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D.C. arts briefs: events through Nov. 15

Stephanie Mills, Olivia Newton-John, Ani DiFranco and more

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Stephanie Mills, Never Knew Love Like This Before, gay news, Washington Blade
Stephanie Mills, Never Knew Love Like This Before, gay news, Washington Blade

Stephanie Mills is known for hits like ‘Never Knew Love Like This Before.’ (Photo courtesy the Birchmere)

Diva Mills to play the Birchmere

Stephanie Mills comes to the Birchmere (3701 Mount Vernon Ave., Alexandria) Saturday night at 7:30 p.m.

Mills is an R&B and soul singer and a former Broadway performer. She began performing at age 9 and won Amateur Night at the Apollo Theater. In the 1970s, she performed in the “The Wiz.”

Tickets are $69.50. For more information, visit birchmere.com.

Strathmore welcomes Newton-John

Olivia Newton-John, gay news, Washington Blade

Olivia Newton-John (Photo courtesy the artist)

The Music Center at Strathmore (5301 Tuckerman Lane, North Bethesda) presents Olivia Newton-John on Nov. 16 at 8 p.m.

Newton-John is best known for her roles in “Grease” and “Xanadu.” She is also a four-time Grammy winner. In her most recent tour she is revisiting some her classics such as “Physical” and “Hopelessly Devoted to You” along with some of her more recent pieces.

Tickets range from $48-$78. For more information, visit Strathmore.org.

Indie legend DiFranco at the 9:30 Club

Bi indie rocker Ani DiFranco plays the 9:30 Club (815 V St., NW) Saturday night at 8 p.m.

DiFranco has been in the business 20 years and released 20 albums. In 1989 she began her own record company “Righteous Records.” Her most recent project, “Which Side Are You On?” was released in January.

Tickets are $40. For more information, visit 930.com.

Story of sisters at Woolly

Woolly Mammoth Theatre (641 D St., NW) presents “You for Me for You” Saturday 8 p.m.

The story focuses on two sisters in North Korea who are facing starvation under a corrupt regime. They make plans with a smuggler to flee to the United States. When of the sisters is too ill to leave, the other sister promises to cross time and space to save her. The play embodies the American idea of North Korea and the immigrant experience.

Tickets are $20-$67. For more information, visit woollymammoth.net.

 

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Doug Spearman takes his chance

‘Noah’s Arc: The Movie’ debuted on Paramount+ last month

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(Photo courtesy of Paramount+)

There’s no question that when Patrik-Ian Polk’s series “Noah’s Arc” premiered on Logo 20 years ago, it was a groundbreaking creation. The story of a group of Black gay men and their wonderful friendship. The titular arc was that of the cute main character, Noah (Darryl Stephens), and his close-knit circle of friends, including Chance played by gay actor Doug Spearman. This compelling and loving fraternity may, in fact, be what brought viewers back repeatedly, including a 2008 movie, “Noah’s Arc: Jumping the Broom,” as well as the 2020 “Noah’s Arc” short, and now, a new full-length feature “Noah’s Arc: The Movie,” debuting on Paramount+ on June 20. In the movie, filled with equal measures of laughs and tears, Chance, who has faced a devastating loss, finds his dependable friends there, ready to support and comfort him at a moment’s notice. I had the pleasure of speaking with Spearman the morning of the streaming premiere of “Noah’s Arc: The Movie.”

WASHINGTON BLADE: Doug, since the early 2000s, when the “Noah’s Arc” series premiered on Logo, you have been playing the character of Chance, including in the latest installment, “Noah’s Arc: The Movie.” What was it about Chance that appealed to you as an actor?

SPEARMAN: When Patrik (-Ian Polk) called me to ask me to play him (Chance), I was at JFK airport in the baggage claim, waiting for a suitcase. He explained what the part was. The thing that stuck out to me was the fact that Chance was in a long-term relationship with another Black man. And, they had a child; they had a 4-year-old daughter named Kenya. I had never seen two Black gay men raise a child on TV before. I thought it was the most revolutionary thing I’d ever seen. I immediately thought I’ve got to do this because that was something nobody had seen. I thought it was incredibly important to take the part.

BLADE: “Noah’s Arc: The Movie” was, once again, written and directed by Patrik-Ian Polk, who you just mentioned, is the creator of the entire franchise. What’s the secret to your long-standing working relationship?

SPEARMAN: [Laughs] the whole team, all of us, are like a band of brothers. We fight like brothers, we come together like brothers, we hash things out, we talk, because we’re all very different from our characters. I think the challenge of playing these guys and then uplifting these men, playing a part, especially something written by Patrik, is like solving a math equation. There’s always a challenge that’s enjoyable for me as an actor: to try to find out what it is that Patrik wants, and then how do I do it.

BLADE: I think you do a very good job of it.

