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.
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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