Arts & Entertainment
Calendar through September 19
Mixtape celebrates 5 years, Street Corner Symphony plays and more this week
Last year’s 17th Street Festival in the heart of D.C.’s gayborhood. This year’s event is slated for Saturday on this week’s D.C. LGBT events calendar. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
D.C. LGBT Events Calendar: Friday, September 13
Skyline Indie Film Festival (Winchester, Va.,) screens “Tennessee Queer,” a quirky comedy about a man’s struggle to change his small town, tonight from 8:15-11 p.m. Tickets are $12.50. For more information, visit skylineindiefilmfest.org.
The Howard Theatre (620 T St., N.W.) hosts “MIXTAPE: 5 Year Anniversary Party” tonight at 10:30 p.m. DJs Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer play a mixture of electro, alt-pop, indie rock, house, disco and more. Tickets are $10. For more information, visit thehowardtheatre.com.
Special Agent Galactica performs with The Hummingbirds for its Happy Hour Show at Black Fox Lounge (1723 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) this evening from 6-9 p.m. No cover. For details, visit pinkhairedone.com.
Saturday, Sept. 14
Historic Dupont Circle Main Streets hosts its fourth annual 17th Street Festival (17th St., N.W.) today from noon-6 p.m. The festival includes the best of Dupont Circle’s entertainment, art, food, shopping and more. For more information, visit 17thstreetfestival.org.
Team D.C. hosts “United Night Out” at Robert F. Kennedy Memorial Stadium (2400 East Capitol St., S.E.) at 4 p.m. today. Enjoy the Pregame Tailgate Party hosted by the Federal Triangles Soccer Club with burgers, hot dogs and bring your own sides. After, watch the D.C. United vs. L.A. Galaxy game. Tickets are $30. For details, visit unitednightout.com.
Nellie’s Sports Bar (900 U St., N.W.) hosts its new “Saturday Brunch” at 11 a.m. Guests can enjoy one free mimosa with their meal. For more details, visit nelliessportsbar.com.
Street Corner Symphony, contemporary acapella group and runner-ups on “The Sing-Off,” perform at Jammin Java (227 Maple Ave. E Vienna, Va.) tonight at 7 and 9 p.m. General admission tickets are $18 and VIP tickets are $20. For details, visit jamminjava.com.
Sunday, Sept. 15
U Street Music Hall (1115 U St., N.W.) hosts Baby Loves Disco, a family friendly dance party, from 11:30 a.m.-1:30 p.m. today. Bring the kids for dancing, face painting and temporary tattoos. Cash bar with snacks and juice boxes. Tickets $15 per person or four tickets for $55. For more information, visit babylovesdisco.com.
The President Woodrow Wilson House holds its 28th annual Kalorama House and Embassy Tour from noon- 5 p.m. today. Tour the historic buildings in the Kalorama neighborhood including the Ambassador of Austria’s residence and the Andrew Mellon Building. A pre-tour brunch is at the Mansion on O Street (2020 O St., N.W.). Tour tickets are $35 in advance and brunch and tour tickets are $75 in advance. For more information, visit woodrowwilsonhouse.org/events.
The OASIS Dance Company presents its third annual benefit gala “The Resurrection of Fashion” at the THEARC Theater (1901 Mississippi Ave., S.E.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. The gala benefits LGBT youth and includes a runway and award show. Cocktail reception begins at 6:30 p.m. General admission tickets are $20 and VIP tickets are $50. For more details, visit oasisdanceco.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 more details, visit perrysadamsmorgan.com.
Monday, Sept. 16
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.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts its free and confidential HIV testing drop-in hours from 3-5 p.m. today. For more details, visit smyal.org.
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave., N.W.) hosts a discussion group for black gay men tonight from 7-9 p.m. Discuss topics and share opinions on topics that matter to the community. For information, visit uhupil.org.
Men’s Circle for gay/bi/trans/questioning men holds its discussion group tonight from 7-9:30 p.m. at 914 N. St., N.W. It’s free. For details, email [email protected].
Tuesday, Sept. 17
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers to pack safer sex kits at The Green Lantern (1335 Green Court N.W.) from 7-10:30 p.m. tonight. For more information visit burgundycrescent.org.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) hosts its weekly Rap Group today from 5-6:30 p.m. Come talk about the stress of school, jobs, family, friends and anything else in the support group. For more details, visit smyal.org.
Wednesday, Sept. 18
Anne Arundel Community College (101 College Pkwy., Arnold, Md.) hosts its fall film series “LGBT Themes and Issues” today at 11 a.m. in the Careers Center Building Room 344. Today’s film screening is “Fagbug,” the journey of a woman who leads a nationwide gay rights campaign after being vandalized with anti-gay hate speech. The film series continues through Nov. 18. For more information, visit aacc.edu/women.
