Arts & Entertainment
Arts news in brief: Oct. 5
Events in both D.C. and Baltimore for the coming week
Perfume Genius plays the Hamilton next week. (Photo courtesy of Billions)
Musical ‘Genius’ to play the Hamilton
Perfume Genius, the performance outfit of openly gay Seattle-based singer/songwriter Mike Hadreas, plays the Hamilton at 14th and F (the old Border’s site at 600 14th Street N.W.) on Oct. 12. Dusted opens the 8:30 p.m. show.
Hadreas earned kudos for his jarring 2010 debut album “Learning,” which Drowned in Sound called “an album of rare redemptive beauty … one of the most uniquely endearing and quietly forceful debut albums of recent years.” Of new album “Put Your Back N 2 It,” he says, “Everyone has stuff. Staying healthy can be more depressing and confusing than being fucked up, but I want to make music that’s honest and hopeful.”
Tickets are $17. Visit thehamiltondc.com for details.
Interpretations by LuPone
Legendary Broadway singer/actress Patti LuPone comes to the Music Center at Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda) tonight and Saturday at 8.
Patti LuPone (Photo by Ethan Hill)
In her show “Matters of the Heart,” she explores love songs by several different composers such as Stephen Sondheim, Cyndi Lauper and Joni Mitchell. She comes to the Strathmore right before she returns to Broadway in the David Mamet play “The Anarchist.”
LuPone is known for her performances in “Evita,” “Gypsy,” as well as “Les Miserables.” She has earned two Tony Awards along with Drama Desk Awards and the Society of London Theatre’s Olivier Award.
Tickets range from $45-$85. For more information, visit Strathmore.org.
Shi-Queeta’s back for more at the Howard
Howard Theatre (620 T St., N.W.) hosts the female impersonation show “Salute to the Divas” Wednesday at 8 p.m.
The show features celebrity female impersonator Shi-Queeta-Lee and other celebrity impersonators as they bring divas such as Tina Turner, Cher, Beyonce and Diana Ross to the stage. The cast also takes the audience to the likes of Las Vegas and Atlantic City. Lee and company are returning after a successful debut at the Howard in August.
Shi-Queeta-Lee is a D.C. based female impersonator who has been featured in many big named shows and festivals such as Black Pride.
The doors open at 6 p.m. Tickets are $20 in advance and $25 day of the show. For more information, visit thehowardtheatre.com.
Center event next Friday night
The D.C. Center hosts its annual Fall Reception at the Sofitel (806 15th St. NW) on Oct. 12 at 7 p.m.
The reception is a benefit event for the Center and an opportunity to reflect on the work and contributions of several individuals in the LGBT community.
Tickets range from $45-$200. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Queen tribute band comes to Falls Church
“Almost Queen,” a tribute band to Queen, performs at State Theatre Virginia (220 North Washington St., Falls Church) at 7 p.m. tonight.
The tribute group is head by Joseph Russo, a previous Broadway performer, as he belts out the memorable lyrics made legendary by late gay singer Freddie Mercury. The band has previously sold out shows in New York and San Diego.
Tickets are $15. For more information, visit thestatetheatre.com.
Latin American gender/sexuality-themed film at Towson
Towson University’s film series “Gender, Sexuality and Desire in Recent Films from Spain and Latin America” presents “La Yuma,” Thursday evening at 6:30 in the College of Liberal Arts Room 3110 (8000 York Road).
“La Yuma” is the first full-length fiction film from Nicaragua in 20 years. It presents Yuma, a rebellious young woman who dreams of being a boxer and escaping the barrios of Managua. She falls in love with a journalism student from the other side of the city as they both try to attain their dreams.
This event is free. For more information, visit events.towson.edu.
Baltimore Black Pride events in full swing
Baltimore Black Pride events continue today through Thursday with several performances and parties in the Baltimore area.
Today begins with Ladies Happy Hour at Ziascoz (1313 E. Pratt St.) at 5 p.m. Later, DJ David Robertson takes over the party. Cover is $5 for both events. At the same time Station North Arts Café (1816 N. Charles St.) hosts “Meet-n-Greet Casual Affair of Art, Music and Fun” at 7. There is no cover for this event.
On Saturday, the Cultural Affair and Icons We Love Awards 10th Annual Gala and Fundraiser takes place at Eubie Blake National Jazz Institute Cultural Center (847 N. Howard St.) at 7. Individual tickets are $50 and a couple is $85.
Black Pride is hosting numerous spiritual services around the city at a number of participating spiritual centers. In the afternoon there is a Ravens Ladies Tailgate Party at 1313 E. Pratt St. at 2. Cover is $2. Later in the night, Paradox (1310 Russell St.) hosts the Finale: Legacy Global Village and Music Fest starting at 10. Cover is $8 before midnight and $12 after.
The official weekend may be over, but the celebration continues with a party for National Coming Out Day at Ziascoz (1313 E. Pratt St.) on Thursday at 5 p.m. There is no cover for this event.
For more information about Baltimore Black Pride, visit blackpridebaltimore.org.
