Arts & Entertainment
Marriage of convenience?
Lunt-Fontanne hit farce revived in darker translation
Finn Wittrock and Sarah Wayne Callies in ‘The Guardsman,’ in production now at the Kennedy Center. (Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy Kennedy Center)
‘The Guardsman’
Through June 23
John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts
$54-$95
202-467-4600
kennedy-center.org
For more than 50 years, legendary husband/wife acting team Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne charmed audiences with their onstage sophistication and offstage happy marriage. But little did fans know that the English-speaking world’s most famous theatrical couple was a union sprung more from ambition than passion. Theirs was one of the all-time, great lavender cover-ups.
Lunt and Fontanne began their post-nuptial collaboration on Broadway in 1924 with a hit production of Hungarian playwright Ferenc Molnár’s 1910 play, “The Guardsman.” It’s the story of an actor who disguises himself as the Emperor’s dashing guardsman to test the fidelity of his actress wife. The ’24 adaptation was light and breezy, well suited to the stars’ comedic style.
Now playwright Richard Nelson’s new and more discerning translation of Molnár’s original darker version is playing at the Kennedy Center’s Eisenhower Theater. Nelson’s script successfully blends the humor and pathos of its source, balancing the best of farce and drama. There’s the funniness of the handsome Actor (Finn Wittrock) hiding behind a Van Dyke beard, wild wig and nonspecific Mitteleuropa accent as he woos his own wife. But there’s also the frustration felt by the Actress (Sarah Wayne Callies) at being caught in a disappointing marriage, and the Actor’s insane jealousy that even extends to the noble guardsman he’s invented.
Set in early 20th century Budapest, the play is deceptively simple. Not long married, the young couple is already quarreling. Prior to marriage, she had a string of six-month-long affairs prompting the Actor to fear that their once passionate relationship has reached its expiration date. His solution is to tempt her with a new man of his own creation. Whether or not she goes for the forbidden fruit in counterfeit officer’s duds, the Actor reasons, he’ll know exactly where he stands.
Callies (best known as ill-fated Lori Grimes from TV’s “The Walking Dead”) is perfectly cast as the inscrutable thespian beauty and Wittrock is equally effective as her hot-blooded, tortured mate.
Witnessing the charade are the Actress’ longtime companion Mother played by the terrific Julie Halston who cut her acting teeth in downtown Manhattan performing in gay playwright Charles Busch’s campy classics. Curmudgeonly Mother despises her employer’s husband almost as much as her recent demotion to glorified housekeeper. Also on hand is the Critic (the wonderfully low key Shuler Hensley), the couple’s trusted friend who carries a long unreciprocated torch for the Actress.
Rounding out the excellent cast is Annie Funke as the green chamber maid, John Ahlin’s stage-struck bill collector and local favorite Naomi Jacobson as a tip-hungry opera usher.
Skillfully staged by Broadway’s Gregory Mosher, the action unfolds lucidly in just two days. The Actor claims he’s leaving town for work, but instead is using his makeup and acting skills right at home where he’ll pay a visit to wife at their home and later meet her at the opera. Even if farce isn’t your cup, it’s done incredibly well here.
And it’s a gorgeously designed production. John Beatty has created surroundings befitting a rich, young golden couple — their apartment is an Ottoman-influenced art nouveau bijou with strewn pillows, dark red walls, a secret door, low seating and hanging lamps. He’s also created a sumptuous opera box. Jane Greenwood has supplied the tall and slender Callies with a wardrobe of chic dressing gowns and a scene-stealing silvery number for the Actress’ evening out.
Could she seriously be fooled by a wig and phony accent? Or does she know it’s her husband all along? He’ll never know, nor shall we. But that’s all part of the fun and it makes for good post-show chatter.
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
D.C.’s Mary’s House For Older Adults names new executive director
Suzanne Goode is not good for Rehoboth Beach
Continue to engage in community after Pride month
Doug Ollivant to face Eugene Vindman in Va. 7th Congressional District
LGBTQ advocates optimistic about D.C.’s expected new mayor
PHOTOS: Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade
Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade draws hundreds of thousands
Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
PHOTOS: Petal Release Party
-
Photos5 days agoPHOTOS: Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade
-
Netherlands5 days ago
Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade draws hundreds of thousands
-
Theater4 days ago
Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth
-
Celebrity News4 days ago
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
