Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: June 15
Parties, events, concerts and more through June 21
This weekend is the last to see gay photographer Tommie Adams’ work in a Ward 8 exhibit. Visit serenityplayers.org for details. (Photo courtesy Adams)
TODAY (Friday)
Whitman-Walker Health clinic is having HIV test at Beat the Streets (14th and Saratoga, N.E.) today from 3:30-7:30 p.m. For more information, visit Whitman-walker.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. This event is 21 and older. There’s no cover charge. For details, visit towndc.com.
Grupo Fantasma is playing on Black Cat’s main stage (1811 14th St. N.W.) tonight at 9. The group is considered one of the funkiest Latin orchestras in the U.S. Tickets are $15 in advance and $18 at the door. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
Code is hosting its XXX: Anything Goes party tonight at The Crucible (16 M St., N.E.) at 10 p.m. The event is men only. Admission is $30. For details, visit codedc.com.
Ali Wong, SF Weekly’s “Best Comedian of 2009,” performs tonight at Riot Act Comedy Theater (801 E. St., N.W.) at 10:30 p.m. Admission is $12 -$20. For more information, visit riotcomedy.com.
Phase 1 (525 8th St., S.E.) is hosting “Dance Party with DJ Staylo” tonight at
7:30. Admission is $10. For details, visit phase1dc.com.
Saturday, June 16
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, works with the Lost Dog & Cat Foundation at the Falls Church Petsmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.) today at 11:45 a.m. For details, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Lambda Sci-Fi (2462 Tunlaw Rd., N.W.) hosts a post-Pride potluck video party featuring science fiction, fantasy and horror today at 3:30 p.m. Attendees are asked to bring favorite DVDs, food and non-alcoholic drinks to share. For more information, visit lambdascifi.org.
Tonight is the last opportunity to see gay photographer Tommie Adams’ work in his current exhibit, “Natural Light and the Male Nude,” this evening at 6 located in the ARCH Development Training Center (1231 Good Hope Rd., S.E.). Adams has been a photographer for10 years, and in the current exhibit, he explores how diversity and emotion that can be expressed by the male nude. This event is free. For more information, visit serenityplayers.org.
The play “9 Parts of Desire” is being performed tonight at the Davis Performing Arts Center (37th and O St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. The piece delves into the lives of different Iraqi women. The event is free, but attendees must reserve tickets. For details, visit performingarts.georgetown.edu.
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts “Bare” tonight at 10, a ladies dance party featuring DJ Rosie and other invited guests. Cover is $7 before midnight and $10 after. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.
Green Lantern (1335 Green Court N.W.) is hosting “Ink & Scruff,” an underwear party showcasing sexy scruffy men with tattoos, tonight at 10. There’s a hot body contest, music by DJ Tone and drink specials during the event. For more information, visit greenlanterndc.com.
Club Hippo (1 West Eager St., Baltimore) holds a dance party in honor of Baltimore Pride tonight at 8. The event features DJ Escape and DJ Rosie. Admission is $10. For details, visit clubhippo.com.
Sunday, June 17
A free screening of the movie “Pariah,” by writer and director Dee Rees screens tonight at Busboys and Poets (4251 South Campbell Ave., Arlington) from 7-9 p.m. The film is about an African-American adolescent girl learning to embrace her identity as a lesbian. For details, visit busboysandpoets.com.
Today is the last chance to see “Flora and the Red Menace” at 1st Stage Theater (1524 Spring Hill Rd., McLean, Va). There’s one showing at 3 p.m. and another at 7 p.m. Tickets are $30. For more information, visit 1ststagespringhill.org.
VF Dance Theater presents “Futurology,” a dance production that journeys into the year 3012, tonight at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) starting at 7:30. Tickets are $25. For details, visit kennedy-center.org.
Ladies Only Intro to Djing is tonight with DJs K La Rock and Junebullet at Black Cat (1811 14th St. N.W.). Doors open at 8 and admission is $7. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
Monday, June 18
Comedian Neil Hamburger performs tonight at Black Cat (1811 14th St. N.W.). Doors open at 8 p.m. Tickets are $12. For more information, visit blackcatdc.com.
D.C. Lambda Squares, the only square dancing club in D.C., hosts an open house tonight at National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.) starting at 7 p.m. For details, visit dclambdasquares.org.
The School of Hawaiian Dance celebrates the Hawaii’s PA’I Foundation’s 35th anniversary tonight at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) at 6 p.m. This event is free. For more information, visit kennedy-center.org.
Tuesday, June 19
The FUK!T packing party is tonight at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court N.W.) at 7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to bring friends and see how many FUK!T or TOOLK!TS (safer sex kits) they can pack in two hours. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Arieb Azhar, a Pakistani singer/songwriter, performs at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) tonight at 6 p.m. This event is free. For details, visit kennedy-center.org.
Club Hippo (1 West Eager St., Baltimore) hosts Showtune Video Madness tonight at 8. For more information, visit clubhippo.com.
Wednesday, June 20
The Jewish Community Center (1529 16th St., N.W.) hosts an ANC meeting on the safety of the Dupont Circle neighborhood this evening from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The event is free. For details, visit the dccenter.org.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club meets tonight for social bridge at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) A partner is not needed. For more information, visit lambdabridge.com.
The Outlaw Roadshow featuring Counting Crows plays tonight at the Filene Center in Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road, Vienna) at 7 p.m. Tickets range from $30-$48. For details, visit wolftrap.org.
