Arts & Entertainment
Unfurling the Quilt
D.C. residents have multiple opportunities to see AIDS memorial in coming weeks
The AIDS Quilt during a previous display in Washington. (Blade file photo)
The 1 million annual visitors to the Smithsonian Folklife Festival have rarely expected to engage in an international discourse about AIDS at the event in the past. This year, however, attendees can tell their own stories regarding HIV/AIDS through a variety of creative outlets and add to the already massive AIDS Memorial Quilt that will blanket part of the National Mall.
For the first time in the festival’s history, the Smithsonian Center of Folklife and Cultural Heritage is collaborating with the NAMES Project Foundation with the program “Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt.”
The NAMES Project Foundation, established in 1987, is the Atlanta-based international organization that houses and maintains the AIDS Memorial Quilt. About 8,000 of the quilt’s 48,000 panels will be featured at the Folklife Festival to commemorate the quilt’s 25th anniversary and educate visitors about how art has been utilized to address an international epidemic.
“It’s a lovely collaborative effort between the Smithsonian Center of Folklife and Cultural Heritage, who are the presenters along with us,” Julie Rhoad, executive director of the NAMES Project, says. “It’s been a delight working with the curatorial team at the Smithsonian.”
The festival starts Wednesday and will continue through July 1, and will be held again from July 4-8 on the National Mall between 7th and 14th streets. Admission to all events is free. Festival hours are from 11 a.m.-5:30 p.m. each day and special events such as concerts and dance parties begin at 6 p.m.
“Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt” will include a multitude of craft demonstrations, dance and musical performances, theater, children’s activity areas and interactive discussions that will complement the presence of the quilt at the festival. Many of the featured performances will be by artists who have been affected by HIV and AIDS. Visitors will have the opportunity to help make panels that will be incorporated into the quilt, and to tell their own stories.
“We receive a new panel on the average every day, every year. Right now we have I think several hundred that are already in our possession that during the Folklife Festival we will have Gert, who’s been with us 25 years, bundle and sew them on the National Mall,” Rhoad says. “There’s a whole host of creativity and expression around HIV and AIDS and the domestic and global efforts in expression, all centered and viewed through the lens of what the quilt has done.”
In the event of a rain, the NAMES Project has an expertly organized plan called the “rain fold” to protect the quilt.
“Each time we’ve been in D.C. we’ve had to deploy the plan. Amazingly, what happens is we have plastic and we have a way it gets folded up, then we take it under tents,” Rhoad says. “It’s an amazing thing to see. It’s what happens when you’re in the presence of the quilt.”
In addition to their display at the Folklife Festival, many of the quilt’s 48,000 panels will be on the National Mall again from July 21-25 during the start of the International AIDS Conference. About 40 locations throughout the Washington metropolitan area will also display portions of the quilt through July 27. Visit quilt2012.org for more details on when and where the quilt will be displayed in the area.
“It’s important to work as hard as we can to get to D.C. and to make this display a reality. It certainly gets people talking. It certainly calls on society to really think about our humanity and to really think about our connection to one another,” Rhoad says. “What a gift to be on the Smithsonian stage.”
The NAMES Project staff deeply appreciates support from festival visitors for their cause.
“Support comes in many ways — time, talent, treasure. Each is valued by us,” Rhoad says. “It takes a great deal of support to move the quilt to D.C. It takes even more to get it ready for its next adventure.”
The Smithsonian and NAMES Project have collaborated with one another exceptionally well, revealing the power of cooperation in addressing a vital cause.
“The quilt is the ultimate in folk art. It is done by everybody. These are not professional quilters for the most part,” Arlene Reiniger, the Smithsonian’s curator for “Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt,” says. “It’s been wonderful working with the NAMES Project Foundation. They are the ones with the knowledge behind the quilt, the knowledge and resources. What we do is work with them to translate all of this information into a festival program.”
For more information on “Creativity and Crisis: Unfolding the AIDS Memorial Quilt,” visit festival.si.edu.
Theater
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
42nd annual celebration of excellence in local theater set for May 18
Helen Hayes Awards 2026
May 18, 2026
For tickets go to theatrewashington.org
Last year, when out director Tom Story took on the daunting task of directing Round House Theatre’s production of “The Inheritance, Parts One and Two,” he knew that casting would be important, maybe even paramount, to the endeavor’s success. So, Story didn’t mess around.
Penned by queer playwright Matthew López, “The Inheritance” (inspired by E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel “Howards End”) is based on gay culture in the wake of the AIDS crisis.
Story looked at actors he knew, and some he didn’t. He wanted low drama and maybe players who could relate to the LGBTQ experience. In the end, the production’s 13-person cast was entirely queer except for brilliant local favorite Nancy Robinette as Margaret, the wise housekeeper.
Clearly, Story’s vision resonated with audiences. Round House’s production of “The Inheritance” is the most-nominated work of this year’s Helen Hayes Awards, earning 14 nominations. It’s also one of Round House’s highest grossing popular successes ever.
The queer cast members whose ages ranged from about 22 to 60, worked hard and enjoyed the process, and along the way garnered an Outstanding Ensemble in a Play (Hayes) nomination for their efforts.
The ensemble included Jamar Jones as Tristan, a brilliant doctor who leaves New York for Canada after deciding there’s no place for a gay, HIV-positive Black man in America. For the experienced actor, being part of “The Inheritance” was profound: “I think it was a divinely orchestrated production.”
