Arts & Entertainment

Calendar: events through Oct. 25

Parties, concerts, exhibits and more for the coming week

Published

13 years ago

October 18, 2012

Darius T. Epps as a Titanic crew member, Katharina Acosta as the Lorelei and gay actor Jefferson Farber as Clinch Wilmont, first class passenger in ‘Hemispheric Dysfunctionalism and the Cortical Titanic,’ which runs through Oct. 28. (Photo by DSharp Photography, courtesy Shawn Nelson)

TODAY (Friday)

Today is “Spirit Day,” a day for people to take a stand against bullying by wearing purple. For events or a way to pledge against bullying, visit glaad.org.

Kathy Griffin performs tonight at DAR Constitution Hall (8th and C St., NW) at 8. The double Emmy-winning comedian has been doing years of celebrity-skewering standup along with supplying voices to shows such as “Dilbert” and “Shrek Forever After.” Tickets range from $65-$75. For more information, visit kathygriffin.net

Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. This event is for men 21 and older. There is no cover charge. For details, visit towndc.com.

Phase 1 (528 8th St. SE) has its weekly dance party with DJ Jay Von Teese tonight starting at 7:30. Cover is $10. For more information, visit phase1dc.com.

The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) is having its happy hour this evening starting at 5 p.m. All drinks are half off until 7:30 p.m. After 9 p.m., admission is $10. The dance floor opens at 11 p.m. with DJ Tim-Nice and DJ Cameron. For details, visit thebachelorsmill.com.

Burgundy Crescent volunteers for the 25th anniversary year of the Miss Adams Morgan Pageant at the Hilton Washington & Towers (1919 Connecticut Ave, NW) today at 5 p.m. for loading and unloading equipment. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.

Whitman-Walker Health holds HIV Testing at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight at 8 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Fort Fridge (607 New York Ave., NW) presents the “Hemispheric Dysfunctionalism and the Cortical Titanic” tonight at 8. Though the play takes place on the Titanic, it is not actually about the majestic ship. The play explores how people receive information and use the information in a rapidly changing world. The play runs Thursday-Sunday until Oct. 28. Tickets are $25. For more information, visit capitalfringe.com.

Prudential Gallo Realtors (37230 Rehoboth Avenue Ext, Rehoboth Beach) hosts 10 artists whose artwork features individuality and creativity tonight at 6. The exhibition will be up until Nov. 19. This event is free. For more information, contact Andrew Ratner at 302-227-6101.

Touchstone Gallery (901 New York Ave., NW) features the exhibitions “To Plant Flowers While Waiting” by Ai-Wen Wu Kratz and “Anything but Straight” by Rhona LK Schonwald tonight at 6. The exhibitions run through Oct. 28. For more information, visit touchstonegallery.com.

Saturday, Oct. 20

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for the Lost Dog & Cat Rescue Foundation at Falls Church PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.) from 11:45 am-3 pm. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.

D.C. Meet Market, a community gathering with food, music and vendors where “culture and neighbors collide,” has its penultimate event of the season today from 11 a.m. to 5 p.m. in the area around 15^th and P streets N.W. in Logan Circle. If it rains, it will be held Oct. 29. Visit dcmeetmarket.com for details.

Sunday, Oct. 21

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) holds its weekly Martini Sundays and Homowood Karaoke. Karaoke starts at 10 p.m. and there is no charge for admission. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Monday, Oct. 22

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th St., NW) holds its HIV+ Newly Diagnosed Support Group tonight at 7. It is a confidential support group for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV and the group welcomes all genders and sexual orientations. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Tuesday, Oct. 23

Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) hosts its Safer Sex Kit-packing program tonight from 7-10:30. The packing program is looking for more volunteers to help produce the kits because they say they are barely keeping up with demand. Admission is free and volunteers can just show up. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) hosts its Flashback dance night with DJ Jason Royce starting at 10 p.m. There is no cover charge. For more details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Wednesday, Oct. 24

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th St., NW) holds its HIV+ Newly Diagnosed Support Group tonight at 7. It is a confidential support group for anyone recently diagnosed with HIV and the group welcomes all genders and sexual orientations. For details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., SE) for duplicate bridge. Newcomers are welcome. For more information, visit lambdabridge.com.

Thursday, Oct. 25

Whitman-Walker Health (1701 14th St., NW) holds its gay men over 50 support group this evening at 6:30 p.m. The group is for gay men entering a new phase of life. Registration is required to attend. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W) is hosting its weekly Best Package Contest tonight at 9 p.m. There is a $3 cover and there are $2 vodka drinks. Participants in the contest can win $200 in cash prizes. The event is hosted by Lena Lett and music by DJ Chord, DJ Madscience, and DJ Sean Morris. For details, visit cobaltdc.com.

Whitman-Walker provides free HIV testing at Glorious Health Club (2120 West Virginia Ave., NE) tonight at 10 p.m. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Lambda Sci-Fi book group meets tonight at 7 at 1425 S. Street, NW. Registration not required. For more information, visit lambdascifi.org.

Washington Blade hosts “2012 Best of Gay D.C. Party” at Capitale (1301 K St. NW) tonight at 6. Winners of the Blade’s annual reader’s poll will be announced at the party which runs until 9 p.m.

Kimpton’s Helix Lounge (1430 Rhode Island Ave., NW) holds its eighth annual Pumpkin Carving Contest and Happy Hour tonight from 6-9 p.m. Thirty pre-scooped pumpkins will be provided along with carving tools. Drink specials such as Pumpkin Martini and Starr Hill Pumpkin Porter will be available. There are prizes for “Most Ghoulish Gourd” and a special category has been added for the upcoming elections, “Most Political Pumpkin.” For more information, visit helixlounge.com.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Denali at Pitchers

‘Drag Race’ alum performs at Thirst Trap

Published

6 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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