Arts & Entertainment
Triple triumph at Arena
Gay actor Rodriguez returns to D.C. for ‘My Fair Lady’
Nicholas Rodriguez as Freddy Eynsford-Hill in Arena Stage’s production of ‘My Fair Lady.’ (Photo by Richard Anderson; courtesy Arena)
For New York-based actor Nicholas Rodriguez, Washington has become like a second home. After playing in three productions in so many years at Arena Stage, Rodriguez, who is gay, says he experiences D.C. as more than a place to grow professionally. It’s also somewhere he forges new friendships and simply enjoys the city.
“I’m always happy to come back to D.C.,” says the strapping Latino actor who began his collaboration with Arena Stage in 2010 when he was cast as Fabrizio, the lovesick young Italian in Adam Geuttel’s dreamy musical “The Light in the Piazza.” The following season he wowed local audiences as cowboy Curly in Arena’s stellar production of Rodgers and Hammerstein’s “Oklahoma!” for which he won a Helen Hayes Award.
And now Rodriguez is back in town playing Freddy Eynsford-Hill in Arena’s take on Lerner and Loewe’s’ “My Fair Lady.” Set in Edwardian London, young dandy Freddy falls hard for Cockney flower girl turned lady, Eliza Doolittle (Manna Nichols); but sadly it’s an unrequited love. Eliza has her romantic sights set on self-absorbed phoneticist Professor Henry Higgins (Benedict Campbell), who on a bet vows to teach Eliza how to speak, walk and act like an aristocrat.
When Rodriguez was initially approached by Arena to do “My Fair Lady,” his manager advised him to consider carefully. He pointed out that Freddy is a much smaller role than what his client is typically offered. But Rodriguez knew instantly that he wanted the part. “I thought it might be my only chance to do this show. When else will I be cast to play a British gentleman? It was never something that I saw myself playing, but I love a good challenge.”
Since Rodriguez believed he wasn’t a slam dunk as Freddy type wise, he was extra keen to honor all facets of the character including Freddy’s posh accent, so he set to work with two dialect coaches. The gorgeous-voiced tenor was also eager to do justice to his character’s iconic song “On the Street Where You Live.”
“It’s a song that I’ve been singing on some level or another since I was 15, but never in the show,” says Rodriguez, a native Texan who holds both undergraduate and graduate degrees in vocal performance from the University of Texas at Austin. “Now is the first time I’m actually singing it with a British dialect and genuinely acting part. Beautiful songs can fall flat, so there’s no room for autopilot. It has to be acted and all the song’s questions must be answered.”
The other draw that repeatedly brings Rodrigues back to D.C., he says, is the ongoing prospect of working with Molly Smith, Arena’s artistic director who has staged the three Arena musicals in which Rodriguez has appeared.
“She doesn’t tell actors what to do, but rather teaches us to find our own way,” he says. “Under Molly, Arena possesses both artistic integrity and equally important — resources. All of us leave here better artists.”
Rodriguez considers Arena’s non-traditionally cast production of “Oklahoma!” the highlight of his career to date. For him, playing Curly was a magical experience. “It was an emotionally charged time at Arena. Not just opening a show but it was also the christening of the new Mead Center for American Theater. A mediocre show was not an option.” He remains close with much of the multi-racial cast, especially talented D.C. favorite Eleasha Gamble who played Curly’s girlfriend Laurey.
Early in his career, Rodriguez garnered fame playing the third corner of a hot and heavy gay love triangle on ABC’s daytime drama “One Life to Live,” but he mostly works in theater. In addition to originating the role of Tarzan on Broadway, he has appeared off-Broadway and toured in numerous national tours of musicals and sung in concerts internationally. He also serves as artistic director of Broadway Dreams Foundation, a New York-based non-profit national performing arts education program that brings the very best in musical theater training to all parts of the country. (mybroadwaydreams.com)
Will there be more Arena productions in his future? Probably. But next up, Rodriguez returns to New York where he lives with his partner of almost 10 years. In January, he’s slated to be part of a Joni Mitchell tribute at Manhattan’s 54 Below.
“I’m always looking ahead,” Rodriguez says. “I’m always excited to encounter the next lesson that’s coming my way.”
