Arts & Entertainment
Baltimore arts briefs: March 9
‘Blackouts’ author on book tour, Hippo drag show and more
Author Mark Brennan Rosenberg finishes his visit to the area on a 45-city book tour with a stop in Baltimore. (Photo courtesy Rosenberg)
‘Blackouts’ author plans regional book tour
Openly gay author Mark Brennan Rosenberg brings his 45-city book tour to Baltimore with a visit to The Book Escape (805 Light St.) on March 15 at 5 p.m.
Rosenberg’s tour is to promote his first book, “Blackouts and Breakdowns,” as well as his second book, “Eating My Feelings,” slated for release on April 19.
“Blackouts” includes 11 short stories exploring Rosenberg’s once excessive drinking and the struggles he faced when becoming sober. “Eating” includes 16 essays about his time in fat camp, high school and more.
Rosenberg will also have appearances University of Maryland Bookstore on March 12, Duplex 18 & U on March 13 and Towson University on March 14.
Hippo hosts glam drag show
Josie & the PussyCats presents “A Baltimore BLAST Show” on Friday at Club Hippo (1 West Eager St.).
The show will feature Jada, first alternate to Miss Gay Baltimore; Josie Foster, a promoter for Miss Gay Baltimore; Chi Chi Ray Colby, Miss Gay Maryland America; Sue Nami, former Miss Gay Maryland; and more.
Tickets are $7 and can be purchased by calling 410-274-7118.
Doors open at 10 p.m.
Also at Club Hippo, DJ Jason Royce will be spinning on Saturday.
On Foursquare? Add many of these events to your To-Do list, and connect with the Blade to always be in the know.
Heading ‘Into the Woods’
Center Stage (700 N. Calvert St.) presents “Night Out: Into the Woods,” Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine’s retelling of Grimm classics directed by Mark Lamos on March 13 at 6:30 p.m.
“Into the Woods” follows familiar folktale figures such as Cinderella, Little Red Ridinghood and more as they try to get home before dark. Danielle Ferland, who originated the role of Red on Broadway, returns to the production as the baker’s wife.
The Tuesday before opening night, “Night Out” is an evening of theater and cocktails designed for the LGBT community.
Tickets range from $10 to $45 and can be purchased online at centerstage.org. “Into the Woods” will run through April 15.
Mink Stole, others at the Patterson
Creative Alliance presents Erin Markey, the Degenerettes, Lexie Mountain and a guest appearance by Mink Stole on Friday at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Ave.) at 8 p.m.
Markey is a long-time member of the queer performance cabaret, the Charm City Kitty Club. She’ll be performing a variety of things, including excerpts from her newest solo musical project, “The Dardy Family Home Movies by Stephen Sondheim by Erin Markey.”
Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for CA members.
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
