Arts & Entertainment
Summer sizzle
Gay pop culture offerings abound in region and beyond
Openly gay saxophonist Dave Koz plays Wolf Trap Aug. 22. (Photo by Greg Allen; courtesy Wolf Trap)
Summer has officially started and there is so much to do. Here’s a preview of things to come during these hot months.
MUSIC
July 4th brings the annual National Symphony Orchestra concert “A Capitol Fourth” at 8 p.m. on the West Lawn of the U.S. Capitol. The broadcast will have a new host, Tom Bergeron, and will feature performances by Matthew Broderick, Megan Hilty, Kool & the Gang and more. There will also be a special tribute to Team USA, hosted by Apolo Anton Ohno. Gates open at 3 p.m. for this free event.
The 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) has several concerts coming up this summer. The Scissor Sisters will be there on July 2-3. Tickets are $40. The Mighty Mighty Bosstones will be there on Aug. 7. Tickets are $30. Bob Mould performs on Sep. 8. Tickets are $25. Tickets to all shows are available online at 930.com.
The National Symphony Orchestra has several concerts happening this season at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd., Vienna). On July 6, the Orchestra will be performing “Broadway ROCKS!” at 8:15 p.m. The show will feature Rob Evan, Morgan James, LaKisha Jones and Doug LaBrecque singing Broadway showstoppers from musicals such as “Mamma Mia!,” “Hairspray” and more. Tickets for this concert range from $20 to $52.
On July 14, NSO will be playing the score to “The Wizard of Oz” as the movie is shown on the huge screens in-house and on the lawn. Tickets for this concert range from $20 to $52. On Aug. 3, NSO will be backing of Broadway star Idina Menzel in a one-night-only exclusive performance with Steven Reineke conducting. The show is at 8:15 p.m. and tickets range from $20-$55.
Wolf Trap will be hosting a bevy of other concerts as well.
The B-52s return to the area on July 19 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $25-$42. Rufus Wainwright and Ingrid Michaelson perform back-to-back on July 24 at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $30-$40. On Aug. 22 at 8 p.m., Dave Koz, who’s openly gay, will be performing with BeBe Winans and special guest Average White Band. Tickets range from $25 to $42.
Tickets for Wolf Trap events are available online at wolftrap.org.
Shawn Colvin plays the Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria) with Kat Edmonson on July 19 and 20. Ticket are $49.50 and available online at birchmere.com. Kenny Loggins plays there July 26. Tickets are $79.50. Melissa Ferrick will also be playing Birchmere on Sept. 8 with special guest Astra via. Tickets are $25. These concerts are all at 7:30 p.m.
Indie band “Girl in a Coma,” featuring two openly lesbian members, play the Red Palace (1212 H St., N.E.) on July 13 at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 in advance and $12 day of show. Doors open at 7 p.m.
Don’t forget the pop music icon Madonna is coming to the D.C. area on Sept. 23-24 for two concerts at the Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. Tickets range from $93-$358 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com.
Concerts are always fun, but sometimes its nice to just sit at home and listen to some new music.
Maroon 5’s newest album, “Overexposed,” with the single “Payphone,” is slated to be released June 26.
Chris Brown has a new album, “Fortune,” coming out July 3. Passion Pit’s “Gossamer” is schedule to be released July 24 and Deadmau5’s “The Veldt” will be released July 25.
MOVIES
There are some big movies coming out this summer.
Channing Tatum’s “Magic Mike,” based on his brief stint as a stripper before getting into acting, opens June 29. The movie also stars Matt Bomer, who recently came out.
The Spider-Man series isn’t over yet. “The Amazing Spider-Man,” starring Andrew Garfield and Emma Stone, opens July 3.
Another comic book hero, Batman, also gets another movie with “The Dark Knight Rises,” starring Christian Bale and Anne Hathaway as Catwoman, opening July 20.
August 17 brings the opening of “Sparkle,” starring Jennifer Hudson and the late Whitney Houston.
Ellen DeGeneres may not be getting the sequel to “Finding Nemo” that she wanted, but the film is to be re-released in 3D on Sep. 14.
There’s also the Capital Fringe Festival coming up July 12-29. This year’s festival will feature films such as “Despertar,” “Bareback Ink,” “Stopgap” and more. For a complete list of films, venues and prices, visit capfringe.org.
TELEVISION
A few of the summer series have already started, like ABC Family’s “Pretty Little Liars,” TNT’s reboot of “Dallas” and HBO’s “True Blood,” but there are a few that have yet to premiere.
Eric McCormack of “Will & Grace,” takes on a new role as an eccentric professor helping the FBI in the new TNT series “Perception,” premiering July 9.
Bomer will also be on the small screen when the USA series “White Collar,” premieres July 10 as well as “Covert Affairs” starring Piper Perabo. USA also has a new series “Political Animals,” which premieres July 15 starring Sigourney Weaver playing a former first lady-turned-secretary of state.
Those with DirecTV can watch Chloe Sevigny play a transgender assassin in “Hit and Miss” starting July 11.
For those fans of science fiction, “Warehouse 13” and “Alphas” both premiere their new seasons on SyFy on July 23.
A few reality series also start up over the summer. CBS’s competition “Big Brother” premieres July 12, as does Showtime’s “The Real L Word.”
THEATER
The traveling production of “The Addams Family” comes to D.C. by way of the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.). The show will run from July 10-29, including a theater look-in on July 17 prior to that days performance. Tickets range from $39 to $115. Tickets are available online at kennedy-center.org.
Keegan Theatre (1742 Church St., N.W.) concludes its 2011-2012 season with “August: Osage County” directed by Mark A. Rhea and starring Stan Shulman, Rena Cherry Brown and more. The show runs from Aug. 3-26.
Signature Theatre (4200 Campbell Ave., Arlington) is putting on its own production of “The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas” opening Aug. 14 and running through Oct. 7.
Kathleen Turner brings her one-woman show “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” to Arena Stage (1101 6th St., S.W.) starting Aug. 23. The show will run through Oct. 28. This is the first show of Arena’s 2012/13 season. For more information, visit arenastage.org.
OTHERS
The Queer Queens of Qomedy will be at the Birchmere on Aug. 16 at 7:30 p.m. featuring Poppy Champlin, Zoe Lewis and Michele Balan. Tickets are $25 and available online at birchmere.com.
The D.C. Center’s (1318 U St., N.W.) OutWrite LGBT Book Fair will run Aug. 3-4 and will feature reading by Wayne Hoffman, David Pratt, Sampson McCormick and more. There will also be discussions on social justice and intersectional activism and gay pulp fiction. For more information and a complete schedule of events, visit outwritedc.org.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
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A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
