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Arts briefs: May 18

Casino night for Team D.C., Lambda Legal milestone and much more for D.C. and Baltimore

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Nightly events planned at Grand Central

Grand Central Station (1001/1003 N. Charles St.) has a bunch of events coming up this week.

Saturday brings Rich Morel’s “Hot Sauce.” There’s a $10 cover.

Sunday is “Night of Broadway” starring Sue Nami, Jada B, Lola Mein, Anastasia Amor with special guest Aunye Diamond and hosted by Josie Foster from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. Tickets are $10

Monday and Tuesday will be karaoke with Nikki Cox from 10 p.m. to 1 a.m.

Wednesday is “hump,” an electro-pop, alternative, indie dance night starting at 9 p.m. with DJ Arturo with Ryan Bartz and Travis Rice behind the bar.

Thursday is Ladies Night with DJ Lems.

Men’s Chorus performs at the Patterson

The Baltimore Men’s Chorus presents “Time and Elements” on Saturday at the Creative Alliance at the Patterson (3134 Eastern Ave.) at 8 p.m.

Directed by Tony Bianca and founded 20 years ago, the Chorus is sometimes campy, sometimes crazy, heartfelt and poignant. There will be a silent auction in the lobby and a post-show performance with Amy Willis in the Marquee Lounge.

Tickets are $15 for general admission and $10 for CA members.

For more information, visit baltimoremenschorus.com. To purchase tickets, visit creativealliance.org.

Carmen Carrera, an alum of ‘Ru Paul’s Drag Race,’ will be at the Hippo for an Equality Maryland event Sunday. (Photo courtesy Logo)

Equality Md. holds wedding expo, drag contest

Equality Maryland is sponsoring two events Sunday in the Baltimore area.

First up is a LGBT wedding show at Sheraton Baltimore North (903 Dulaney Valley Rd., Towson) at 1 p.m. This is Sheraton’s first such event and all brides and grooms-to-be are eligible to win giveaways. There is a $5 admission charge and a portion of admissions will benefit the Trevor Project.

RSVP by calling 410-321-7400 or emailing [email protected].

After the wedding show, Equality Maryland hosts “So You Think You Can Drag” at Club Hippo (1 West Eager St.) starting at 6 p.m. with Carmen Carrera from “RuPaul’s Drag Race,” singer Lea Gilmore, Deputy Chief Kaliope Parthemos and SEIU 500 Political Director Mark McLaurin as judges.

Tickets are $25 for attendees over 25 and $15 for attendees under 25 or with a valid college ID. The event is free for performers.

For more information on either event, visit equalitymaryland.org.

Coming out, poz group and others 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.

POZ Men, an LGBT-affirming peer support group for all HIV-positive men, meets on Wednesday in room 202 at 6 p.m.

Women of Color, a social and discussion group, meets on Thursday at 7:30 p.m. in room 202.

For more information on these groups and others, visit glccb.org.

Casino night to benefit Team D.C.

Team D.C. presents Casino Night on Saturday at Buffalo Billiards (1330 19th St., N.W.) from 8 p.m. to midnight.

The night will include poker, blackjack and craps with dealers from local LGBT sports teams.

There is a $10 entry fee, which includes chips to play games and enters attendees to win raffle prizes. Proceeds from the night are split among the participating sports clubs.

For more information, visit teamdc.org.

Gay law organization celebrates milestone

Lambda Legal is celebrating Kevin Cathcart’s 20th anniversary as executive director on Tuesday at Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) from 6:30 to 9 p.m.

Lambda Legal was founded in 1973 as the nation’s first legal organization dedicated to achieving full equality for lesbian and gay people.

The evening will feature cocktails and hors d’oeuvres as the organization celebrates 20 years of historic legal victories.

Tickets range from $150 for individual tickets to $25,000 for district sponsor.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit lambdalegal.org.

Gaithersburg book fest draws 80 authors

The third annual Gaithersburg Book Festival with more than 80 featured bestselling and award-winning authors, is Saturday at the Gaithersburg City Hall Grounds from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m.

Other festival activities include a spotlight on local authors, interactive writing workshops, a Children’s Village, a coffee house featuring performances from poets and singer/songwriters and more.

Admission, parking and handicap-accessible shuttle bus are free. For more information and a complete list of authors and events, visit gaithersburgbookfestival.org.

Local pros offer tips at Chamber event

The Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce present “Best Impressions,” a panel giving the secrets to impress with style at the offices of Ackerman Brown PLLC (1250 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) Monday from 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m.

The panel will feature Brad Brenner of District Psychotherapy Consultants, Christopher Schafer of Christopher Schafer Clothier, David Beck of Salon Rouge and Dr. Howard Brooks of Skin Cosmetic Dermatology of Georgetown.

The panel is $25 for members and $45 for non-members.

