Arts & Entertainment
Baltimore arts briefs: April 27
Queer films at Towson U., Christine Ebersole in town and more
Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor in ‘Beginners,’ which will be screened this weekend at Towson University. Plummer played gay and won an Oscar. (Photo courtesy Focus Features)
Queer films screened at Towson
Towson University (800 York Rd., Towson) is having its third annual Queer Film Festival starting Monday and running through Thursday.
Monday’s films are the 2012 French film “Polariod Song” and the 2011 film “Pariah.” The films will be screened from 7:30 to 10:30 p.m. in VB204.
Tuesday will include a screening of the 2011 film “Beginners” starring Oscar winner Christopher Plummer and Ewan McGregor at 8:15 p.m. Before the screening, there will also be a couple exhibits open for viewing.
The festival ends with screenings of “The Rocky Horror Picture Show” and “The Buffy Musical: Once More, with Feeling” starting at 7 p.m. There is a $5 suggested donation to LGBT Alternative Spring Break and prop kits will be available.
All events will be in room 204 of Van Bokkelen Hall. For more information, visittowson.edu/qff.
Ebersole in Baltimore for Saturday performance
Tony Award-winning singer and actress Christine Ebersole plays the Baltimore Hebrew Congregation (7401 Park Heights Ave.) for Night of the Stars Satuday at 8 p.m.
The event will be honoring Martha and Stan Weiman and will benefit Religious School Scholarships and Youth Programs.
Tickets are $75 for general seating.
For more information and to purchase tickets, visit bhcong.org.
Gay volleyball tourney this weekend
Charm City Volleyball, a LGBT volleyball organization, is having its annual Charm City Invitational starting today at the Volleyball House (3635 Furnace Ave., Elkridge).
Registration is tonight at Club Hippo (1 W. Eager St.) from 7 to 11 p.m.
Saturday starts at 7 a.m. with an hour-long warm-up for pool play. There will also be late sign-in registration at 7:30 a.m. The day ends with a banquet and seeding party at Club Hippo.
Sunday also starts at 7 a.m. at the House with another warm-up. Double elimination play begins at 8 a.m. There will be a post-tournament happy hour from 5 to 8 p.m. at a to be determined location. A post tournament party will be at Grand Central (1001/1003 N. Charles St.) starting at 8 p.m.
For more information, visit volleybaltimore.org.
Coming out, trans and poz groups to meet at Center
The GLBT Community Center of Baltimore and Central Maryland (241 West Chase St.) has a large variety of groups meeting this week.
On Saturday, Sufficient As I Am, a group for youth 24 and younger dealing with issues of sexuality, coming out, relationships, family and more, meets in room 201 at 12:30 p.m. The Baltimore Trans-Masculine Alliance, a FTM support group, is also meeting at 6 p.m. in room 202. Tran*quility, a MTF support group meets at 8 p.m. in room 202.
POZ Men, an LGBT-affirming peer support group for all HIV-positive men, meets on Wednesday in room 202 at 6 p.m.
For more information on these groups and others, visit glccb.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.
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