He adds “I really feel that it’s so rare that you get to work on a show of that magnitude…size, time, where virtual strangers genuinely fell into rhythm. We became a cohort. I never felt a sense of unease, or reluctance to try things. I could be as big or bold as I wanted to be; or I could be small. Fail, mess up, try again. I didn’t feel judged.”
Jones considers Richmond his home, but says “I’m based where the work is.” Currently, he’s back at Round House rehearsing “Sally & Tom” (May 27-June28), a play within a play/meta exploration of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings by Suzan-Lori Parks.
Jones plays both a contemporary violinist and an enslaved fiddler, parts that have required him to learn to “air fiddle.” He’s all over it: “I want to represent the art and to be as precise as possible. Taught by an instructor, I’ve made strides with movement of the bow; next up is finger placement.”
Will he leave the play a violinist? “I’ll report back on closing night. Maybe I will have added something to the special skills list on my resume.”
For about a decade, Jones worked in living history, interpreting, performing, and writing pieces about the enslaved people of Colonial Virginia. Among the many historical characters he portrayed was Jupiter (Thomas Jefferson’s longtime enslaved manservant), an experience that’s proved a connection and preparation for his current role.
The 42nd Helen Hayes Awards celebration recognizing excellence in professional theater in the DMV will be held on Monday, May 18, 2026 at The Anthem on the District Wharf in Washington, D.C. Named for Helen Hayes, the legendary first lady of Broadway, the program consists of the awards presentation hosted by Felicia Curry, Awa Sal Secka, and Derrick Truby, followed by an after-party at nearby Whitlow’s.
With works selected from 149 eligible productions presented in the 2025 calendar year, nominations were made in 41 categories and grouped as either “Helen” (non-Equity/small Equity presence) or “Hayes” (Equity-heavy).
The many nominations are the result of 49 vetted judges considering 1,997 pieces of work, such as design, direction, choreography, performances, and more. The productions under consideration included 42 musicals, 107 plays, and 33 world premieres.
The following are more of this year’s queer nominees.
A past Helen Hayes Award recipient and nominee, Fran Tapia is competing against herself this year in the Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical (Helen) category. Nominated for her memorable turn as the diva barkeep in GALA Theatre’s “Columbia Heights Bolero Bar,” an immersive musical centered on songs of longing and immigration set in a diverse neighborhood on the eve of a divisive presidential election
“It was a challenging time, because a lot of what was happening in the show was happening in the neighborhood,” says Tapia who lives in Columbia Heights just eight minutes from GALA.
Based in D.C. since 2019, Tapia says “Being recognized in a country that is not my homeland but where I’m building my artistic home, is deeply meaningful. And the variety of roles I have been able to play speaks to the richness of DC theater and the collaborators who trusted me with these roles.”
Her other individual nomination is for the title role in Spooky Action Theater’s “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show,” a passionately comedic political satire. She approached the mysterious central character as nonbinary.
Tapia (“Chilean, Latina, queer and proud immigrant”) says while very different, both performances involved particularly strong characters. She’s grateful audiences responded positively to her work.
Stanley Bahorek, who moved to D.C. with his husband four years ago, is best known as an accomplished actor with a long list of Broadway and regional credits (including playing Carl, the gay son in Studio Theatre’s recent production of “The Mother Play”). Now, he is nominated for Outstanding Music Direction (Helen) for his work on “A Strange Loop,” a production of D.C.’s Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA) in collaboration with Deaf Austin Theatre. He shares this nomination with Walter “Bobby” McCoy.
Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer wining play “A Strange Loop,” is the story of Usher, a Black, queer theater usher trying to write a musical. VOCA’s take on the work is seen through a deaf BIPOC lens with a deaf Usher played by a deaf actor (out actor Gabriel Silva). Invited by director and longtime friend Alexandria Wailes (who is deaf), Bahorek (who is hearing) joined the creative team as a sort of hybrid associate director/ music supervisor.
“I’m fluent in conversational American Sign Language (ASL),” he says. “I sort of functioned as a sherpa between the hearing and deaf and hard-of-hearing creatives. It’s been a great thrill to be a part of VOCA’s biggest production to date.”
If he and McCoy take home the prize, who makes the acceptance speech? Bahorek takes a beat before replying “That’s something we still need to talk about. And soon.”
A full list of award recipients will be available at theatrewashington.org on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Anthony Oakes will host “DC Black Pride Comedy Show” on Thursday, May 21 at 7 p.m.
Oakes will workshop his new hour about addiction, incarceration, recovery, and redemption with special guests.
This event will be hosted by the hilarious Apple Brown Betty with TJ So Silly, Howl Cooper, and featuring Patrice Deveaux. DJ Art.is will be spinning on the 1’s & 2’s. Libations will be provided by Drink Alchy. Images by RGF ENT. Tickets are $28.52 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Out & About
United Night Out set for Saturday
Team DC hosts evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag and community
On Saturday, May 16, Team DC is taking over Audi Field for United Night OUT as D.C. United faces St. Louis SC.
Come out for an evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag, and community. The night kicks off with pre-game fun featuring DC Different Drummers, DJ Heat, and a Pride Night OUT Party at the Heineken Rooftop. Then get ready for a 7:30 p.m. match, including the National Anthem sung by Dana Nearing and a halftime drag performance.
After the match, the celebration continues at the Post-Game Rooftop Party with DJ Heat and the After Party at Dacha Navy Yard. Game tickets and after party tickets are available now through Zeffy. After party tickets are $20 and include one drink.
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
DC Black Pride is around the corner
United Night Out set for Saturday
Calendar: May 15-21
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