Arts & Entertainment

Calendar through July 25

Capital Fringe Fest continues in a packed week

Published

13 years ago

July 18, 2013

Much to do in Washington D.C. including more Capital Fringe Fest and Brandi Carlile plays Wolf Trap Wednesday night. (Photo courtesy Wolf Trap)

Friday, July 19

Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) hosts Bear Happy Hour tonight from 6-11 p.m. There is no cover charge and admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.

The Capital Fringe Festival features “Songs From an Unmade Bed,” directed by Josh Redford, tonight at 11:45 p.m. at Fort Fringe (607 New York Ave., N.W.). The musical theater and opera show is a solo performance that explores a gay man’s struggles with city life. Visit capitalfringe.org for more information.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04_d4vlYiWE

Whitman-Walker Health provides HIV testing at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) this evening from 8 p.m.-midnight. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Saturday, July 20

Phase 1 of Dupont (1415 22^nd St., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Booty Beach Ladies Dance Party” tonight. The winner of the party’s bikini and board shorts contest will receive cash and prizes. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. and admission is $5. Visit phase1dc.com for more information.

DJ Drew G spins tonight at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) at 10 p.m. He and his DJ partner, Brian Cua, are currently working on official remixes for Lady Gaga and have done work for other huge stars like Britney Spears, Whitney Houston and Mary J. Blige. Cover is $8 from 10-11 and $12 after 11. Admission is 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts “BARE” by LURe, a ladies dance party, tonight from 10 p.m.-3 a.m. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. Tickets are $7 before and $10 after midnight. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.

Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today at 11:45 a.m. for the Lost Dog and Cat Rescue Foundation at the Falls Church PetSmart (6100 Arlington Blvd., Falls Church, Va.). Visit burgundycrescent.org for more information.

NovaSalud, a non-profit that offers free HIV testing in Northern Virginia, hosts “Breaking the Cycle of Stigma: Transgender Fashion Show,” tonight from 7-10 p.m. at the V3 Lounge (6763 Wilson Blvd., Falls Church, Va.). Tickets are $15 and can be bought in advance on transfashion.eventbrite.com. For details, visit thedccenter.org.

Whitman-Walker Health provides HIV testing at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.) this evening from 8 p.m.-midnight. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Sunday, July 21

Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8^th St., S.E.) hosts karaoke tonight from 9 p.m.-midnight. Cover is $3, and there will also be pool, video gaming systems and cards. For more information, visit bachelorsmill.com.

Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) hosts its weekly Drag Brunch with Shi-Queeta Lee today at 11 a.m. The buffet is $24 including one free mimosa. For more information, visit nelliessportsbar.com.

The Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) hosts “Tula’s Cabaret,” a drag show with lip-sync performances, this evening from 8-11 p.m. Admission is free and limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit blackfoxlounge.com.

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 Team D.C. Freedom Sports Festival, a continuation of Capital Pride, finishes with a “Pride Splash and Ride” party today from 10:30 a.m.-10:30 p.m. at Six Flags (13710 Mitchellville, Md.). In addition to theme park activities, the event will also feature a private water park party from 7-10:30 p.m. Tickets are $35 per person. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit capitalpride.org.

Monday, July 22

The Fort Reno Summer Music Series continue tonight at Fort Reno Park (Chesapeake St. and Nebraska Ave., N.W.) from 7:15-9:30 p.m. Tonight’s local bands include Southern Problems and The Mauls. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit fortreno.com.

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.

The Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) hosts “La-Ti-Do DC,” a spoken word and musical theater show, tonight from 8-10 p.m. Admission is $10 and limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit blackfoxlounge.com.

Tuesday, July 23

The Capital Fringe Festival features “Polaroid Stories,” a musical theater and opera show by Naomi Iizuka, at 9:30 p.m. tonight at Fort Fringe (607 New York Ave., N.W.). The play intertwines Roman mythology from Ovid’s “Metamorphoses” with stories of homeless youth. For more information, visit capitalfringe.org.

The Chi Cha Lounge (1624 U St., N.W.) hosts speed dating for gay and bisexual men from 7-9 p.m. tonight. Tickets are $30. For details and to purchase tickets, visit thedccenter.org.

Whitman-Walker Health provides HIV testing at Panam Supermarket (3552 14^th St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9 p.m. this evening. For more information, visit whitman-walker.org.

Wednesday, July 24

The Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8^th St., S.E.) hosts drag bingo during 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 Dupont Drawing Group meets tonight at 7 p.m. at The Church of the Pilgrims (2201 P St., N.W.) to draw from the live model. The session is self-directed with no formal instruction and no materials are provided. Drawing spots and easels are available on a first come first serve basis, so guests should arrive anytime after 6:45. No reservations are required, and a modest fee to pay the model will be collected. For more information, visit paulreuther.com.

The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7 p.m. at the Dignity Center (721 8^th St., S.E.) for duplicate bridge. Reservations are not needed and newcomers are welcome. Call 703-407-6540 for more details and if you need a partner.

The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts Job Club today from 4-6 p.m. tonight for LGBT individuals seeking employment. For details, visit thedccenter.org.

Brandi Carlile, a lesbian alternative country and folk rock singer-songwriter, performs tonight at 8 p.m. at Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd., Vienna, Va.) with special guests Justin Townes Earle and The Lone Bellow. The show will feature tracks from her latest album release “Bear Creek” (2012). Admission ranges from $30-40. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit wolfrap.org.

