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.
Rehoboth Beach
BLUF leather social set for April 10 in Rehoboth
Attendees encouraged to wear appropriate gear
Diego’s in Rehoboth Beach hosts a monthly leather happy hour. April’s edition is scheduled for Friday, April 10, 5-7 p.m. Attendees are encouraged to wear appropriate gear. The event is billed as an official event of BLUF, the free community group for men interested in leather. After happy hour, the attendees are encouraged to reconvene at Local Bootlegging Company for dinner, which allows cigar smoking. There’s no cover charge for either event.
District of Columbia
Celebrations of life planned for Sean Bartel
Two memorial events scheduled in D.C.
Two celebrations of life are planned for Sean Christopher Bartel, 48, who was found deceased on a hiking trail in Argentina on or around March 15. Bartel began his career as a television news reporter and news anchor at stations in Louisville, Ky., and Evansville, Ind., before serving as Senior Video Producer for the D.C.-based International Brotherhood of Electrical Workers union from 2013 to 2024.
A memorial gathering is planned for Friday, April 10, 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. at the IBEW International Office (900 7th St., N.W.), according to a statement by the DC Gay Flag Football League, where Bartel was a longtime member. A celebration of life is planned that same evening, 6-8 p.m. at Trade (1410 14th St., N.W.).
District of Columbia
D.C. Council member honored by LGBTQ homeless youth group
Doni Crawford receives inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award
About 100 people turned out Tuesday evening, April 7, for a presentation by D.C.’s Wanda Alston Foundation of its inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award to D.C. Council member Doni Crawford (I-At-Large) for her support for the foundation’s mission to support homeless LGBTQ youth.
Among those who attended the event was Japer Bowles, director of D.C. Mayor Muriel Bowser’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs, who delivered an official proclamation issued by Bowser declaring April 7, 2026 “A Day of Remembrance for Wanda Alston.”
Alston, a beloved women’s and LGBTQ rights activist, served as the city’s first director of the then newly created Office of LGBTQ Affairs under then-Mayor Anthony Williams from 2004 until her death by murder on March 16, 2005.
To the shock and dismay of fellow LGBTQ rights advocates, police and court records reported Alston, 45, was stabbed to death inside her Northeast D.C. house by a man high on crack cocaine who lived nearby and who stole her credit cards and car. The perpetrator, William Martin Parrott, 38, was arrested by D.C. police the next day and later pleaded guilty to second-degree murder. He was sentenced in July 2005 to 24 years in prison.
Crawford was among those attending the award event who reflected on Alston’s legacy and outspoken advocacy for LGBTQ and feminist causes.
“I am deeply humbled and honored to receive this inaugural award,” Crawford told the Washington Blade at the conclusion of the event. “I think the world of Wanda Alston. She has set such a great foundation for me and other Council members to build on,” she said.
“Her focus on inclusivity and intersectionality is really important as we approach this work,” Crawford added. “And it’s going to guide my work at the Council every day.”
Crawford was appointed to the D.C. Council in January of this year to replace then Council member Kenyan McDuffie (I-At-Large), who resigned to run for D.C. mayor as a Democrat. She is being challenged by four other independent candidates in a June 16 special election for the Council seat.
Under the city’s Home Rule Charter written and approved by Congress, the seat is one of two D.C. Council at-large seats that cannot be held by a “majority party” candidate, meaning a Democrat.
A statement released by the Alston Foundation last month announcing Crawford’s selection for the Wanda Alston Legacy Award praised Crawford’s record of support for its work on behalf of LGBTQ youth.
“From behind the scenes to now serving as an At-Large Council member, she has fought fearlessly for affordable housing, LGBTQ+ funding priorities, and racial justice,” the statement says. “Council member Crawford’s leadership reflects the same courage and conviction that defined Wanda’s legacy.”
Organizers of the event noted that it was held on what would have been Wanda Alston’s 67th birthday.
“Today’s legacy reception was a smashing success,” said Cesar Toledo, the Alston Foundation’s executive director. “Not only did we come together to celebrate Wanda Alston on her birthday, but we also were able to raise over $10,000 for our homeless LGBTQ youth here in D.C.,” Toledo told the Blade.
“In addition to that, we celebrated and we acknowledged a rising star in our community,” he said. “And that is At-Large Council member Doni Crawford, who we named the inaugural Wanda Alston Legacy Award recipient.”
At the request of D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) the Council voted unanimously on Jan. 20, 2026, to appoint Crawford to the Council seat being vacated by McDuffie.
Council records show she joined McDuffie’s Council staff in 2022 as a policy adviser and later became his legislative director before McDuffie appointed her as staff director for the Council’s Committee on Business and Economic Development for which McDuffie served as chair.
Calendar: April 10-16
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