Arts & Entertainment

The business of being out

National Chamber has dinner Friday night; local group has expo Saturday

Published

13 years ago

November 15, 2012

Mark Guenther, director of the Capital Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce. (Washington Blade file photo by Pete Exis)

The National Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will hold its 10th anniversary national dinner, “Beyond Expectations” Friday night at the National Building Museum. On Saturday, the Capital Area Gay & Lesbian Chamber of Commerce will hold its first “g.life expo.”

The National Dinner begins at 5:30 p.m. and includes a silent auction, dinner, an awards ceremony and an after party. About 800 people are expected to attend, an increase from the 700 attendees the previous year. Tickets for the event are no longer available.

Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will receive the organization’s Pinnacle Award, given only under “exceptional circumstances.” In a press release, National Chamber President Justin Nelson cited Clinton’s 2011 speech to the United Nations as “a moment that changed the landscape for LGBT people around the globe.” In her speech, Clinton said, “LGBT rights are human rights.” The same year, Clinton launched the State Department’s Global Equality Fund, which works to promote the rights of the LGBT community around the world.

Clinton is the third honoree and the first individual to receive the Pinnacle Award. Previous recipients include Wells Fargo and IBM. Daniel Baer, deputy assistant secretary for democracy, Human Rights and Labor will accept the award on Clinton’s behalf.

Judith Light will receive the Chamber/American Airlines ExtrAA Mile Award. The Tony Award-winning actor is being recognized for supporting LGBT legislation and fighting discrimination for more than 20 years. Light sits on the board of the Matthew Shepard Foundation and other LGBT charities.

Shepard’s family will attend the dinner, according to Laura Berry, the Chamber’s director of communications. D.C. Mayor Vincent Gray will also attend the dinner and is expected to declare today National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce Day in the District.

“This is not our annual fundraising dinner,” says Nelson. “This is our annual celebration. This really is about bringing together our corporate partners, our affiliate chambers, our certified suppliers, our organizational allies and our elected official champions to celebrate what we’ve accomplished … over the last decade.”

The following day, the Capital Area Chamber (CAGLCC) will hold its first-ever “g.life expo,” slated for 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. Saturday at Washington Marriot Wardman Park (2600 Woodley Rd., N.W.). Registration is free and open to the public and includes vendors, seminars, bars and park areas.

One seminar is a “boot camp” to teach businesses how to take advantage of their LGBT certification, which the local chamber gives to LGBT-owned businesses.

“We won the Chamber of the Year award,” says Mark Guenther, executive director of the local group. “We’re hoping to leverage that notoriety at the dinner to have people come to g.life the next day.”

Guenther hopes that in years to come, corporate partners attending the national dinner will also participate in g.life.

CAGLCC has close to 400 members, many of whom are participating in a “pop-up metropolis” at g.life, which includes vendors pitching their products and services to attendees.

“We want to show our vendors … that the LGBT marketplace is a very viable way to have a great return on their investment,” Guenther says. “We hope that people who come as attendees have a great time and learn who the LGBT friendly or LGBT welcoming businesses in town are.”

Chance Mitchell, CEO of the National Chamber, saw the need for an economic component in the LGBT movement when co-founding the organization with Nelson.

“If you look at what other diverse constituencies have done,” Mitchell says, “they’ve really coalesced around economic empowerment, and we felt that diversity and inclusion has to be phrased in that context of economic empowerment.”

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PHOTOS: ‘Studio 69’

Glitterati Productions hold party at Bunker

Published

4 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Michael Key

'Studio 69' was held at Bunker on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Glitterati Productions held the “Studio 69” party at Bunker on Friday, May 8.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

Arts & Entertainment

Washington Blade’s Pride on the Pier returns June 13 to kick off D.C. Pride week

Pride on the Pier officially launches Pride Week in D.C.

Published

10 hours ago

May 11, 2026

Staff reports

The Washington Blade’s annual Pride on the Pier celebration returns to The Wharf on Saturday, June 13, 2026 from 4-9 p.m., bringing thousands of LGBTQ community members and allies together for an unforgettable waterfront celebration to kick off Pride week in Washington, D.C.

Now in its eighth year, Washington Blade Pride on the Pier extends the city’s annual celebration of LGBTQ visibility to the bustling Wharf waterfront with an exciting array of activities and entertainment for all ages. The District Pier will offer DJs, dancing, drag, and other entertainment. Alcoholic beverages will be available for purchase for those 21 and older.

“Pride on the Pier has become one of the signature moments of Pride in D.C.,” said Lynne Brown, publisher of the Washington Blade. “There’s nothing like watching our community come together on the waterfront with live music and incredible energy as we kick off Pride week.”

Pride on the Pier is free and open to the public, with VIP tickets available for exclusive pier access to the Dockmaster Building. To purchase VIP tickets visit www.prideonthepierdc.com/vip.

Additional entertainment announcements, sponsor activations, and event details will be released in the coming weeks.

