Arts & Entertainment
D.C. arts briefs: July 13
Galactica at the Black Fox, Pride in the Sky in Rockville and more
Galactica and guests continue their weekly engagement at Black Fox Lounge tonight from 6-9 p.m. (Photo courtesy Jeffrey Johnson)
Galactica continues Black Fox run Friday
Special Agent Galactica performs with her signature pink hair and Very-Sexy-Cute-Boy Combo tonight (Friday) at the Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 6-9 p.m.
Galactica (Jeffrey Johnson) will be singing live and lip syning (her original claim to fame). The live numbers will be performed with her band. Tonight she will add a few new songs to her bi-monthly show. R&B bass guitarist Percy White and drummer Winston Johnson will accompany her band.
Barbara Papendorp, who performs French cabaret numbers, will add her own vocal styles to the show as a guest performer. She will join Galactica during the third set as a back-up singer to one of the new songs featured.
Tickets are free. For more information, visit blackfoxlounge.com or pinkhairedone.com.
Pride in the Sky event in Rockville
B.O.I. Marketing and Promotions and the Ladies of LURe host the monthly “Pride in the Sky” party on Saturday at The Rooftop in Rockville (155 Gibbs St., Rockville) from 8 p.m.-1:30 a.m.
Drink specials will be served all night long and food and light fare will be available. Leblon and Absolut are both sponsors of the party, and music by DJ Rosie will be featured.
Admission is $10 and limited to guests 21 and over. The Rooftop is a 10-minute walk from the Rockville Station on Metro’s Red Line, and parking garages are free if you leave after midnight. For details, visit the “Pride in the Sky – July 14th” event on facebook.com.
Women’s painting-and-wine event at the Center
Center Women, a group within the D.C. Center for the LGBT Community, hosts a step-by-step painting class led by local artists on Saturday at 7 p.m. at Brush-n-Blush (3210 Grace St., N.W.).
Guests are encouraged to bring their own favorite bottle of wine or purchase a bottle or glass from Brush-n-Blush’s selection of affordable premium wine. Cheese, chocolate or other choice foods can also be brought.
All levels of interest and painting expertise are welcome. The registration price is $64 per person, and includes art instruction, supplies and a $10 donation to the D.C. Center.
For more details and to purchase tickets, visit thedccenter.org.
Afternoon Royale pageant Saturday at Remington’s
The Imperial Court of Washington is having a “Mr. and Miss D.C. Royale Pageant” at Remington’s Nightclub (639 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.) on Saturday at 3 p.m.
The Imperial Court is part of the International Court System and is a non-profit organization dedicated to raising funds for organizations that support LGBT causes, including youth enrichment programs, HIV/AIDS services and social services organizations.
The pageant will include self-expression, talent, evening gown, formal wear and Q&A categories, as well as a raffle drawing.
Tickets are $10. If interested in competing, contact [email protected]. For more information, visit remingtonswdc.com or the “Mr. & Miss D.C. Royale Pageant” Facebook event page.
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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Madonna announces release date for new album
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An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
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Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