The National Black Justice Coalition (NBJC) hosts its “Out on the Hill Leadership Summit” today through Sept. 22. Join hundreds of the nation’s black LGBT activists, leaders, elected officials and more to participate in social action for advancement in LGBT equality. Registration begins at 8 a.m. today. For more details, visit nbjc.org.
Bookmen D.C., an informal men’s gay literature group, meets tonight at the American Foreign Service Association (2101 E St., N.W.) at 7:30 p.m. The discussion is on selections from “Seminal: The Anthology of Canada’s Gay Male Poets.” For more information, visit bookmendc.blogspot.com.
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club meets tonight at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., S.E.) at 7:30 p.m. for social bridge. No partner needed. For more information, call 301-345-1571.
The Latino GLBT History Project has a community celebration this evening from 6:30-8 p.m. at Mt. Pleasant Library (3160 16th Street, N.W.) as it celebrates the opening of a month-long photo exhibit on Latino/a LGBT heroes. Light refreshments will be served. The event is free and open to the community. Details at latinoglbthistory.org.
Thursday, Sept. 19
Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) hosts its weekly “Ripped-Hot Body Contest” tonight from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. Win up to $200 in prizes. $2 rail drinks from 9-11 p.m. Admission is 18 and up and is free.
Rude Boi Entertainment hosts “Tempted 2 Touch,” a ladies dance party, at the Fab Lounge (2022 Florida Ave., N.W.). Doors open at 10 p.m. Drink specials $5 and vodka shots $3 all night. No cover charge. Admission limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit rudeboientertainment.wordpress.com.
The D.C. Center (1318 U St., N.W.) hosts its monthly Poly Discussion Group at 7 p.m. this evening. People of all ages are invited to discuss polyamory and other consensual non-monogamous relationships. This event is for new comers, established polyamorous relationships and open to all sexual orientations. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers today through Sept. 22 for the Woodhull Sexual Freedom Alliance at the Sheraton Silver Spring Hotel (8777 Georgia Ave., Silver Spring, Md.) For more information visit burgundycrescent.org or sexualfreedomsummit.org.
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
‘La Lucci’
By Susan Lucci with Laura Morton
c.2026, Blackstone Publishing
$29.99/196 pages
They’re among the world’s greatest love stories.
You know them well: Marc Antony and Cleopatra. Abelard and Heloise. Phoebe and Langley. Cliff and Nina. Jesse and Angie, Opal and Palmer, Palmer and Daisy, Tad and Dixie. Now read “La Lucci” by Susan Lucci, with Laura Morton, and you might also think of Susan and Helmut.
When she was a very small girl, Susan Lucci loved to perform. Also when she was young, she learned that words have power. She vowed to use them for good for the rest of her life.
Her parents, she says, were supportive and her family, loving. Because of her Italian heritage, she was “ethnic looking” but Lucci’s mother was careful to point out dark-haired beauties on TV and elsewhere, giving Lucci a foundation of confidence.
That’s just one of the things for which Lucci says she’s grateful. In fact, she says, “Prayers of gratitude are how I begin and end each day.”
She is particularly grateful for becoming a mother to her two adult children, and to the doctors who saved her son’s life when he was a newborn.
Lucci writes about gratitude for her long career. She was a keystone character on TV’s “All My Children,” and she learned a lot from older actors on the show, and from Agnes Nixon, the creator of it. She says she still keeps in touch with many of her former costars.
She is thankful for her mother’s caretakers, who stepped in when dementia struck. Grateful for more doctors, who did heart-saving work when Lucci had a clogged artery. Grateful for friends, opportunities, life, grandchildren, and a career that continues.
And she’s grateful for the love she shared with her husband, Helmut Huber, who died nearly four years ago. Grateful for the chance to grieve, to heal, and to continue.
And yet, she says of her husband: “He was never timid, but I know he was afraid at the end, and that kills me down to my soul.”
“It’s been 15 years since Erica Kane and I parted ways,” says author Susan Lucci (with Laura Morton), and she says that people still approach her to confirm or deny rumors of the show’s resurrection. There’s still no answer to that here (sorry, fans), but what you’ll find inside “La Lucci” is still exceptionally generous.
If this book were just filled with stories, you’d like it just fine. If it was only about Lucci’s faith and her gratitude – words that happen to appear very frequently here – you’d still like reading it. But Lucci tells her stories of family, children and “All My Children,” while also offering help to couples who’ve endured miscarriage, women who’ve had heart problems, and widow(ers) who are spinning and need the kindness of someone who’s lived loss, too.
These are the other things you’ll find in “La Lucci,” in a voice you’ll hear in your head, if you spent your lunch hours glued to the TV back in the day. It’s a comfortable, fun read for fans. It’s a story you’ll love.
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