Arts & Entertainment
Cherry time
Dance benefit gears up, Queer Prom slated for Saturday night and more
Revelers at last year's Cherry at Town. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Cherry charity dance events kick off next week
Cherry 2012 starts Thursday and will continue through next weekend with various parties and events.
This year the event starts with a welcome center at Mova (2204 14th St., N.W.) on Thursday from 5 to 9 p.m. where tickets and passes may be purchased or picked up. Then Ignition will be held at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m.
Friday (March 30) will have its own welcome center at No. 9 (1435 P St., N.W) from 5 to 9 p.m. followed by two events. There will be a women’s event at Phase 1 Dupont (1415 22nd St., N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. and “Boys on Fire” at Warehouse Loft (411 New York Ave., N.E.) from 9 p.m. to 4 a.m.
March 31 brings the “Moody Horror Picture Show,” a birthday celebration for party pioneer, Moody Mustafa at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) from 2 to 7 p.m. Town is also hosting that night’s “Blossom” from 10 p.m. to 4 a.m.
The festival ends on April 1 with “Momentum” at Ibiza (1222 1st St., N.E.) from 4 to 9 a.m. followed by a brunch and tea dance at Cobalt from noon to 6 p.m. The final event is “Ovation” at Ultra Bar (911 F St., N.W.) from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m.
Tickets for individual events range from $17 to $50. The 2012 Cherry Host Pass is $120 and does not include admission “Moody Horror Picture Show.” For complete event details and to purchase tickets, visit cherryfund.org.
Jewish LGBT experience explored in film
As part of the Northern Virginia International Jewish Film Festival, Artisphere (1101 Wilson Blvd., Arlington) is screening the film “Trembling Before G-d” on Saturday at 8 p.m.
The film, directed by Sandi Simcha Dubowski, follows gay and lesbian Orthodox Jews as they try to reconcile their sexuality with the faith. It also includes interviews with rabbis and psychotherapists about Jewish attitudes towards homosexuality.
Tickets are $11 for adults and $8 for seniors and students.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit artisphere.com.
Queer Prom goes ‘Carnival’
Last year's Capital Queer Prom. (Blade file photo by Michael Key)
The sixth annual Capital Queer Prom “Carnival Extravaganza” is this weekend at Almas Shriners Ballroom (1315 K St., N.W.) from 7:30 to 11:30 p.m.
The evening will include interactive carnival games, entertainment, a silent auction, the crowning of the 2012 Prom King and Queen and more. Each guest will also receive a Capital Queer Prom Yearbook and gift bag.
The party will continue at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) where prom guests will get in for free. Then Sunday guests are invited to Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) from 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. for a drag brunch with premiere seating and a special prom treat.
Tickets for the prom are $85, $105 for the prom and brunch. There are also VIP options for the Prom. An individual VIP ticket is $150 and a VIP table for 8 is $1200.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit capitalqueerprom.com.
Feminist writers on Madonna
Five women authors who contributed to the new book “Madonna & Me” will read selections from the essay collection Tuesday at Busboys and Poets (14th and V Streets, NW) at 6:30 p.m. Local author Shawna Kenney and rock journalist Maria Raha will appear.
The book is from Laura Barcella, a San Francisco-based writer who became obsessed with Madonna at age 6.
“As I grew older, [Madonna] served as a sort of course in feminism 101 for me,” Barcella says. “She set the stage for a lot of ideas that began to develop later, including her thoughts on women, gender and feminism. Later I learned that Madonna has played a role in many women’s lives.”
“Madonna & Me: Women Writers on the Queen of Pop” is 39 personal essays by women writers (including Barcella). The anthology focuses on how Madonna has influenced the essayists’ lives. The entries run the gamut from funny to intense. Barcella writes about her first boyfriend’s hatred for the superstar and how it destroyed their relationship, whereas lesbian author Laura Andre’s essay recounts the positive role Madonna played in her coming out.