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
It’s been a year filled with drama and music, re-imaginings and new works. There was a lot on offer in 2025, and much to enjoy. Here are 10 now-closed productions that come to mind.
On Valentine’s Day at Folger Theatre on Capitol Hill, out actor Holly Twyford served as narrator for “The Love Birds” a Folger Consort work that melds medieval music with a world-premiere composition by acclaimed composer Juri Seo and readings from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “A Parlement of Foules”
Standing behind a podium, Twyford beautifully read Chaucer’s words (translated from Middle English and backed by projected slides in the original language), alternating with music played on old and new instruments.
While Mosaic Theater’s “A Case for the Existence of God,” closed in mid-December, it’s proving a production not soon forgotten. Precisely staged by Danilo Gambini, and impressively acted by Lee Orsorio and Jaysen Wright, the soul-searching two hander by out playwright Samuel D. Hunter, tells the story of two men who form an unlikely friendship based on single-fatherhood, a specific sadness, and hope.
The action unfolds in a small office in southern Idaho, where the pair discuss the perplexing terms of a mortgage loan while delving deep into their lives and backgrounds. Nothing is left off the table.
Shakespeare Theatre Company’s spring production of “Uncle Vanya” gave audiences something both fresh yet enduring. Staged by STC’s artistic director Simon Godwin, the production put an impeccably pleasing twist on Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s classic. It ranks among the very best area productions of the year.
Featuring a topnotch cast led by Hugh Bonneville (TV’s “Downton Abbey”) in the title role, the play was set on an unfinished stage cluttered with costume racks and assorted props, all assembled by crew uniformed in black and actors in street clothes. Throughout the drama tinged with comedy, the actors continued to assist with ever increasingly period set changes accompanied by an underscore of melancholic cello strings. It was innovative and wonderful.
GALA Hispanic Theatre’s production of Manuel Puig’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was an intimate and affecting piece of theater. Staged by José Luis Arellano, it starred out actors Rodrigo Pedreira and Martín Ruiz as two very different men whose paths cross as convicts in an Argentine prison.
Arena Stage scored with a re-imagined and updated take on the widely liked musical “Damn Yankees.” Directed by Sergio Trujillo, the Broadway bound production has been “gently re-tooled for its first major revival in the 21st century,” moving the action from the struggling Washington Senators baseball team to the turn-of-the-century Yankees lineup. Ana Villafañe’s charmingly seductive Lola and a chorus of fit ball players made for a good time.
Also at Arena, out playwright Reggie D. White’s new work “Fremont Ave.” was very well received. A semi-autobiographical glimpse into home and the many definitions of that idea specifically relating to three generations of Black men, the work boasts a third act with a deeply queer storyline to boot.
Before his smash hit “Hamilton” transformed Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote “In the Heights,” a seminal musical set against the vicissitudes of an upper Manhattan bodega. Infused with hip-hop, rap, and pop ballads, the romance/dramedy takes place over a lively few days in the vibrant, close-knit Latin neighborhood, Washington Heights.
Signature Theatre’s exciting take on “In the Heights” featured a talented cast including out actor Ángel Lozado as the bodega owner who figures prominently in the barrio and the action.
Studio Theatre’s recent production of lesbian playwright Paula Vogel’s newest work “The Mother Play,” a drama with humor, is about a well put together alcoholic mother and her two gay children living under difficult circumstances in the less glitzy parts of suburban Maryland. With nuanced performances and smart direction, the production was terrific.
Keegan Theatre surpassed expectations with its production of “Lizzie” a punk rock opera about Miss Borden, the fabled axe wielding title character. Performed by a super all-female cast, they belted a score that hits hard on subjects like money, queerness, and strained (to say the least) family relationships.
Round House Theatre impressed autumn audiences with “The Inheritance,” a two-part drama sensitively staged by out director Tom Story and acted by a mostly queer cast that included young actor Jordi Bertrán Ramírez in a breakout performance.
Penned by out playwright Matthew López, the epic work inspired by E.M. Forster’s novel “Howards End,” explores themes of love, legacy, and the AIDS crisis through the lives of three generations of gay men in New York City.
Prior to opening, Story commented that with the production’s predominately queer cast you get actors who “really understand the situation, the humor, and the struggle. It works well.” And he was right.