Event Details:

📍 Location: District Pier at The Wharf (101 District Sq SW, Washington, DC)
📅 Dates: Friday, 13, 2026

⏱️ 4-9PM
🎟️ VIP Tickets: www.PrideOnThePierDC.com/VIP

Theater

National tour of ‘Gatsby’ comes to National Theatre

Out actor Edward Staudenmayer talks playing the show’s gangster

Published

1 day ago

May 10, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Edward Staudenmayer plays Meyer Wolfsheim in ‘The Great Gatsby.’ (Photo courtesy National Theatre)

‘The Great Gatsby’
May 12-24
The National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$59-$196
Thenationaldc.com

Often dubbed “The Great American Novel” for its depiction of ambition and self-invention alongside the reversals of success, F. Scott Fitzgerald’s “The Great Gatsby” says it all in a fast read.

Set against the excesses and energy of the Roaring Twenties, “The Great Gatsby,” novel and now the same-titled hit Broadway musical with a jazz/pop original score by Jason Howland and Nathan Tysen, tells the story of Nick Carraway and his friendship with Jay Gatsby, an enigmatic millionaire intent on reuniting with ex-lover, Daisy Buchanan.

It was during a four-month 2025 run in Seoul, South Korea, that out actor Edward Staudenmayer first played the show’s heavy, Meyer Wolfsheim, a gangster who helped Gatsby make his murkily acquired fortune. As Meyer, Staudenmayer opens the second act with, appropriately enough, “Shady.”

Now three months into a year-long North American tour, the show is poised to enjoy a brief run at Washington’s National Theatre (5/12-5/24).

While putting on his eyeliner prior to a recent Wednesday matinee at Chicago’s Cadillac Palace Theatre, the upstate New York-based actor shared about Gatsby and a life in theater.

WASHINGTON BLADE: Despite your good looks and terrific voice, you’re rarely the leading the man. How is that?

EDWARD STAUDENMAYER: I’m definitely a character man. I’ve been painting lines on my face to play old men since I was in high school. I was the youngest freshman in college playing old Uncle Sorin [in Chekhov’s “The Seagull”].

There have been many villains. Some darker than others. Meyer Wolfsheim is a very bad guy, but he doesn’t haunt me once I’m offstage. I play a lot of pickleball.

BLADE: Is it true that like so many of Fitzgerald’s characters, Wolfsheim is famously based on someone the writer encountered in life.

STAUDENMEYER: That’s true, Wolfsheim is pretty much a direct portrayal of real-life mobster and 1919 World Series fixer [Arnold Rothstein].

BLADE: When did the 1925 novel first surface on your radar?

STAUDENMAYER: Like many of us, I was assigned “The Great Gatsby” in high school. It was short, and filled with sex and illicit activities. I thought it was great. Definitely wasn’t a Judy Blume novel.

Interestingly, the book wasn’t originally a huge a success for Fitzgerald, but because it was about war and having the girl at home, they gave it to GIs leaving for WWII. After returning, a lot of those guys went on the GI Bill and became English teachers. They assigned the book to their students.

BLADE The idea that the book’s first-person narrator, Nick Carraway, is gay and enamored with Jay Gatsby is long discussed among readers and scholars. Does the musical touch on that?

STAUDENMAYER: Yes, there’s conjecture about Jay and Nick, and it’s implied in our show. It’s also implied about Jordan Baker, Jay’s fleeting romantic interest. Ultimately, she’s a confirmed bachelor, and a professional golfer who only wears pants.

Our performers are really good. Josh Grasso who plays Nick is fantastic. I’ve had to stop watching him in his last scene; it’s not good for Meyer Wolfsheim to take his curtain call crying. Our Gatsby, Jake David Smith, is good too. He’s gorgeous like Superman and sings like an angel.

BLADE: Do you ever imagine backstory for your characters whose sexuality is undefined?

STAUDENMAYER: I do, but not with Wolfsheim. I don’t see it. I’m trying to be as butch as possible with this ruthless killer.

BLADE: Have you had to do that in your career?

STAUDENMAYER: For a long time, I wore a mask to hide my gayness. I worked hard on being believable, that I was into the girl or that I was a tough guy.

It’s a different world now, and it’s so refreshing to be around the younger actors today; they’re remarkably open and comfortable.

BLADE: What was your coming of age like?

STAUDENMAYER: I played high school football in Palm Springs [he chuckles, alluding to the arid gay mecca], and I was pretty good too. But much to the chagrin of my parents and coaches, I quit the team to act in our senior year play. My super butch dad played semi-pro football and he was an ex-cop. I’m named after him. While I didn’t become my dad, I’ve played him often on stage. He was a true Gaston [the bumptious rival in “Beauty and the Beast”]. And like Gaston, he used antlers in all his interior decorating.

BLADE: Did he live to see your success in theater?

STAUDENMAYER: He did. Life was challenging growing up but the last 10 years of his life we couldn’t get off the phone with each other [his voice catches with emotion]. He accepted me entirely, and we became very close.

BLADE: Looking ahead, is there a part you’d especially like to play?

STAUDENMAYER: Like all baritones I’d love to play Sondheim’s “Sweeney Todd.” I’ve come close but it hasn’t happened yet. There’s still time.