Arts & Entertainment
Calendar through June 20
Events, parties, concerts and more this weekend and beyond
Mova hosts “GLBT College Night” on Thursday. (Washington Blade photo by Pete Exis)
Friday, June 14
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour Friday from 6-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.
Special Agent Galactica performs Friday with her musical director, Aaron Myers, at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) from 6-9 p.m. Admission is free. Visit blackfoxlounge.com or pinkhairedone.com for more information.
Jamorr Entertainment presents Fusion Friday, an all ladies happy hour, Friday at Capitale (1301 K St., N.W.) from 6-11 p.m. Tickets are $5 in advance or $10 at the door. For details and to purchase tickets, visit jamorr.com.
Delta Elite (10 St., N.E.) hosts ladies night Friday from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. For more details, visit deltaelite.net.
Saturday, June 15
Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) hosts a “Mister Beefcake Contest” tonight at 10 p.m., featuring DJ Kurt Jo. Admission is $7. Contestants can win $100. For details, visit greenlanterndc.com.
Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) hosts a Gemini Zodiac Party this afternoon from 3-7 p.m. Geminis should come early for free T-shirts. Visit nelliessportsbar.com or the event on Facebook for more details.
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today for Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation at the Falls Church PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, V.A.) from 11:45 a.m.-3 p.m. Visit burgundycrescent.org for more information.
Sunday, June 16
Perry’s (1811 Columbia Rd., N.W.) hosts its weekly Sunday Drag Brunch today from 10 a.m.-3 p.m. The cost is $24.95 for an all-you-can-eat buffet. For details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.
The Capitol Hill Medical Center (700 2nd St., N.E.) presents a Transgender Health care Dialogue this morning from9:30-10:30 a.m. Kaiser Permanente physicians, nurses, behavioral health professionals and member services professionals will be present to answer questions. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) presents an International Queer Poetry Panel this afternoon from 1-3 p.m.Admission is $10 or free with prior registration. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.
Monday, June 17
The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) hosts happy hour tonight from 5-7:30 p.m. All drinks are half price, and there will also be pool, video gaming systems and cards. Admission is free. For details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
The Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) hosts La-Ti-Do, a spoken word and musical theater show, tonight from 8-10 p.m. Admission is $10. Visit blackfoxlounge.com for more details.
The Open Society Institute (1730 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) hosts a panel discussion and film preview on LGBTI refugees with the Organization for Refuge, Asylum and Migration (ORAM) from 1-3 p.m. this afternoon. “No Place For Me,” a documentary that reveals the persecution of LGBT people in South Africa, Mexico and Uganda, will be previewed. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Casa Ruby (2822 Georgia Ave., N.W.) provides a Spanish-Language Career Development tutorial from 4-6 p.m. today. Visit thedccenter.org for more information.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts coffee drop-in hours this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee and conversation with other community members. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Tuesday, June 18
Whitman Walker Health provides free HIV testing at Panam Supermarket (3552 14th St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9 p.m.For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a Gender Queer Discussion Group for people who identify outside of the gender binary from 7-8 p.m. tonight. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
MOVA Lounge (2204 14th St., N.W.) screens “Will & Grace” reruns tonight from 5 p.m.-3 a.m. Half-priced “Karen Walker Martinis” and “Just Jack Cocktails” will be served. There is no cover. For more information, visit movalounge.com or the Mova Lounge Facebook page.
The D.C. Trans Coalition hosts a group-planning meeting at Transgender Health Empowerment (1414 North Capitol St., N.W.) tonight from 7:30-9 p.m. For more information, visit dctranscoalition.org.
Wednesday, June 19
Heist (1802 Jefferson Pl., N.W.) hosts its weekly open bar party tonight from 10-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit heistdc.com or the Heist DC Facebook page.
The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) hosts drag bingo tonight from 5:30-7 p.m. during happy hour. All drinks are half price and there will also be pool, video gaming systems and cards. Admission is free. For more information, visitbachelorsmill.com.
The AFI Docs Film Festival starts screening documentaries today at 10 a.m. at the AFI Silver Theater (8633 Colesville Rd., Silver Spring, M.D.). Tickets for individual screenings are $13 and combo ticket packages for 10 screenings are $100. For more information on the festival’s documentaries, various screening locations and to purchase tickets online, visit afi.com.
The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) for social bridge. Participants do not need a partner. For more details, call 301-345-1571.
Bookmen D.C., an informal men’s gay literature group, discusses “The Lost Library: Gay Fiction Rediscovered,” tonight at 7:30 p.m. at The American Foreign Service Association (2101 E St., N.W.). For more information, visitbookmendc.blogspot.com.
Thursday, June 20
Whitman-Walker Health provides free HIV testing tonight from 10 p.m.-1 a.m. at Glorious Health Club (2120 West Virginia Ave., N.E.). For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a polyamory discussion group tonight from 7-8 p.m. Visit thedccenter.orgfor more details.
MOVA Lounge (2204 14th St., N.W.) hosts “GLBT College Night” this evening with a vodka open bar from 9-10 p.m. for guests with a college ID. Admission is 18 and up to enter and 21 and up to drink. For details, visit movalounge.com or the Mova Lounge Facebook page.
Honoring Individual Power and Strength (HIPS) will celebrate its 30th anniversary by providing essential health and social services on Saturday, April 5 at 6 p.m. at 906 H St., N.E.
