Arts & Entertainment
‘Live as you are’
Joplin bio-musical recreates rock legend concert experience
‘One Night With Janis Joplin’
Arena Stage
1101 6th Street, SW
Through Nov. 4
Tickets: $45-$94
Mary Bridget Davis as Janis Joplin in the Arena Stage production of ‘One Night with Janis Joplin.’ (photo by Janet Macoska; courtesy Arena)
Classic rock fans love pondering what might have become of the greats had they lived. If you really know the history and their personalities, informed prognosticating on what might have been likely makes for great barstool conversation.
For Janis Joplin, it’s hard to say. With a woman so known for her give-it-everything — detractors called it histrionic — delivery, what kind of singer and performer would she have become had she not ODed in 1970?
Mary Bridget Davies has a few thoughts and having researched Joplin’s life for two different stage productions and fronted a rock band herself, she’s in a pretty good position to imagine.
“It’s really a shame she died when she did, not just because it’s sad she died of course, but I really do think she was onto something musically just then,” the 34-year-old Cleveland resident says. “When you think about what came along in music just after that with the Allman Brothers and that whole southern rock thing, it’s a shame she missed that whole movement because I really think she could have been the mama of that. You hear some of that on ‘Pearl,’ like with ‘Bobby McGee.’ I definitely think she would have stayed in music as long as she could because it absolutely was her passion.”
Davies reprises her role as Joplin in “One Night With Janis Joplin” which had a successful summer run in Cleveland and is at Arena Stage in Washington through Nov. 4.
During a lengthy phone chat last week, Davies says several scenarios for what might have been Joplin’s fate in a parallel universe are feasible — the legendary singer might have blown out her voice irreparably in time, gone more heavily into the blues she loved, mellowed out some vocally to pace herself or become a southern rock headliner. Part of the mystique, of course, is that we’ll never know.
The “One Night” show — which its creators say is as much a concert as a play — doesn’t pretend to guess. Rather it recreates Joplin’s live concerts — in a way — while including her influences and thoughts.
Playwright Randy Johnson, who’s written successful shows on other late music icons such as Elvis Presley, Conway Twitty and Patsy Cline, says the show sidesteps the pratfall of possibly becoming a cheesy tribute band-type production because he had access to Joplin’s art, letters and diaries.
Playwright Randy Johnson. (photo by Eric La Cour; courtesy Arena)
“Most of those types of shows are created more from a fan perspective as opposed to a true biographical perspective,” the gay, Los Angeles-based playwright says. “I’ve never done a show that didn’t have the support of the family. I wouldn’t do it. Because if you read a biography without the family’s input, what you’re really reading is an opinion.”
The two-hour show, which finds Davies and a live band tearing through 22 Joplin classics, is pared down from its original length. Johnson opened the show in Portland and found he could streamline the piece after seeing how audiences absorbed it. Any overlap in what was being said versus sung was cut.
Davies was an understudy for the Cleveland production at first, but eventually took over when actress Cat Stephani, who got good reviews as Janis in the Portland production, bowed out just before the Cleveland opening.
Davies says she thinks her predecessor “seemed really run down.” She understands to a point — reproducing Joplin’s no-holds-barred vocal fire eight shows a week could ruin almost anyone’s voice. Even Joplin herself didn’t do that — shows in the classic rock era weren’t the two-hour-or-more marathons they became later with acts like Bruce Springsteen. Neither was Joplin playing eight shows a week.
Davies says while donning the Joplin stage garb can yield a feeling of invincibility — “You step out in those beads and velvet pants and that little waist band thing might as well have guns in it. It’s like you’re totally the sheriff in these parts.” — she does have to pace herself. Being a singer herself, she travels and records with her own blues/rock eponymous outfit, helps. She also played Joplin in the show “Love Janis” in 2005 and tours sometimes with Joplin’s old band Big Brother and the Holding Company.
“I take very good care of myself from a health standpoint,” she says. “Sure, there’s a part of me that would love to go out after the show and have 10 drinks and smoke a pack of cigarettes, but you just can’t do that when you have to do it six more times that week.”
Johnson says he knew Davies would be great in the part.
“You really can’t approach this from a musical theater background,” he says. “You can’t just kind of wink at the audience and fake your way through it. Mary Bridget has Janice in her DNA. … The ones who came in (to audition) with the boas and so on usually don’t make it past 16 notes. She came in in a nice shirt and jeans, opened her mouth and just blew the whole table away.”
Oddly, Davies remembers Liza Minnelli being at the table during her audition.
“I think a lot of the girls buckled under her presence,” she says. “She and Randy are friends. She was sitting there, leaning in at the stage table, all smiles like the best stage mom you could ever ask for.”
For Johnson, who was approached by Joplin’s two siblings (who manage her estate) in 2009 about the possibility of doing a show, Joplin still has something to say even all these decades later.
