Arts & Entertainment
The humanity of MLK
Gay-helmed ‘Mountaintop’ is ‘funny, spirited and serious’
New York-based Robert O’Hara says he finds it artistically rewarding to both write and direct. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
‘The Mountaintop’
Through May 12
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth Street, SW
$40-$85
202-488-3300
arenastage.org
Early in playwright Katori Hall’s “The Mountaintop” (now at Arena Stage), Martin Luther King, Jr., smokes a cigarette and audibly uses the restroom.
“Quickly this iconic figure of history is defined as very human,” says the play’s director Robert O’Hara. “This can be hard on those who prefer that King retain his saint-like status, but really there’s nothing to be offended about. The work’s theatricality makes it clear we’re not doing bio drama but rather we’re asking ‘What if?’ The playwright is exploring King’s psyche.”
Set in Memphis’ Lorraine Motel in 1968 on the last night of King’s life, Hall’s play imagines an unexpected meeting between the already legendary 39-year-old civil rights activist and a feisty 20-year-old maid, Camae. Their 80-minute exchange (at turns funny, spirited and serious) is filled with biography and politics, prompting King to examine his past and unfinished dreams.
Arena’s production (featuring Bowman Wright as King and Joaquina Kalukango as the maid) is in collaboration with Houston’s Alley Theatre where it played before moving to D.C.
“But being in Washington makes it a different experience,” says O’Hara, who’s gay. “President Obama and the Martin Luther King Memorial are here. Dr. King made his ‘I Have a Dream Speech’ here. Washington audiences seem more political. Arena’s Kreeger Theater is much more intimate than the Houston venue. So much about the production is altered because it’s in this new Washington environment.”
O’Hara was introduced to the play in its early developmental stages. “The director originally slated to do the workshop reading pulled out at the last minute and I stepped in. In those days, a lot of people were cold on the project. But from the start, I liked how it revealed King’s humanity and enjoyed its explosive and erotic elements.”
Soon others would agree: In 2009, Hall’s play premiered in London where it was a sleeper hit, winning that season’s Olivier Award for best new play. It opened on Broadway in 2011 in a production starring big names Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett.
As an undergraduate at Tufts University, O’Hara rather fleetingly considered a career in law. But by his third year, he knew he was destined to work in theater. O’Hara went on to at Columbia University where he studied directing. His mother wasn’t thrilled and suggested her son find something practical to fall back on. He did — playwriting. Not exactly what mom had in mind, but at 43, O’Hara has forged a busy and productive career involving both.
“With directing you have to wait for the phone to ring,” says O’Hara who lives in New York City with his longtime partner, a psychiatrist and avid theatergoer. “And others control whether you work or not; whereas with playwriting you can write whenever you want. Hopefully you have a few commissions to sustain you. I like to alternate the two. I’m happiest when I have a couple things going on at once.”
To live in New York, many playwrights have to work elsewhere. For O’Hara, that frequently means Washington. He’s premiered several plays here including his wild, time-traveling tragicomedy, “Insurrection: Holding History” at Theatre Alliance, and Woolly Mammoth’s productions of “Antebellum” (his exploration of race and history), and “Bootycandy,”a terrific autobiographical work about growing up black and gay in Cincinnati which he also directed. O’Hara is currently playwright in residence at Woolly Mammoth, a loosely defined gig that doesn’t require him to live in D.C.
“This town has been very good to me. Washington’s theater community is vibrant and it has been very receptive to my work. I’ve always enjoyed my time here. And now I’m happy to be working at Arena Stage.”
O’Hara’s career isn’t focused on being black and gay. “I don’t tend to think about that when I wake up in the morning. The same way I’m not conscious about being upright and breathing. Maybe other people look at me and see black and gay. I don’t feel that way,” he says. “I’ve never really felt part of a group on any subject. I don’t know many out writer/directors of color. I’m not interested in writing the well-made play. But what separates me is also what makes me unique. And while I think of myself as a shy person, I’m increasingly confident when it comes to my work.”
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.
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
‘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.
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