The event, which is free, coincides with the release of Madonna’s latest album “MDNA” which drops Tuesday. — Patrick Folliard
Team DC, the umbrella organization for LGBTQ-friendly sports teams and leagues in the D.C. area, held its annual Night of Champions Awards Gala on Saturday, April 20 at the Hilton National Mall. The organization gave out scholarships to area LGBTQ student athletes as well as awards to the Different Drummers, Kelly Laczko of Duplex Diner, Stacy Smith of the Edmund Burke School, Bryan Frank of Triout, JC Adams of DCG Basketball and the DC Gay Flag Football League.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2024 National Cannabis Festival was held at the Fields at RFK Stadium on April 19-20.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering the @NatlCannaFest at RFK Stadium for @WashBlade . Stop by the LGBTQ+ booth and pick up a paper if you are here. pic.twitter.com/is7hnsaPns
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) April 20, 2024
Theater
‘Amm(i)gone’ explores family, queerness, and faith
A ‘fully autobiographical’ work from out artist Adil Mansoor
‘Amm(i)gone’
Thorough May 12
Woolly Mammoth Theatre
641 D St., N.W.
$60-$70
Woollymammoth.net
“Fully and utterly autobiographical.” That’s how Adil Mansoor describes “Amm(i)gone,” his one-man work currently playing at Woolly Mammoth Theatre.
Both created and performed by out artist Mansoor, it’s his story about inviting his Pakistani mother to translate Sophocles’s Greek tragedy “Antigone” into Urdu. Throughout the journey, there’s an exploration of family, queerness, and faith,as well as references to teachings from the Quran, and audio conversations with his Muslim mother.
Mansoor, 38, grew up in the suburbs of Chicago and is now based in Pittsburgh where he’s a busy theater maker. He’s also the founding member of Pittsburgh’s Hatch Arts Collective and the former artistic director of Dreams of Hope, an LGBTQ youth arts organization.
WASHINGTON BLADE: What spurred you to create “Amm(i)gone”?
ADIL MANSOOR: I was reading a translation of “Antigone” a few years back and found myself emotionally overwhelmed. A Theban princess buries her brother knowing it will cost her, her own life. It’s about a person for whom all aspirations are in the afterlife. And what does that do to the living when all of your hopes and dreams have to be reserved for the afterlife?
I found grant funding to pay my mom to do the translation. I wanted to engage in learning. I wanted to share theater but especially this ancient tragedy. My mother appreciated the characters were struggling between loving one another and their beliefs.
BLADE: Are you more director than actor?
MANSOOR: I’m primarily a director with an MFA in directing from Carnegie Mellon. I wrote, directed, and performed in this show, and had been working on it for four years. I’ve done different versions including Zoom. Woolly’s is a new production with the same team who’ve been involved since the beginning.
I love solo performance. I’ve produced and now teach solo performance and believe in its power. And I definitely lean toward “performance” and I haven’t “acted” since I was in college. I feel good on stage. I was a tour guide and do a lot of public speaking. I enjoy the attention.
BLADE: Describe your mom.
MANSOOR: My mom is a wonderfully devout Muslim, single mother, social worker who discovered my queerness on Google. And she prays for me.
She and I are similar, the way we look at things, the way we laugh. But different too. And those are among the questions I ask in this show. Our relationship is both beautiful and complicated.
BLADE: So, you weren’t exactly hiding your sexuality?
MANSOOR: In my mid-20s, I took time to talk with friends about our being queer with relation to our careers. My sexuality is essential to the work. As the artistic director at Dreams of Hope, part of the work was to model what it means to be public. If I’m in a room with queer and trans teenagers, part of what I’m doing is modeling queer adulthood. The way they see me in the world is part of what I’m putting out there. And I want that to be expansive and full.
So much of my work involves fundraising and being a face in schools. Being out is about making safe space for queer young folks.
BLADE: Have you encountered much Islamophobia?
MANSOOR: When 9/11 happened, I was a sophomore in high school, so yes. I faced a lot then and now. I’ve been egged on the street in the last four months. I see it in the classroom. It shows up in all sorts of ways.
BLADE: What prompted you to lead your creative life in Pittsburgh?
MANSOOR: I’ve been here for 14 years. I breathe with ease in Pittsburgh. The hills and the valleys and the rust of the city do something to me. It’s beautiful, it’ affordable, and there is support for local artists. There’s a lot of opportunity.
Still, the plan was to move to New York in September of 2020 but that was cancelled. Then the pandemic showed me that I could live in Pittsburgh and still have a nationally viable career.
BLADE: What are you trying to achieve with “Amm(i)gone”?
MANSOOR: What I’m sharing in the show is so very specific but I hear people from other backgrounds say I totally see my mom in that. My partner is Catholic and we share so much in relation to this.
I hope the work is embracing the fullness of queerness and how means so many things. And I hope the show makes audiences want to call their parents or squeeze their partners.
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