Arts & Entertainment

Calendar through August 1

From Beyoncé to bears, Gettysburg to Green Lantern

Published

13 years ago

July 25, 2013

The cast of ‘A Chorus Line,’ which opens next week at Olney Theatre Center in Maryland. The Tony-winning musical features 24 performers and an eight-piece orchestra and will be the largest production in the Center’s history. (Photo by Heater Latiri; courtesy OTC)

Friday, July 26

Phase 1 (525 8^th St., S.E.) hosts “Frikitona: Musica Latina by Queers for Queers” tonight at 10 p.m. DJ Abichula spins reggaton, bachata, salsa, merengue and electrolatino all night. Admission is $10. Visit the event on Facebook or phase1dc.com for more details.

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 D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts a women in their 20s meeting tonight from 8-9:30 p.m. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.

Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts “Free Vodka Friday” tonight from 9 p.m.-3 a.m. Cover is $10 and free vodka rail drinks will be served from 11-midnight. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. Visit cobaltdc.com for details.

Adventuring, a gay and lesbian outdoor group, lead a Gettysburg walking tour today to commemorate the 150^th anniversary of the Battle of Gettysburg. Participants will meet at 9 a.m. at the Grosvenor-Strathmore Metro Station and should bring $12 for transportation and trip fees. For more information, visit adventuring.org.

D.C. Eagle (639 New York Ave., N.W.) hosts its bi-monthly “Jocks and Boots”-themed party tonight from 4 p.m.-3 a.m. For details, visit dceagle.com.

Saturday, July 27

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.

“Bedroom Mirrors,” a romantic drama directed by Chinita L. Anderson, Pooja Chawla, Misha D. Clive and Gwen Outen, runs today at Fort Fringe (607 New York Ave., N.W.) at 12:30 p.m. as part of the Capital Fringe Festival. The show features a queer trans woman’s quest for intimacy and identity. For more information, visit capitalfringe.org.

Centaur Music presents the “Gay Days Tour with DJ Randy Bettis” tonight at 10 p.m. at Town (2009 8^th St., N.W.). The party includes digital download giveaways of the “Gay Days Volume 10” CD. Cover is $8 from 10-11 and $12 after 11. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For details, visit towndc.com.

The 2011 French drama film, “Tomboy,” screens at Busboys and Poets (1025 5^th St., N.W.) tonight from 6-8 p.m. The film follows the journey of Mikhael, a 10-year old transgender boy. For more information, visit busboysandpoets.com.

Sunday, July 28

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.

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.

Monday, July 29

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 Priests, Humble Fire and The Accidentals. 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 Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) hosts “The Mrs. Carter Show World Tour Starring Beyoncé” this evening at 8 p.m. Tickets are sold out. For details, visit verizoncenter.com. She plays a second show Tuesday night which is also sold out.

Coco Montrese performs tonight at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.). Doors open at 10 p.m. and the drag show starts at 11. Admission is free and open to guests 18 and over. For more information, visit cobaltdc.com.

Tuesday, July 30

Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) hosts an open mic night this evening from 8-11 p.m. Admission is free and performers can bring sheet music or use the music books provided. For more information, visit blackfoxlounge.com.

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers, a gay volunteer organization, volunteer tonight from 7-10:30 p.m. for a safer sex kit packing program at the Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.). Visit burgundycrescent.org for more information.

Wednesday, July 31

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

The Lambda Bridge Club meets tonight at 7:30 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 information and if you need a partner.

Thursday, Aug. 1

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 Stop Worrying and Love the Bomb, The Sniffs and Nervous Impulse. The concert is free and open to the public. For more information, visit fortreno.com.

“A Chorus Line,” directed by Stephen Nachamie, premieres at 8 p.m. this evening at the Olney Theatre (2001 Olney Sandy Spring Rd., Olney, Md.). Tickets range from $32.50-65, with discounts available for students, seniors, groups and military members. For more information, visit olneytheatre.org.

The D.C. Boys of Leather host a “boys night out” this evening at D.C. Eagle (639 New York Ave., N.W.) at 9 p.m. For more details, visit dceagle.com.

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Theater

Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth

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

Published

3 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.

Photos

PHOTOS: Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade

Annual LGBTQ celebration held in Dutch city during World Pride

Published

17 hours ago

August 1, 2026

Michael Key and Michael K. Lavers

A scene from the 2026 Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key are on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10.

AMSTERDAM — The 2026 Amsterdam Pride Canal Parade was held on Saturday, Aug. 1.

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Michael K. Lavers)

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Photos

PHOTOS: Lambda Legal in the Pines

Fundraiser held at ‘Normal Heart’ house

Published

2 days ago

July 31, 2026

Guest photographer

A scene from the 'Lambda Legal in the Pines' fundraiser on July 25. (Photo by Santiago Felipe)

The LGBTQ organization Lambda Legal held its annual “Lambda Legal in the Pines” fundraiser on Saturday, July 25. The event was held at a house on Fire Island featured in Ryan Murphy’s 2014 HBO film, “The Normal Heart.”

Organizers say over $500,000 was raised to support Lambda Legal’s national litigation and advocacy work.

(Photos by Santiago Felipe)