. Such is life, on-stage. Now read “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! My Memoir” by Liza Minnelli, as told to Michael Feinstein, and read about it beyond the spotlight.

Almost from the moment she was born, Liza Minnelli was famous.

It was inevitable: her mother was Judy Garland. Her father was director Vincente Minnelli. Her godparents were Hollywood glitterati, her neighbors were famous, her playmates would be famous someday, too.

But her life wasn’t all starlight and happiness.

She made her stage debut as a toddler. She became her “mother’s caretaker” at age 13.

At 16, she had a growing career of her own – one that her mother tried to stop. But, she says, “In her own way, Mama was wonderful to me. Try understanding – she was my mother, not a movie star…. I knew her as the person who loved me and always would.”

At 19, Minnelli was working, happy, and madly in love with the man who’d become her first husband, and life was wonderful – until she came home one day to find him in their bed with another man. Before they were divorced, she lost her beloved mother, and became “engaged” to two other men simultaneously, neither of which made it to the altar with her.

She married her second husband, the son of one of her mother’s former co-stars, in 1974 but her love affairs and addictions led to a second divorce.

Her third husband was a stage manager.

She doesn’t have much good to say about her fourth, and last, husband.

Overall, she says, “You gotta play the comedy for all it’s worth and leave ‘em laughing. Even when your heart is breaking.”

Are you expecting bluntness, sass, or attitude here? Good, because that’s what you get inside “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” It’s strong on honesty and don’t-give-a-flip. It’s wonderfully edited, so it moves fast. It’s eye-opening and funny and a pleasant surprise for a first, and only (so far), memoir.

Even better, author Liza Minnelli (with best friend, Michael Feinstein) is really quite candid and nicely gossipy, starting from the beginning. There are some Hollywood folks, in fact, who are feeling edgy because of what’s inside this book and the secrets spilled. Minnelli and Feinstein seemed to have fun telling her story, and they comfortably lure readers in.

That’s not to say that it’s all a cabaret. Minnelli tells about her addictions and recoveries, her marriages and why she wed two gay men, and the losses she endured, including miscarriages, deaths, and broken relationships. The bad balances well with the good for a tale that’s several notches above most celebrity memoirs. “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” is, in fact, a real joy to read, a genuine bright spot.

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