While he fully acknowledges she had “demons,” he says the “drugs and craziness were only about 10 percent” of her life. When studying her writings, he discovered a “very gentle spirit with a great sense of humor who was not bullshitting anybody.”
A 1950s conformist hangover made it a lot tougher to do so in that era, he says.
“It wasn’t easy but she simply spoke and sung her own truth and audiences were drawn to that.”
Though the show doesn’t address Joplin’s bisexuality, Johnson says her story has a message for gays today.
“If you listen very carefully to the show, she’s telling you to be yourself,” he says. “Don’t bullshit yourself, don’t bullshit anybody else and live it while you can. You can lie but eventually it comes out, so I think her message is to simply live as you are.”
Books
‘Dogs of Venice’ looks at love lost and rediscovered
A solo holiday trip to Italy takes unexpected turn
‘The Dogs of Venice’
By Steven Crowley
c.2025, G.P. Putnam & Sons
$20/65 pages
One person.
Two, 12, 20, you can still feel alone in a crowded room if it’s a place you don’t want to be. People say, though, that that’s no way to do the holidays; you’re supposed to Make Merry, even when your heart’s not in it. You’re supposed to feel happy, no matter what – even when, as in “The Dogs of Venice” by Steven Rowley, the Christmas tinsel seems tarnished.
Right up until the plane door closed, Paul held hope that Darren would decide to come on the vacation they’d planned for and saved for, for months.
Alas, Darren was a no-show, which was not really a surprise. Three weeks before the departure, he’d announced that their marriage wasn’t working for him anymore, and that he wanted a divorce. Paul had said he was going on the vacation anyhow. Why waste a perfectly good flight, or an already-booked B&B? He was going to Venice.
Darren just rolled his eyes.
Was that a metaphor for their entire marriage? Darren had always accused Paul of wanting too much. He indicated now that he felt stifled. Still, Darren’s unhappiness hit Paul broadside and so there was Paul, alone in a romantic Italian city, fighting with an espresso machine in a loft owned by someone who looked like a frozen-food spokeswoman.
He couldn’t speak or understand Italian very well. He didn’t know his way around, and he got lost often. But he felt anchored by a dog.
The dog – he liked to call it his dog – was a random stray, like so many others wandering around Venice unleashed, but this dog’s confidence and insouciant manner inspired Paul. If a dog could be like that, well, why couldn’t he?
He knew he wasn’t unlovable but solo holidays stunk and he hated his situation. Maybe the dog had a lesson to teach him: could you live a wonderful life without someone to watch out for, pet, and care for you?
Pick up “The Dogs of Venice,” and you might think to yourself that it won’t take long to read. At under 100 pages, you’d be right – which just gives you time to turn around and read it again. Because you’ll want to.
In the same way that you poke your tongue at a sore tooth, author Steven Rowley makes you want to remember what it’s like to be the victim of a dead romance. You can do it here safely because you simply know that Paul is too nice for it to last too long. No spoilers, though, except to say that this novel is about love – gone, resurrected, misdirected – and it unfolds in exactly the way you hope it will. All in a neat evening’s worth of reading. Perfect.
One thing to note: the Christmas setting is incidental and could just as well be any season, which means that this book is timely, no matter when you want it. So grab “The Dogs of Venice,” enjoy it twice with your book group, with your love, or read it alone.
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a&e features
Local, last-minute holiday gift ideas
Celebrate the season while supporting area businesses
The DowntownDC Holiday Market is bustling. Union Station is decked out with its annual Christmas tree. Washingtonians have wrapped their houses and apartment balconies with festive lights and holiday decorations. The holiday season is here. And with stockings to fill and empty space under the tree, Washington’s local shops and artists have plenty to offer.
Show your LGBTQ and D.C. pride with the Washington Blade’s annual holiday gift guide.