‘Midsummer Night’ at Glass Mind
Glass Mind Theatre presents “A Midsummer Night’s Dream,” at the Autograph Playhouse (9 W. 25th St.) tonight at 8.
The production of Shakespeare’s “most lamentable comedy” features four lovers seeking solace in the woods when they are caught in the twisted plot of a fairy realm.
Regular tickets are $12, but discounted tickets for $8 are available to seniors, students and artists. For more information, visit glassmindtheatre.com.
Sports
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
New regulation to be in effect at 2028 summer games in Los Angeles
The International Olympic Committee on Thursday announced it will not allow transgender women from competing in female events at the Olympics.
“For all disciplines on the Sports Program of an IOC event, including individual and team sports, eligibility for any Female Category is limited to biological females,” reads the new policy.
The policy states “eligibility for the Female Category is to be determined in the first instance by SRY Gene screening to detect the absence or presence of the SRY Gene.”
“On the basis of the scientific evidence, the IOC considers that the SRY (sex-determining Region Y) Gene is fixed throughout life and represents highly accurate evidence that an athlete has experienced or will experience male sex development,” it reads. “Furthermore, the IOC considers that SRY Gene screening via saliva, cheek swab or blood sample is unintrusive compared to other possible methods. Athletes who screen negative for the SRY gene permanently satisfy this policy’s eligibility criteria for competition in the Female Category.”
The policy states the test “will be a once-in-a-lifetime test” unless “there is reason to believe a negative reading is in error.”
The new regulation will be in place for the 2028 Summer Olympics in Los Angeles.
“I understand that this a very sensitive topic,” said IOC President Kirsty Coventry on Thursday in a video. “As a former athlete, I passionately believe in the rights of all Olympians to take part in fair competition.”
“The policy that we have announced is based on science and it has been led by medical experts with the best interests of athletes at its heart. The scientific evidence is very clear: male chromosomes give performance advances in sport that rely on strength, power, or endurance,” she added. “At the Olympic Games, even the smallest margins can be the difference between victory and defeat. So, it is absolutely clear that it would not be fair for biological males to compete in the female category. In addition, in some sports it would simply not be safe.”
(Video courtesy of the IOC)
Laurel Hubbard, a weightlifter from New Zealand, in 2021 became the first trans woman to compete at the Olympics.
Imane Khelif, an Algerian boxer, won a gold medal at the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris. Khelif later sued JK Rowling and Elon Musk for cyberstalking after they questioned her gender identity.
Ellis Lundholm, a mogul skier from Sweden, this year became the first openly trans athlete to compete in any Winter Olympics when he participated in Milan Cortina Winter Olympics in Italy.
President Donald Trump in February 2025 issued an executive order that bans trans women and girls from female sports teams in the U.S.
The U.S. Olympic and Paralympic Committee last July banned trans women from competing in female sporting events. Republican lawmakers have demanded the IOC ban trans athletes from women’s athletic competitions.
“I’m grateful the Olympics finally embraced the common sense policy that women’s sports are for women, not for men,” said U.S. Sen. Tom Cotton (R-Ark.) on X.
An IOC spokesperson on Thursday referred the Washington Blade to the press release that announced the new policy.
a&e features
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Meet the Legends and Illuminators lighting new paths
The Torchbearers Awards are more than recognition—they are a continuation of legacy. They honor the quiet architects of progress in our community: those who organize, advocate, build, and protect, often without fanfare but always with purpose. Rooted in a belief in intentional recognition, this honor names those who carry our movements forward—those who make room for others, who remind us that change is both generational and generative. In a time marked by uncertainty and challenge, these leaders push forward with courage, clarity, and an unwavering commitment to expanding opportunity and equity.
This year’s honorees reflect the full breadth of our community, spanning generations, backgrounds, identities, and industries. From Legends, with decades of leadership and having created pathways for others, to Illuminators, who are lighting new paths with creativity and innovation, each Torchbearer represents the power of intergenerational leadership and the strength found in our diversity. They are organizers, advocates, artists, policy leaders, healers, and changemakers whose lived experiences shape a shared vision for equity and liberation.
This award is our love letter to queer and trans women and nonbinary people who carry the flame when it would be easier to let it dim. To those who consistently show up, who use their voice and visibility and stand firm, often without recognition, so that others may live more freely and fully. The Torchbearers Awards celebrates not just what has been done, but the enduring spirit, responsibility, and collective care that ensure the work continues, and that the flame is always passed forward.
