Local
Controversial Ugandan play to be staged
First Ugandan play with openly gay character earned deportation for producer
Flag of Uganda (Image public domain)
In August 2012, one line from one play changed Ugandan history. The words “I’m gay” were uttered by the main character from “The River and the Mountain,” a play written by Beau Hopkins. In doing so, it became the first Ugandan play ever to have an openly gay character.
As a result, the producer of the play, David Cecil, was arrested for offending the Ministry of Ethics in Uganda. Cecil has since been released and the charges were dropped but he has been deported to his native U.K. as an “undesirable immigrant.”
Recently Keith Prosser, also British, was arrested for appearing in “The River and the Mountain” because the play exposed Uganda’s anti-gay policies. He is being held in a Kampala detention center.
Uganda is still trying to pass through its parliament an anti-homosexuality bill. This bill in its original form sought to punish those who were gay with the death penalty. One Member of Parliament has assured the public that the penalty has been decreased from death to life in prison, but the parliament has not made the revised bill available to the public to verify this. The measure has become informally known around the world as the “Kill the Gays” bill.
“The River and the Mountain” concerns a young man, Samson, who, in the process of exposing his corrupt boss, is suddenly elevated to a senior position in his firm. Emboldened by his new status (and slightly tipsy), Samson reveals to his best friend, Olu, that he is gay. From there the plot thickens, as Olu is preparing to become a pastor and is thus torn between keeping the hero’s secret safe or betraying him to further his own career. Meanwhile, Samson’s mother is determined to convert Samson to a heterosexual.
Though Samson’s sexuality is certainly important in this play, it is in fact merely one theme among many: corruption, justice, faith, friendship, family, betrayal and witchcraft.
University of Nebraska at Lincoln lecturer, Sarah Imes Borden, wants to shed light on this controversial piece of art while exposing the underlying social issues. Along with playwright Beau Hopkins, producer Dawn Marie Moe and fight director Ian Borden, Borden will be introducing this important work to audiences in the U.S. through a series of staged readings.
The readings, after a fundraising premiere in Lincoln, Neb., will be performed in several venues along the East Coast this March. They will feature a performance by one of the original Ugandan cast members and talkbacks held by Hopkins.
On March 21 at 8 p.m. the Spotlighters Theatre will host a reading. Admission is free; attendees encouraged to pay what they can. Donations at the event will be used to fund the project.
Borden, who used to live in Baltimore, played the role of Svetlanya in the Spotlighters production of “Chess” in 2004 giving this event a local connection. For more information, visit spotlighters.org.
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PHOTOS: Helen Hayes Awards
Gay Men’s Chorus, local drag artists have featured performance at ceremony
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards were held at The Anthem on Monday, May 19. Felicia Curry and Mike Millan served as the hosts.
A performance featuring members of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington and local drag artists was held at the end of the first act of the program to celebrate WorldPride 2025.
The annual awards ceremony honors achievement in D.C.-area theater productions and is produced by Theatre Washington.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
District of Columbia
Laverne Cox, Reneé Rapp, Deacon Maccubbin named WorldPride grand marshals
Three LGBTQ icons to lead parade
WorldPride organizers announced Thursday that actress and trans activist Laverne Cox, powerhouse performer Reneé Rapp, and LGBTQ trailblazer Deacon Maccubbin will serve as grand marshals for this year’s WorldPride parade.
The Capital Pride Alliance, which is organizing WorldPride 2025 in Washington, D.C., revealed the honorees in a press release, noting that each has made a unique contribution to the fabric of the LGBTQ community.
Cox made history in 2014 as the first openly transgender person nominated for a Primetime Emmy Award in an acting category for her role in Netflix’s “Orange Is the New Black.” She went on to win a Daytime Emmy in 2015 for her documentary “Laverne Cox Presents: The T Word,” which followed seven young trans people as they navigated coming out.
Rapp, a singer and actress who identifies as a lesbian, rose to prominence as Regina George in the Broadway musical “Mean Girls.” She reprised the role in the 2024 film adaptation and also stars in Max’s “The Sex Lives of College Girls,” portraying a character coming to terms with her sexuality. Rapp has released an EP, “Everything to Everyone,” and an album, “Snow Angel.” She announced her sophomore album, “Bite Me,” on May 21 and is slated to perform at the WorldPride Music Festival at the RFK Festival Grounds.
Deacon Maccubbin, widely regarded as a cornerstone of Washington’s LGBTQ+ history, helped organize D.C.’s first Gay Pride Party in 1975. The event took place outside Lambda Rising, one of the first LGBTQ bookstores in the nation, which Maccubbin founded. For his decades of advocacy and activism, he is often referred to as “the patriarch of D.C. Pride.”
“I am so honored to serve as one of the grand marshals for WorldPride this year. This has been one of the most difficult times in recent history for queer and trans people globally,” Cox said. “But in the face of all the rhetorical, legislative and physical attacks, we continue to have the courage to embrace who we truly are, to celebrate our beauty, resilience and bravery as a community. We refuse to allow fear to keep us from ourselves and each other. We remain out loud and proud.”
“Pride is everything. It is protection, it is visibility, it is intersectional. But most importantly, it is a celebration of existence and protest,” Rapp said.
The three will march down 14th Street for the WorldPride Parade in Washington on June 7.
2025 D.C. Trans Pride was held at Martin Luther King, Jr. Memorial Library on Saturday, May 17. The day was filled with panel discussions, art, social events, speakers, a resource fair and the Engendered Spirit Awards. Awardees included Lyra McMillan, Pip Baitinger, Steph Niaupari and Hayden Gise. The keynote address was delivered by athlete and advocate Schuyler Bailar.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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