Arts & Entertainment
Turner’s triumph
Actress gives tour de force as late liberal columnist
Kathleen Turner as Molly Ivins in ‘Red Hot Patriot.’ (Photo by Mark Garvin for Philadelphia Theatre Co. via Arena Stage)
‘Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins’
Through Oct. 28
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth Street, SW
$46-$94
202-488-3300
Since her death from breast cancer at 62 in 2007, journalist Molly Ivins’ voice has been sorely missed. An unapologetic antiwar liberal renowned for her biting humor, Ivins railed against injustice throughout her newspaper career, championing women, minorities and society’s have-nots. She brilliantly lampooned politics (particularly in her native Texas), and hilariously skewered rightwing politicians including George W. Bush whom she famously dubbed “Shrub.”
With “Red Hot Patriot: The Kick-Ass Wit of Molly Ivins” — now at Arena Stage starring Kathleen Turner — audiences get the chance to revisit the late great Ivins’ life, wit and work.
Penned by identical twin sister journalists Margaret Engel and Allison Engel, the one-woman bio drama (well almost one woman, there is a robotic copy boy played by Nicholas Yenson who silently appears now and then) opens in an old school newsroom where Ivins is struggling to write an article about her father, a lifelong Republican nicknamed “the General.” When Ivins takes a break, a combination of projected images and her past articles spat from an AP wire machine work together to joggle her memory, prompting 75 minutes of scattered reminisces.
Turned out in a denim shirt, jeans, flashy red cowboy boots and a curly red wig, Turner — despite the now signature halting delivery and almost labored breathing — gives a strong performance oozing with energy and charm. She fits well into the role of down home whiskey-voiced raconteur, delighting audiences with tales and quotes drawn from some of Ivins’ best columns; and, of course, anyone who’s seen Turner make obscene phone calls to Mink Stole in “Serial Mom” knows she’s very funny.
Staged capably by David Esbjornson, “Red Hot Patriot” also gives brief glimpses into darker parts of our ballsy heroine’s not always charmed life. Turner handles these moments beautifully too. Beneath the humor and easy Texas ways, Ivins was a complicated woman who knew heartache, disappointment and rage. Boyfriends died too young. The cancer came later. About her battle with the bottle, she says, “Alcohol may lead nowhere but it sure is the scenic route.” Humor was not only good for getting readers’ attention, it also tempered feelings.
Ivins identified with the outsider from early on. As a six foot tall, freckled debutante in conservative 1950s Houston, she felt out of place and knew her parents’ country club lifestyle wasn’t for her. After graduating from Smith College and earning a master’s degree in journalism from Columbia University, she went to work at a paper in Minneapolis followed by six wonderful years at the Texas Observer, a lone voice of liberalism in a very red state. She was with the New York Times for a while but was fired for referring to a New Mexico chicken slaughtering festival as a “gang pluck.” Ivins returned to her beloved Texas where she found a wealth of material covering local and later national politics.
As Ivins, Turner comments on a series of Texas politicians some of whose projected headshots loom large behind her. Concerning a state representative, she says, “If his IQ gets any lower, we’ll have to water him twice a day.” She reminds us how she warned the world about the dangers of a George W. Bush presidency in not one but two books.
And toward the play’s end, she says, “It’s not about left and right, it’s about up and down, the few screwing the many.” Ivins may no longer be around to give her inimitable take on American politics, but there’s no doubt where she’d stand on the issues.
Theater
Out dancer on Alvin Ailey’s stint at Warner Theatre
10-day production marks kickoff of national tour
Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater
Through Feb. 8
Warner Theatre
513 12th St., N.W.
Tickets start at $75
ailey.org
The legendary Alvin Ailey American Dance Theater is coming to Washington’s Warner Theatre, and one of its principal veterans couldn’t be more pleased. Out dancer Renaldo Maurice is eager to be a part of the company’s 10-day stint, the kickoff of a national tour that extends through early May.
“I love the respectful D.C. crowd and they love us,” says Maurice, a member of esteemed modern dance company for 15 years. The traveling tour is made of two programs and different casting with Ailey’s masterwork “Revelations” in both programs.
Recently, we caught up with Maurice via phone. He called from one of the quiet rooms in his New York City gym where he’s getting his body ready for the long Ailey tour.
Based in North Newark, N.J., where he recently bought a house, Maurice looks forward to being on the road: “I enjoy the rigorous performance schedule, classes, shows, gym, and travel. It’s all part of carving out a lane for myself and my future and what that looks like.”
Raised by a single mother of three in Gary, Ind., Maurice, 33, first saw Alvin Ailey as a young kid in the Auditorium Theatre in downtown Chicago, the same venue where he’s performed with the company as a professional dancer.
He credits his mother with his success: “She’s a real dance mom. I would not be the man or artist I am today if it weren’t for the grooming and discipline of my mom. Support and encouragement. It’s impacted my artistry and my adulthood.”