Co-Creators of the Torchbearers Awards: Shannon Alston, June Crenshaw, Heidi Ellis
Torchbearers Awards Advisory Board: Aditi Hardikar, Lesley Bryant, Jasmine Wilson-Bryant, Stephen Rutgers
ILLUMINATOR AWARDEES
- Representative Sharice Davids (she/her), (D, KS-03)
— U.S. House of Representatives - Greisa Martinez Rosas (she/her/ella)
— Executive Director, United We Dream - Paola Ramos (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Meagan A. Fitzgerald (she/her)
— Journalist & Correspondent - Jessica L. Lewis (she/her)
— Founder / Producer, Play Play DC - Savannah Wade (she/her)
— Founder, OAR Agency - Suhad Babaa (she/her)
— Filmmaker/ Former Executive Director of Just Vision - Ashlee Davis (she/her)
— Global Head of Inclusive Outcomes, Ancestry - Jazmine Hughes (she/her)
— Journalist and Former Editor at New York Times Magazine - Queen Adesuyi (she/they)
— Policy Advisor & Organizer, ReFrame Health & Justice - Michele Rayner, Esq. (she/her)
— Civil Rights Attorney, State Representative (Florida House of Representatives) - Gaby Vincent (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Jenny Nguyen (she/her)
— Founder & Owner, The Sports Bra - Denice Frohman (she/her)
— Independent Artist, Poet / Performer - Vida Rangel (she/her)
— Founder, Our Trans Capital - Roxanne Anderson (they/them)
— Executive Director, Our Space - Ann Marie Gothard (she/her)
— Director of Programs, Pride Live (Stonewall Visitor Center) - Diana Rodriques (she/her)
— Program Leader, Pride Live (Stonewall Visitor Center) - Wendi Cooper (she/her)
— Founder / Executive Director, Transcending Women - Toya Matthews (she/her)
— City of San Antonio, Texas - Mayor Gina Ortiz Jones (she/her)
— Sports/Cultural Commentator and Community Leader - Charity Blackwell (she/her)
— Poet, LGBTQ Advocate & Community Leader - Wilhelmina Indermaur (she/her)
— Director of Communications, Tyler Clementi Foundation - Em Chadwick (she/her)
— CMO, For Them & Autostraddle - Kylo Freeman (they/he)
— CEO, For Them & Autostraddle
LEGEND AWARDEES
- Sheila Alexander-Reid (she/her)
— Executive Director, PHL Diversity, Philadelphia Convention & Visitors Bureau - Cassandra Cantave Burton (she/her)
— Interim Director of Thought Leadership & Senior Research Advisor, AARP - leigh h. mosley (she/her)
— Photographer / Educator, PhotoFlo Photography - Jenn M. Jackson, PhD (they/them)
— Assistant Professor of Political Science; Author & Columnist, Syracuse University - Jordyn White (she/her)
— COO, Washington Prodigy / VP of Leadership Development & Research, HRC Foundation - AJ Hikes (they/them)
— Deputy Executive Director, ACLU - RaeShanda Lias (she/her)
— Digital Creator, RL Lockhart - Donna Payne-Hardy (she/her)
— Educator, EEO Specialist, Former Leader at the Human Rights Campaign - Courtney R. Snowden (she/her)
— Principal, Blueprint Strategy Group - Gaye Adegbalola (she/her)
— Musician & Activist, Musician / Inductee of the Blues Hall of Fame - Cheryl A. Head (she/her)
— Independent Author, Novelist (Crime Fiction) - Letitia Gomez (she/her)
— The American LGBTQ+ Museum, Formerly of Voto Latino - Lynne Brown (she/her)
— Publisher, Washington Blade - Shay Franco-Clausen (She/Her/Ella/Queen)
— Political Strategist and Organizer - Melissa L. Bradley (she/her)
— Founder & Managing Partner, New Majority Ventures - Meghann Burke (she/her)
— Executive Director, NWSL Players Association - Victoria Kirby York, MPA (she/they)
— Director of Public Policy & Programs, National Black Justice Coalition - Joli Angel Robinson (she/her)
— CEO, Center on Halsted - Jeannine Frisby LaRue (she/her)
— CEO, Moxie Strategies - Alice Wu (she/her)
— Film Director (Saving Face, The Half of It) / Screenwriter - Storme Webber (she/her)
— Interdisciplinary Artist / Educator, University of Washington - Kim Stone
— CEO of the Washington Spirit, Washington Spirit - Mickalene Thomas
— American Visual Artist, Mickalene Thomas Studio - Erika Lorshbough (any/they/she)
— Executive Director, interACT - J. Gia Loving (she/ella)
— Co-Executive Director, GSA Network
Celebrity News
D.C. goes gaga for Gaga
Bisexual icon brought ‘The Mayhem Ball’ tour to Washington this week
Lady Gaga this week took D.C. by storm.
The bisexual icon and LGBTQ rights champion brought “The Mayhem Ball” tour to Capital One Arena on Monday and Tuesday.
“Abracadabra,” “Paparazzi,” “Applause,” and “Bad Romance” are among the songs Lady Gaga performed during the 2 1/2-hour long concert. Lady Gaga also celebrated her many queer fans.
“You are precious to us,” she said on Tuesday night before she performed “Born This Way.”
Border to border: modern slavery and human trafficking in refugee movements across East Africa
New IOC policy bans trans women from Olympics
Introducing the Torchbearers Awards honoring queer, trans women and nonbinary people
Pa. House passes bill to codify marriage equality in state law
A surtax would end this war quickly
PHOTOS: Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary
‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think
Small is beautiful: subcompact SUVs
Polish court rules country must recognize same-sex marriages from EU states
Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary gala draws sold out crowd
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Photos3 days agoPHOTOS: Capital Stonewall Democrats 50th anniversary
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Theater4 days ago
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Autos4 days ago
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Poland3 days ago
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