Thursday, June 21
Whitman-Walker Health Clinic hosts HIV testing at Bachelor’s Mill (91104 8th St., S.E.) tonight at 10:30 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
Two-time Grammy winner Diana Krall plays tonight at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Road, Vienna) starting at 8 p.m. Krall, who became a professional jazz musician at age 15, is known for her slow smooth jazz. Tickets are $35. For details, visit wolftrap.org.
Chesapeake Squares, a gay square dancing group, holds an open house dance for members and non-members tonight at the Waxter Center (1000 Cathedral St., Baltimore) from 8-10 p.m. Cost is $8 for members and $10 for non-members. For more information, visit chesapeakesquares.org.
Hippo Club (1 West Eager St., Baltimore) is having its Hip-Hop Night featuring DJ Rosie tonight at 10. Admission is $6 before 11 p.m. and $8 after. For details, visit culbhippo.com.
The 2026 Mr. Mid-Atlantic Leather competition was held at the Hyatt Regency Capitol Hill on Sunday. Seven contestants vied for the title and Gage Ryder was named the winner.
(Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Theater
Voiceless ‘Antony & Cleopatra’ a spectacle of operatic proportions
Synetic production pulls audience into grips of doomed lovers’ passion
‘Antony & Cleopatra’
Through Jan. 25
Synetic Theater at
Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre
450 7th St., N.W.
Synetictheater.org
A spectacle of operatic proportions, Synetic Theater’s “Antony & Cleopatra” is performed entirely voiceless. An adaptation of the Bard’s original (a play bursting with wordplay, metaphors, and poetic language), the celebrated company’s production doesn’t flinch before the challenge.
Staged by Paata Tsikurishvili and choreographed by Irina Tsikurishvili, this worthy remount is currently playing at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre, the same venue where it premiered 10 years ago. Much is changed, including players, but the usual inimitable Synectic energy and ingenuity remain intact.
As audiences file into the Klein, they’re met with a monumental pyramid bathed in mist on a dimly lit stage. As the lights rise, the struggle kicks off: Cleopatra (Irina Kavsadze) and brother Ptolemy (Natan-Maël Gray) are each vying for the crown of Egypt. Alas, he wins and she’s banished from Alexandria along with her ethereal black-clad sidekick Mardian (Stella Bunch); but as history tells us, Cleopatra soon makes a triumphant return rolled in a carpet.
Meanwhile, in the increasingly dangerous Rome, Caesar (memorably played by Tony Amante) is assassinated by a group of senators. Here, his legendary Ides of March murder is rather elegantly achieved by silver masked politicians, leaving the epic storytelling to focus on the titular lovers.
The fabled couple is intense. As the Roman general Antony, Vato Tsikurishvili comes across as equal parts warrior, careerist, and beguiled lover. And despite a dose of earthiness, it’s clear that Kavsadze’s Cleopatra was born to be queen.
Phil Charlwood’s scenic design along with Colin K. Bills’ lighting cleverly morph the huge pyramidic structure into the throne of Egypt, the Roman Senate, and most astonishingly as a battle galley crashing across the seas with Tsikurishvili’s Antony ferociously at the helm.
There are some less subtle suggestions of location and empire building in the form of outsized cardboard puzzle pieces depicting the Mediterranean and a royal throne broken into jagged halves, and the back-and-forth of missives.
Of course, going wordless has its challenges. Kindly, Synectic provides a compact synopsis of the story. I’d recommend coming early and studying that page. With changing locations, lots of who’s who, shifting alliances, numerous war skirmishes, and lack of dialogue, it helps to get a jump on plot and characters.
Erik Teague’s terrific costume design is not only inspired but also helpful. Crimson red, silver, and white say Rome; while all things Egyptian have a more exotic look with lots of gold and diaphanous veils, etc.
When Synetic’s voicelessness works, it’s masterful. Many hands create the magic: There’s the direction, choreography, design, and the outrageously committed, sinewy built players who bring it to life through movement, some acrobatics, and the remarkable sword dancing using (actual sparking sabers) while twirling to original music composed by Konstantine Lortkipanidze.
Amid the tumultuous relationships and frequent battling (fight choreography compliments of Ben Cunis), moments of whimsy and humor aren’t unwelcome. Ptolemy has a few clownish bits as Cleopatra’s lesser sibling. And Antony’s powerful rival Octavian (ageless out actor Philip Fletcher) engages in peppy propaganda featuring a faux Cleopatra (played by Maryam Najafzada) as a less than virtuous queen enthusiastically engaged in an all-out sex romp.
When Antony and Cleopatra reach their respective ends with sword and adder, it comes almost as a relief. They’ve been through so much. And from start to finish, without uttering a word, Kavsadze and Tsikurishvili share a chemistry that pulls the audience into the grips of the doomed lovers’ palpable passion.
Out & About
Love board games and looking for love?
Quirk Events will host “Board Game Speed Dating for Gay Men” on Thursday, Jan. 22 at 7 p.m. at KBird DC.
Searching for a partner can be challenging. But board games are always fun. So what if you combined board games and finding a partner?
Picture this: You sit down for a night of games. A gaming concierge walks you through several games over the course of the night. You play classics you love and discover brand new games you’ve never heard of, playing each with a different group of fun singles. All while in a great establishment.
At the end of the night, you give your gaming concierge a list of the folks you met that you’d like to date and a list of those you met that you’d like to just hang out with as friends. If any two people put down the same name as each other in either column, then your gaming concierge will make sure you get each other’s e-mail address and you can coordinate a time to hang out.
Tickets cost $31.80 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
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