This past year, you’ve often had to make do.
Saving money here, resources there, being inventive and innovative. It’s a talent you’ve honed, but isn’t it time to have the best? Yep, so grab these Ten Best of 2025 books for your new year pleasures.
Nonfiction
Health care is on everyone’s mind now, and “A Living: Working-Class Americans Talk to Their Doctor” by Michael D. Stein, M.D. (Melville House, $26.99) lets you peek into health care from the point of view of a doctor who treats “front-line workers” and those who experience poverty and homelessness. It’s shocking, an eye-opening book, a skinny, quick-to-read one that needs to be read now.
If you’ve been doing eldercare or caring for any loved one, then “How to Lose Your Mother: A Daughter’s Memoir” by Molly Jong-Fast (Viking, $28) needs to be in your plans for the coming year. It’s a memoir, but also a biography of Jong-Fast’s mother, Erica Jong, and the story of love, illness, and living through the chaos of serious disease with humor and grace. You’ll like this book especially if you were a fan of the author’s late mother.
Another memoir you can’t miss this year is “Between the Devil and the Deep Blue Sea: A Veteran’s Memoir” by Khadijah Queen (Legacy Lit, $30.00). It’s the story of one woman’s determination to get out of poverty and get an education, and to keep her head above water while she goes below water by joining the U.S. Navy. This is a story that will keep you glued to your seat, all the way through.
Self-improvement is something you might think about tackling in the new year, and “Replaceable You: Adventures in Human Anatomy” by Mary Roach (W.W. Norton & Company, $28.99) is a lighthearted – yet real and informative – look at the things inside and outside your body that can be replaced or changed. New nose job? Transplant, new dental work? Learn how you can become the Bionic Person in real life, and laugh while you’re doing it.
The science lover inside you will want to read “The Grave Robber: The Biggest Stolen Artifacts Case in FBI History and the Bureau’s Quest to Set Things Right” by Tim Carpenter (Harper Horizon, $29.99). A history lover will also want it, as will anyone with a craving for true crime, memoir, FBI procedural books, and travel books. It’s the story of a man who spent his life stealing objects from graves around the world, and an FBI agent’s obsession with securing the objects and returning them. It’s a fascinating read, with just a little bit of gruesome thrown in for fun.
Fiction
Speaking of a little bit of scariness, “Don’t Forget Me, Little Bessie” by James Lee Burke (Atlantic Monthly Press, $28) is the story of a girl named Bessie and her involvement with a cloven-hooved being who dogs her all her life. Set in still-wild south Texas, it’s a little bit western, part paranormal, and completely full of enjoyment.
“Evensong” by Stewart O’Nan (Atlantic Monthly Press, $28) is a layered novel of women’s friendships as they age together and support one another. The characters are warm and funny, there are a few times when your heart will sit in your throat, and you won’t be sorry you read it. It’s just plain irresistible.
If you need a dark tale for what’s left of a dark winter season, then “One of Us” by Dan Chaon (Henry Holt, $28), it it. It’s the story of twins who become orphaned when their Mama dies, ending up with a man who owns a traveling freak show, and who promises to care for them. But they can’t ever forget that a nefarious con man is looking for them; those kids can talk to one another without saying a word, and he’s going to make lots of money off them. This is a sharp, clever novel that fans of the “circus” genre shouldn’t miss.
“When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris (Random House, $28) is a wonderful romance, a boy-meets-boy with a little spice and a lot of strife. Davis loves Everett but as their wedding day draws near, doubts begin to creep in. There’s homophobia on both sides of their families, and no small amount of racism. Beware that there’s some light explicitness in this book, but if you love a good love story, you’ll love this.
Another layered tale you’ll enjoy is “The Elements” by John Boyne (Henry Holt, $29.99), a twisty bunch of short stories that connect in a series of arcs that begin on an island near Dublin. It’s about love, death, revenge, and horror, a little like The Twilight Zone, but without the paranormal. You won’t want to put down, so be warned.
If you need more ideas, head to your local library or bookstore and ask the staff there for their favorite reads of 2025. They’ll fill your book bag and your new year with goodness.
Season’s readings!
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D.C.’s 10 best theater productions of 2025
A look back at the best books of 2025
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