This event will be a celebration of the ongoing generosity of local D.C. business, philanthropists, and residents who step up to help us support those most in need in our neighborhoods. At this event you will join other HIPS stakeholders and community members for music and performances from local queer talent and learn more about some of the work the group has accomplished in the past 30 years to ensure everyone in our neighborhoods has access to HIV, viral hepatitis, and STI testing. For more details, visit the HIPS website.
Capital Pride Alliance and the Washington Wizards will host “Pride Night” on Thursday, March 27 at 7 p.m. Ticket purchases come with a limited-edition Wizards Pride belt bag. There are limited quantities.
Tickets start at $31 and can be purchased on the Wizards’ website.
Theater
Celebrated local talent Regina Aquino is back on the boards
Queer actor starring in Arena Stage’s ‘The Age of Innocence’
‘The Age of Innocence’
Through March 30
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $59
Arenastage.org
Actor, director, and now filmmaker, celebrated local talent Regina Aquino is back on the boards in Arena Stage’s “The Age of Innocence,” staged by the company’s artistic director Hana S. Sharif.
Adapted by Karen Zacarías from Edith Wharton’s 1920 masterpiece novel, the work surrounds a love triangle involving New York scion Newland Archer, his young fiancée, and the unconventional beauty Countess Olenska. The Gilded Age-set piece sets up a struggle between rigid societal norms and following one’s own heart.
Aquino — a queer-identified first-generation Filipino immigrant who grew up in the DMV— is the first Filipino American actress to receive a Helen Hayes Award (2019). She won for her work in Theater Alliance’s “The Events.”
In “The Age of Innocence,” Aquino plays Newland’s mother Adeline Archer, a widow who lives with her unmarried, socially awkward daughter Janey. No longer a face on the dinner party circuit, she does enjoy gossiping at home, especially with her close friend Mr. Sillerton Jackson, a “confirmed bachelor” and social arbiter. Together, they sip drinks and talk about what’s happening among their elite Manhattan set.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Do you like Mrs. Archer?
REGINA AQUINO: There’s a lot of joy in playing this character. She’s very exuberant in those moments with her bestie Sillerton. Otherwise, there’s not much for her to do. In Wharton’s book, it says that Mrs. Archer’s preferred pastime is growing ferns.
BLADE: But she can be rather ruthless?
AQUINO: When it comes to her family, yes. She’s protective, which I understand. When she feels that her family’s under attack in any way, or the structure of the society that upholds way of life is threatened, she leans hard into that.
The rare times that she’s out in society you see the boundaries come up, and the performative aspect of what society means. She can be very mean if she wants to be.
BLADE: Can you relate?
AQUINO: I come from a large Filipino matriarchal family. Mrs. Archer is someone I recognize. When I’m in the Philippines, I’m around people like that. People who will do business with you but won’t let you into their inner circle.
BLADE: Did you ever imagine yourself playing a woman like Mrs. Archer?
AQUINO: No. However, in the past couple of years diversely cast TV shows like “Bridgerton” and “Queen Charlotte” have filled a need for me that I didn’t I know I had.
With stories like “The Age of Innocence” that are so specific about American history, they aren’t always easily imagined by American audiences when performed by a diverse cast.
But when Karen [Zacarías] wrote the play, she imagined it as a diverse cast. What they’re presenting is reflective of all the different people that make up America.
BLADE: You seem a part of many groups. How does that work?
AQUINO: For me, the code switching is real. Whether I’m with my queer family, Filipinos, or artists of color. It’s different. The way we talk about the world, it shifts. I speak Tiglao in the Philippines or here I may fall into an accent depending on who I’m with.
BLADE: And tell me about costume designer Fabio Tablini’s wonderful clothes.
AQUINO: Aren’t they gorgeous? At the Arena costume shop, they build things to fit to your body. It’s not often we get to wear these couture things. As actors we’re in the costumes for three hours a night but these women, who the characters are based on, wore these corseted gowns all day, every day. It’s amazing how much these clothes help in building your character. I’ve found new ways of expressing myself when my waist is cinched down to 26 inches.
BLADE: Arena’s Fichandler Stage is theatre-in-the-round. Great for costumes. How about you?
AQUINO: This is my favorite kind of acting. In the round there’s nowhere to hide. Your whole body is acting. There’s somebody somewhere who can see every part of you. Very much how we move in real life. I find it easier.
BLADE: While the Gilded Age was opulent for some, it wasn’t a particularly easy time for working people.
AQUINO: The play includes commentary on class. Never mind money. If you’re not authentic to who you are and connecting with the people you love, you’re not going to be happy. The idea of Newland doing what he wants, and Countess Olenska’s journey toward freedom is very threatening to my character, Mrs. Archer. Today, these same oppressive structures are doing everything here to shutdown feelings of liberation. That’s where the heart of this story lands for me.
DC Trans Picnics event brings trans community together
Trump ‘culture war’ complicates HUD’s distribution of $3.6B in housing grants
LGBTQ poets included in India’s premier literary festival
Whitman-Walker facing 40% federal research budget cut
D.C. queer bar owners sound alarm on WorldPride security concerns
I want to leave my perfect boyfriend
Pride Liberation Project announces additional Va. school board protests
Stellar cast makes for campy fun in ‘The Parenting’
Japan’s marriage equality movement gains steam