Thursday, July 25

The Fort Reno Summer Music Series continue tonight at Fort Reno Park (Chesapeake St. and Nebraska Ave., N.W.) from 7:15-9:30 p.m. Tonight’s local bands include The Buss and Capital Ghost. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit fortreno.com.

The Lambda Sci-Fi Group meets tonight at 7 p.m. at 1425 S St., N.W. for LGBT fans of science fiction, horror and fantasy. This month’s book to discuss is “Redshirts” by John Scalzi. For more information, visit lambdascifi.org.

Gays and Lesbians Opposing Violence (GLOV) meet from 7-8:30 p.m. this evening at the D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.). The organization provides community outreach, education and legal oversight for LGBT victims of violence. Visit thedccenter.org for more information.

Whitman-Walker Health provides HIV testing at Miriam’s Kitchen (2401 Virginia Ave., N.W.) from 4-6 p.m. this evening. For more details, visit whitman-walker.org.

Up Next

Midsummer mayhem

Don't Miss

Missionary man

FUND LGBTQ JOURNALISM

Celebrity News

Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam

Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon

Published

6 hours ago

August 2, 2026

Michael K. Lavers

Kylie Minogue with Madonna at the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam on Aug. 2, 2026. (Photo courtesy of Cejlon Studio)

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.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by Kylie Minogue (@kylieminogue)

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.”

Theater

Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth

First five shows a reminder that ‘pressure is a privilege’

Published

15 hours ago

August 2, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Reggie D. White (Photo by Ambe J. Williams)

Madly talented and preternaturally energetic, Reggie D. White, 38, is about to launch his first season as artistic director of D.C.’s boundary-pushing Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company.

White brings a lot to the job. As actor, playwright, and director, his varied resume includes a 2019 Broadway acting debut in Matthew López’s Tony Award–winning play “The Inheritance,” his semi-autobiographic play “Fremont Ave.” that opened to acclaim last season at Arena Stage, and a number of exciting regional directing credits.

A longtime admirer of Woolly, the out theater-maker was selected from a pool of candidates before receiving the offer last November and starting work in January. His season of five world premieres kicks off with gay playwright Steve Yockey’s “Venus” (Sept. 9-Oct. 4), a darkly funny study of modern relationships told through two lesbians looking back on their first encounter.

White was introduced to Woolly Mammoth as a pre-law student at Cal State Hayward in the San Francisco Bay Area, long before he foresaw a life in the arts. “As part of a random theater history course, I was assigned to write a paper on a counterculture company called Woolly Mammoth,” he recalls “Strange name. I was like what the hell is that?”

Nineteen-year-old White was intrigued. Research acquainted him with Howard Shalwitz who co-founded Woolly in 1980, and the company’s commitment to living playwrights and new work. He also learned how theater could be used as a tool for difficult conversations and shape the way people thought about social issues by employing imagination and rigor.

“Never in a million years did young me envision that one day I’d be Woolly’s third artistic director in its 46-year history,” says White. “It’s kind of serendipitously insane.”

WASHINGTON BLADE: Was there a moment when the enormity of the job hit you?

REGGIE D. WHITE: After I’d signed my contract and finished all the paperwork, I got my keys and sat in the theater by myself in the dark and thought about what an incredible honor it is to be trusted with what happens in this beautiful space [in D.C.’s Penn Quarter]. I might have cried. Sometimes I have to pinch myself to remember it’s real.

BLADE: Are you curating the upcoming 2026–2027 season?

WHITE: Yes, I am. It’s very rare that an incoming artistic director gets to program their first season, but I was lucky in terms of time. After being hired late last year, I asked Woolly’s managing director Kimberly E. Douglas, if she thought it would be crazy if I programmed the season. She warned me it would be hard.

I invoked tennis legend Billie Jean King’s maxim “pressure is a privilege” and got to work.

These plays [dubbed White’s “first five”] represent both the kind of theater that Woolly can do really well and speak directly to my voice as curator and how I want to contribute to the larger theatrical conversation in the DMV.

Getting here has meant a lot of late nights. But I knew the juice would be worth the squeeze.

BLADE: As a queer artistic director, what makes you unique?

WHITE: When I was playing in “Inheritance” on Broadway, after a performance, U.S. Supreme Court Justice Sotomayer came backstage to meet the cast. She spoke about how her lens on the world as a Puerto Rican woman shapes her decisions. Similarly, because I’m a queer Black man I see through a lens that shapes my work.

I know I’m not the only queer artistic director in town. For me, it influences how I make editorial decisions. Out of this season’s five plays there are explicitly queer characters in four [“Venus,” “Chanukkah Spectacular,” “Ten Grand,” and “Love I Awethu Further”] and I’m directing two [“Venus,” “Ten Grand”].

BLADE: Will we see familiar faces?

WHITE: Every show this season will feature a Woolly Mammoth company member in its cast. Our company also includes designers and directors who we’ll include. I’m invested in continuing to provide a showcase for their work.

BLADE: How do you think queer audiences will receive the season?

WHITE: Very well, I think. For queer people who’ve had to navigate the world subversively and solve problems in unique ways, I think it will be especially interesting. I find theater a potent place for questions.

Like all artistic directors. I’ll show up for the job in my own way. I’m just excited that I’ve been invited to bring the fullness of myself to the role.