Maurice is also part of the New York Ballroom scene, an African-American and Latin underground LGBTQ+ subculture where ball attendees “walk” in a variety of categories (like “realness,” “fashion,” and “sex siren”) for big prizes. He’s known as the Legendary Overall Father of the Haus of Alpha Omega.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Like many gay men of his era, Ailey lived a largely closeted public life before his death from AIDS-related complications in 1989.
RENALDO MAURICE Not unusual for a Black gay man born during the Depression in Rogers, Texas, who’s striving to break out in the industry to be a creative. You want to be respected and heard. Black man, and Black man who dances, and you may be same-sex gender loving too. It was a lot, especially at that time.
BLADE: Ailey has been described as intellectual, humble, and graceful. He possessed strength. He knew who he was and what stories he wanted to tell.
MAURICE: Definitely, he wanted to concentrate on sharing and telling stories. What kept him going was his art. Ailey wanted dancers to live their lives and express that experience on stage. That way people in the audience could connect with them. It’s incredibly powerful that you can touch people by moving your body.
That’s partly what’s so special about “Revelations,” his longest running ballet and a fan favorite that’s part of the upcoming tour. Choreographed by Alvin Ailey in 1960, it’s a modern dance work that honors African-American cultural heritage through themes of grief, joy, and faith.
BLADE: Is “Revelation” a meaningful piece for you?
MAURICE: It’s my favorite piece. I saw it as a kid and now perform it as a professional dance artist. I’ve grown into the role since I was 20 years old.
BLADE: How can a dancer in a prestigious company also be a ballroom house father?
MAURICE: I’ve made it work. I learned how to navigate and separate. I’m a principal dancer with Ailey. And I take that seriously. But I’m also a house father and I take that seriously as well.
I’m about positivity, unity, and hard work. In ballroom you compete and if you’re not good, you can get chopped. You got to work on your craft and come back harder. It’s the same with dance.
BLADE: Any message for queer audiences?
MAURICE: I know my queer brothers and sisters love to leave with something good. If you come to any Ailey performance you’ll be touched, your spirit will be uplifted. There’s laughter, thoughtful and tender moments. And it’s all delivered by artists who are passionate about what they do.
BLADE: Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of your life. Thoughts on that?
MAURICE: I’m a believer in it takes a village. Hard work and discipline. I take it seriously and I love what I do. Ailey has provided me with a lot: world travel, a livelihood, and working with talented people here and internationally. Alvin Ailey has been a huge part of my life from boyhood to now. It’s been great.
Catfish Comedy will host “2026 Queer Kickoff Show” on Thursday, Feb. 5 at A League of Her Own (2319 18th Street, N.W.). This show features D.C.’s funniest LGBTQ and femme comedians. The lineup features performers who regularly take the stage at top clubs like DC Improv and Comedy Loft, with comics who tour nationally.
Tickets are $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Arts & Entertainment
Catherine O’Hara, ‘Schitt’s Creek’ star and celebrated queer ally, dies at 71
Actress remembered for memorable comedic roles in ‘Beetlejuice’ and ‘Home Alone’
Catherine O’Hara, the varied comedic actor known for memorable roles in “Beetlejuice,” “Schitt’s Creek,” and “Home Alone,” has died at 71 on Friday, according to multiple reports. No further details about her death were revealed.
O’Hara’s death comes as a shock to Hollywood, as the Emmy award-winning actor has been recently active, with roles in both “The Studio” and “The Last of Us.” For her work in those two shows, she received Emmy nominations for outstanding supporting actress in a comedy series and outstanding guest actress in a drama series.
In 2020, O’Hara won the Outstanding Lead Actress in a comedy series award for her work in the celebrated sixth and final season of “Schitt’s Creek.” She was also known as a queer ally and icon for her theatrical and often campy performances over multiple decades. In “Schitt’s Creek,” she played Moira Rose, the wig-loving mother of David Rose (played by series creator Dan Levy). David is pansexual, but the characters around him simply accept him for who he is; the show was embraced by the LGBTQ community with how naturally David’s sexuality was written and portrayed. That show ran from 2015 to 2020 and helped bring O’Hara and her co-stars into a new phase of their careers.
In a 2019 interview with the Gay Times, O’Hara explained why the show got LGBTQ representation right: “Daniel has created a world that he wants to live in, that I want to live in. It’s ridiculous that we live in a world where we don’t know how to respect each other and let each other be. It’s crazy. Other shows should follow suit and present the world and present humans as the best that we can be. It doesn’t mean you can’t laugh, that you can’t be funny in light ways and dark ways. It’s all still possible when you respect and love each other.”
Additional credits include “SCTV Network” (for which O’Hara won a writing Emmy), “Beetlejuice Beetlejuice,” “Curb Your Enthusiasm,” “Six Feet Under,” “Best in Show,” “Home Alone 2: Lost in New York,” and “Dick Tracy.” O’Hara also lent her voice to “The Nightmare Before Christmas,” “Chicken Little,” “Monster House,” and “Elemental.” O’Hara was expected to return for Season 2 of “The Studio,” which started filming earlier this month.
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