To embrace the holiday buzz: The Blanco Nwèl cocktail from Alchy Cocktails. This Caribbean eggnog is one of Alchy Cocktail’s seasonal holiday cocktails. The flavor profile is similar to coquito, a traditional Puerto Rican Christmas drink with a coconut base. As a queer and Caribbean-owned business, Alchy Cocktails has been based out of Washington since 2021. Blanco Nwèl is available in both cocktail ($24) and mocktail ($12) online and at a variety of holiday markets, including the Tingey Plaza Holiday Market, the Flea Market at Eastern Market, Union Station’s Main Hall Holiday Market, and more. ($24)
A spicy bite: Gordy’s Cajun Okra from Salt and Sundry. These spicy, tangy pickles pull on Southern Cajun-style flavors, packing a punch with paprika, cayenne, and more. Gordy’s is an LGBTQ-owned and Washington-based brand, making this gift an opportunity to support a local LGBTQ business straight from the jar. This pantry staple is available on Salt & Sundry’s website and at its locations in Union Market, Logan Circle, and its Georgetown holiday pop-up store. ($14)
To celebrate Washington pride: The DC Landmark Tote Bag from The Neighborgoods. Native Washingtonians, visitors, friends and family alike will find something to love about this Washington-themed tote bag. Food trucks, the 9:30 Club, the Metro logo and pandas from the National Zoo are just some of the city’s landmarks depicted across the tote in a red, white, and blue color palette. The tote is a part of the DC Landmarks collection, which donates 10 percent of its sales to the American Civil Liberties Union. The Neighborgoods itself is a local, woman-owned business built out of a passion for screen-printing in 2013. The 100 percent cotton canvas tote is for sale online or at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($22)
To give friends and family their flowers: The Flowers Bandana from All Very Goods. This 100 percent cotton bandana was designed in Washington and hand printed in India. Its uniqueness comes in being covered with the faces of Black women, representing a “love letter to all women but especially Black women,” according to All Very Goods. The Black woman-owned and operated business, based out of Northwest Washington, has a mission to celebrate diversity and representation through its products. The bandana intends to give Black women their “flowers.” The Flowers bandana is available for purchase online. ($24)
To unlock culinary creativity: The Curious Chef Gift Collection from Each Peach Market. This customizable collection of kitchen oddities — ranging from tinned fish to chili oil — is a quirky gift for the most inventive chefs. The collection is available in a Standard Santa, Extra Goodies and Super Holiday Size for up to $165. The Washington-based market, founded in 2013, permits customers to make the collection special by specifying what unique ingredients are packaged, including products made by local or LGBTQ brands. Each Peach Market offers assembly and pick up in-person at its Mount Pleasant shop and also offers local delivery and nationwide shipping via its website. ($85)
To give a touch of sweetness: The DC Landmark Chocolate Covered Oreo Holiday Cookies from Capital Candy Jar. Wrapped in a festive red bow, this box of nine cookies embraces love for Washington and the holiday season in one. Among the dark and milk chocolate covered cookies are images of the U.S. Capitol, the White House, the Lincoln Memorial, the Jefferson Memorial and festive hollies. The treat, packaged in a Hill East facility just a few blocks from the Capitol, is available for purchase online and at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($23.95)
To celebrate queer gaming: Thirsty Sword Lesbians from Labyrinth Games & Puzzles. This roleplaying game embraces lesbian culture by unlocking a world of swords, romance, and battle. Ideal for group settings, the book presents a system of world building and character identities that are best brought to life by creative minds. Labyrinth, which has been a local Washington business for more than 15 years, celebrates non-digital fun through games and puzzles that connect the community. This gift is offered online and at Labyrinth’s Capitol Hill location. ($29.99)
To make a bold statement: The “Resist” T-shirt from Propper Topper. This locally screen-printed black tee features the Washington flag designed within a raised fist, symbolizing both Washington pride, and political resistance. The shirt is made exclusively by Propper Topper, a local Washington business that evolved from a hat shop to a gift store since opening in 1990. The tri-blend unisex shirt is available both for pickup at Propper Topper’s Cathedral Heights location and shipping via the online site. ($32)
To keep it c(g)lassy: The Glass Ball earrings from Blue Moon Aquarius. Gifting can rarely go wrong when it comes to a new pair of earrings. The unique statement earrings — made of polymer clay, glass, and 18k gold plating over surgical steel — are hand cut, sanded and assembled in Washington, meaning each set is unique. Blue Moon Aquarius, a local brand, is known for its small batch jewelry and home decor designed with clay materials. Available in oxblood, hunter green, lavender, and bluestone color palettes, these earrings are available for purchase on Blue Moon Aquarius’ website and at the DowntownDC Holiday Market. ($48)
To elevate a holiday tea or charcuterie party: The Honey Flight: Tea Lover’s Selection from BannerBee. This local honey company presents the ideal gift to make cozying up with a cup of tea slightly more special. The Honey Flight contains three types of raw wildflower honey infused with fair trade Ugandan vanilla bean, chai spices, and locally sourced lemon thyme herb. The gift is also an opportunity to uplift a family company based in the Mid-Atlantic that offers all-natural, sustainable products. The flight is available online, at the DowntownDC Holiday Market or at the Arlington Courthouse and Dupont Farmers’ Markets. ($36)
For Baltimore shoppers: If you’re in Charm City, don’t miss Balston Mercantile, opened by a gay couple in June. Their gorgeous shop in the Hampden neighborhood offers an array of unique, upscale finds, from barware and artwork to cookbooks and home decor and more. (849 W. 36th St.)
Impulse Group DC held “10’s Across the Board: A Celebration of 10 Years” at Bravo Bravo (1001 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) on Sunday, Dec. 14. Impulse Group DC is a volunteer-led 501(c)(3) and affinity group of AIDS Healthcare Foundation dedicated “to engaging, supporting, and connecting gay men” through culturally relevant health and advocacy work.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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