Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: July 6

Parties, events, concerts and more through July 12

Published

14 years ago

July 5, 2012

Will Owen

DJ Oren Nizri spins at Town this weekend. (Photo courtesy Nizri)

TODAY (Friday)

The HIV Working Group does outreach tonight for Bear Happy Hour at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) from 7-10 p.m. For more information, visit thedccenter.org or towndc.com.

Phase 1 (525 8^th St., S.E.) hosts a dance party tonight for guests 21 and older with DJ Jay Von Teese from 7:30 p.m.-3 a.m. For more details, visit phase1dc.com.

CaShandra J, a jazz and blues singer, performs tonight at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 6-9 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit blackfoxlounge.com.

Saturday, July 7

DJ Oren Nizri, an Israeli DJ, spins tonight at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.). Doors open for guests 21 and older at 10 p.m. and the drag show starts at 10:30. Admission is $8 from 10-11 p.m. and $12 after 11; $3 drinks will be served before 11. For details, visit towndc.com.

Phase 1 (525 8^th St., S.E.) hosts a “Pop Rocks” party with DJ LS tonight for guests 21 and older from 7:30 p.m.-3 a.m. For details, visit phase1dc.com.

The Mayu Saeki Trio (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.), an alternative Jazz ensemble, perform tonight at Black Fox Lounge from 8-11 p.m. Admission is free. For more information, visit blackfoxlounge.com.

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation at the Falls Church, Va., PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church) from 11:45 a.m.-3 p.m. If interested, email [email protected] or visit burgundycrescent.org for more information.

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) has free HIV testing today from 4-7 p.m. today. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The Black Cat hosts Hellmouth Happy Hour tonight from 7-8:30 p.m. One episode of the gay cult classic series “Buffy the Vampire Slayer” screens and a drink special is served. Admission is free. For more details, visit blackcatdc.com.

The Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) hosts Code tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Code is a leather, jock gear, uniforms and skin gear party with a strictly enforced dress code. For details, visit codedc.com.

Sunday, July 8

The D.C. Kings perform tonight at Phase 1 (525 8^th St., S.E.). Doors open at 7 p.m. and the performances begin at 9. Tickets are $10 and limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit phase1dc.com or dckings.com.

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for the D.C. Central Kitchen (425 2^nd St., N.W.) from 9 a.m.-noon. The activity is limited to 15 volunteers. Volunteers will help cook alongside D.C. Kitchen chefs, but prior cooking experience is not required. If interested, email [email protected] or visit burgundycrescent.org for more information.

The Lambda Sci-Fi club hosts its monthly meeting for LGBT science fiction, fantasy and horror fans at 1:30 p.m. this afternoon at 1425 S St., N.W. Guests are encouraged to bring a snack and non-alcoholic drink to share. For more information, visit lambdascifi.org or email [email protected].

Monday, July 9

The D.C. Lambda Squares Beginner Class starts tonight from 7:30-9:30 p.m. at National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.). No prior square dancing experience, special outfits or partners are required to participate. The cost is $100 in advance or $125 at the door for the 16 classes. For details, visit dclambdasquares.org or thedccenter.org.

The Goethe-Institut German Cultural Center (812 7^th St., N.W.) screens “The Complaint of an Empress,” a film directed by Pina Bausch, tonight at 6:30 p.m. The film features a collage of scenes of the city of Wuppertal, Germany, and focuses on the human quest for love. For more information, visit goethe.de/washington.

The Virginia Museum of Fine Arts (200 N Boulevard, Richmond) hosts a textile design workshop today from 9 a.m.-noon. Enrollment is limited to 10 people and costs $135 per workshop ($120 for VMFA members). For more information, visit vmfa.museum.

Tuesday, July 10

Dupont Italian Kitchen (1637 17^th St., N.W.) hosts the monthly D.C. Bi Women meeting from 7-9 p.m. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

The D.C. Center hosts a FUK!T Packing Party tonight from 7-9 p.m. at the Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.). Volunteers will help make FUK!T packets and TOOLK!Ts. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.

Cobalt (1638 R St., N.W.) hosts Flashback tonight with DJ Jason Royce from 10 p.m.-2 a.m. Dance jams from the ‘70s, ‘80s and early ‘90s play all night. Admission is free and $2 draft beer will be served all night. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.

The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) features the opening show of “The Addams Family,” a morbid musical comedy classic, tonight at 7:30 p.m. Tickets range from $39-$115 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.

Wednesday, July 11

The Rainbow Response Coalition, a group that addresses intimate partner violence among LGBT people in the greater Washington area, meets tonight from 7-8 p.m. at the D.C. Coalition Against Domestic Violence (5 Thomas Circle, N.W.). For more information, visit rainbowresponse.org or thedccenter.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts karaoke tonight for guests 21 and older. Doors open at 10 p.m. and admission is free. $5 Absolut and Smirnoff cocktails will be served. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Thursday, July 12

The Art League Gallery (105 North Union St., Alexandria) hosts an opening reception with featured artist Cecily Corcoran for her “Genius Loci” solo exhibition tonight from 6:30-8 p.m. The exhibit has paintings of various Washington landscapes inspired by her daily commute to work. For more information, visit theartleague.org.

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers tonight for Food & Friends (219 Riggs Road, N.E.). Volunteers will help with food preparation and chopping vegetables. If interested, email [email protected] or visit burgundycrescent.org for more information.

The Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington host an open mic tonight at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 8-11 p.m. Admission is free. Participants receive a complimentary drink after their first song. For more details, visit blackfoxlounge.com.

Cobalt (1638 R St., N.W.) hosts its weekly best package contest at midnight this evening with DJ MadScience and DJ Sean Morris. Admission is $3 and limited to guests 21 and over. $2 rail drinks will be served from 9-11 p.m. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Photos

PHOTOS: Denali at Pitchers

‘Drag Race’ alum performs at Thirst Trap

Published

3 hours ago

April 14, 2026

Michael Key

Denali performs at the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show at Pitchers DC on April 9. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

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’

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Baltimore Banner

Last year, Baltimore Center Stage refused to give up its DEI focus in the face of losing federal funding. They've tripled down. (Photo by Ulysses Muñoz of the Baltimore Banner)

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.

Books

Susan Lucci on love, loss, and ‘All My Children’

New book chronicles life of iconic soap star

Published

1 day ago

April 13, 2026

Terri Schlichenmeyer

(Book cover image courtesy of Blackstone Publishing)

‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages

They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.

You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.

When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.

Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.

That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”

She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.

Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.

She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.

And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.

And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”

“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.

If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.

These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.

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