For more information and to register, visit caglcc.org/MayBML.

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Theater

Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth

First five shows a reminder that ‘pressure is a privilege’

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Reggie D. White (Photo by Ambe J. Williams)

Madly talented and preternaturally energetic, Reggie D. White, 38, is about to launch his first season as artistic director of D.C.’s boundary-pushing Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

White brings a lot to the job. As actor, playwright, and director, his varied resume includes a 2019 Broadway acting debut in Matthew López’s Tony Award–winning play “The Inheritance,” his semi-autobiographic play “Fremont Ave.” that opened to acclaim last season at Arena Stage, and a number of exciting regional directing credits.

A longtime admirer of Woolly, the out theater-maker was selected from a pool of candidates before receiving the offer last November and starting work in January. His season of five world premieres kicks off with gay playwright Steve Yockey’s “Venus” (Sept. 9-Oct. 4), a darkly funny study of modern relationships told through two lesbians looking back on their first encounter.

White was introduced to Woolly Mammoth as a pre-law student at Cal State Hayward in the San Francisco Bay Area, long before he foresaw a life in the arts. “As part of a random theater history course, I was assigned to write a paper on a counterculture company called Woolly Mammoth,” he recalls “Strange name. I was like what the hell is that?” 

Nineteen-year-old White was intrigued. Research acquainted him with Howard Shalwitz who co-founded Woolly in 1980, and the company’s commitment to living playwrights and new work. He also learned how theater could be used as a tool for difficult conversations and shape the way people thought about social issues by employing imagination and rigor. 

“Never in a million years did young me envision that one day I’d be Woolly’s third artistic director in its 46-year history,” says White. “It’s kind of serendipitously insane.” 

WASHINGTON BLADE: Was there a moment when the enormity of the job hit you?

REGGIE D. WHITE: After I’d signed my contract and finished all the paperwork, I got my keys and sat in the theater by myself in the dark and thought about what an incredible honor it is to be trusted with what happens in this beautiful space [in D.C.’s Penn Quarter]. I might have cried. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember it’s real. 

BLADE: Are you curating the upcoming 2026–2027 season? 

WHITE: Yes, I am.  It’s very rare that an incoming artistic director gets to program their first season, but I was lucky in terms of time. After being hired late last year, I asked Woolly’s managing director Kimberly E. Douglas, if she thought it would be crazy if I programmed the season. She warned me it would be hard. 

I invoked tennis legend Billie Jean King’s maxim “pressure is a privilege” and got to work. 

These plays [dubbed White’s “first five”] represent both the kind of theater that Woolly can do really well and speak directly to my voice as curator and how I want to contribute to the larger theatrical conversation in the DMV. 

Getting here has meant a lot of late nights. But I knew the juice would be worth the squeeze.

BLADE: As a queer artistic director, what makes you unique? 

WHITE: When I was playing in “Inheritance” on Broadway, after a performance, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayer came backstage to meet the cast. She spoke about how her lens on the world as a Puerto Rican woman shapes her decisions. Similarly, because I’m a queer Black man I see through a lens that shapes my work.

I know I’m not the only queer artistic director in town. For me, it influences how I make editorial decisions. Out of this season’s five plays there are explicitly queer characters in four [“Venus,” “Chanukkah Spectacular,” “Ten Grand,” and “Love I Awethu Further”] and I’m directing two [“Venus,” “Ten Grand”].

BLADE: Will we see familiar faces?

WHITE: Every show this season will feature a Woolly Mammoth company member in its cast. Our company also includes designers and directors who we’ll include. I’m invested in continuing to provide a showcase for their work. 

BLADE: How do you think queer audiences will receive the season? 

WHITE: Very well, I think. For queer people who’ve had to navigate the world subversively and solve problems in unique ways, I think it will be especially interesting. I find theater a potent place for questions.

Like all artistic directors. I’ll show up for the job in my own way. I’m just excited that I’ve been invited to bring the fullness of myself to the role.

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PHOTOS: Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade

Annual LGBTQ celebration held in Dutch city during World Pride

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A scene from the 2026 Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key are on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10.

AMSTERDAM — The 2026 Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade was held on Saturday, Aug. 1.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Michael K. Lavers)

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PHOTOS: Lambda Legal in the Pines

Fundraiser held at ‘Normal Heart’ house

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A scene from the 'Lambda Legal in the Pines' fundraiser on July 25. (Photo by Santiago Felipe)

The LGBTQ organization Lambda Legal held its annual “Lambda Legal in the Pines” fundraiser on Saturday, July 25. The event was held at a house on Fire Island featured in Ryan Murphy’s 2014 HBO film, “The Normal Heart.”

Organizers say over $500,000 was raised to support Lambda Legal’s national litigation and advocacy work.

(Photos by Santiago Felipe)

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