SPEARMAN: Thank you very much

BLADE: In the years between “Jumping the Broom” and the new full-length movie, many changes have occurred, and the story addresses some of them, including gay widowhood, which is something that the aging community is now confronting, as well as mental health issues. Please say a few words about how you approached those subjects in the new movie.

SPEARMAN: I had a lot of loss in my life, right before we started shooting. Two months before we started shooting the first series, my mother died. I was going through the grief process through that whole first season. Since then, I’ve lost a lot of people in my life. In fact, when we started shooting the second season, the second week we were shooting, my ex died of a heart attack. I was having to fold that into what I was doing with my life on the set and off the set. You’ve got to show up and you’ve got to do your work. The first two seasons of “Noah’s Arc” are always tinged with the memory of grief. So, when I had to deal with the death that Chance faces (in the new movie), which is a significant death in his life, it wasn’t that hard to reach back, especially the scene in the graveyard. It was something that I unfortunately could pull from personal experience.

BLADE: Shifting gears, the movie features delightful cast surprises, including Jasmine Guy and TS Madison. Did you have a chance to interact with either or both when they were on set?

SPEARMAN: No, I didn’t have any scenes with Jasmine, and I missed her. I wish I had gotten to see her because I actually got to direct Jasmine for a CBS promo shoot for “Queen,” back in the early ‘90s. I had a huge crush on her when she was on “A Different World.” So, I really would have liked to reconnect. But TS and I got to see each other every day because I was in all her scenes. It was extraordinary being around somebody like that. That is one outspoken woman!

BLADE: Even though Beyoncé never makes an appearance in the movie, there’s a lot of talk about her. Would you say you are a Beyoncé fan?

SPEARMAN: Yes! I’m breathing! Yes, I’m a Beyoncé fan. I actually got the chance to meet her. I knew her mom. Her mom was extraordinary to me. She is in the second movie I directed. She also gave us a wedding gown to use in the very first scene of the movie. That family is extraordinarily important to me. Not only just to be a fan, but to be somebody who’s gotten to know them and work with them and see how hard they work. I don’t think anybody works as hard as Tina or Beyoncé.

BLADE: There was a recent news item about gay actor Benito Skinner of the Amazon Prime series “Overcompensating” being told not to bother auditioning for straight roles. As an out actor yourself, how important do you think it is for queer characters to be portrayed by queer actors, and vice versa?

SPEARMAN: Being queer is a multifaceted identity. There’s no one kind of queer person. I think finding the best actor that’s your first circle of casting. I think one of the joys about being an actor is that you get to play different parts. I play straight guys all the time. Dads and husbands and things like that. I think a lot of people are told not to do it. In fact, I wouldn’t be Chance if the actor who was originally cast as Chance hadn’t been pulled out of the series by his agents because they didn’t want him to play a gay character.

BLADE: That’s amazing! Thank you for sharing that. Without giving away too much, the ending of the movie is a little ambiguous, even ending with a question mark. If there was a “Noah’s Arc: The Movie” sequel, would you come back for that?

SPEARMAN: Yeah! A lot of it would depend on what Chance’s journey is going to be like. Patrik and I have conversations like that all the time. He’s very interested and supportive of input. I hope I would be, as we all would be, part of the creative growth with these characters. They live in Patrik’s head, and he writes them, but we’re the ones who have to flesh them out. It’s a conversation, it’s always a conversation.

BLADE: You are currently performing in Molière’s “The Imaginary Invalid” as part of the New Orleans Shakespeare Festival at Tulane. What has this experience been like for you?

SPEARMAN: It’s extraordinary! I started on stage when I was seven. There’s nothing like working with a live audience and having that immediacy. I’m working with an extraordinarily talented cast in a really great play, and I have some of the best scene partners I could ever want.

BLADE: Are there any upcoming film or TV projects you’d like to mention?

SPEARMAN: I’m still a writer, and I’m still a director, and I’ve still got scripts that I would like to make. I have a little something that’s a cross between “Treme” and “Bridgerton” that I want to do. I’m always trying to figure out what the next thing is.

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PHOTOS: Montgomery County Pride in the Plaza

LGBTQ celebration held in downtown Silver Spring

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Montgomery County Pride in the Plaza included the live 'LIYT Nights & Drag Duels!' season finale. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Montgomery County Pride in the Plaza was held on Sunday, June 29 at Veterans Plaza in Silver Spring, Md.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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PHOTOS: Fredericksburg Pride

Fifth annual festival held at Riverfront Park

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The Fredericksburg Pride March wound through downtown Fredericksburg, Va. and ended at Riverfront Park on Saturday, June 28. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The fifth annual Fredericksburg Pride march and festival was held on Saturday, June 28. A march through the streets of downtown Fredericksburg, Va. was followed by a festival at Riverfront Park.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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