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.
Theater
José Zayas brings ‘The House of Bernarda Alba’ to GALA Hispanic Theatre
Gay Spanish playwright Federico García Lorca wrote masterpiece before 1936 execution
‘The House of Bernarda Alba’
Through March 1
GALA Hispanic Theatre
3333 14th St., N.W.
$27-$52
Galatheatre.org
In Federico García Lorca’s “The House of Bernarda Alba,” now at GALA Hispanic Theatre in Columbia Heights, an impossibly oppressive domestic situation serves, in short, as an allegory for the repressive, patriarchal, and fascist atmosphere of 1930s Spain
The gay playwright completed his final and arguably best work in 1936, just months before he was executed by a right-wing firing squad. “Bernarda Alba” is set in the same year, sometime during a hot summer in rural Andalusia, the heart of “España profunda” (the deep Spain), where traditions are deeply rooted and mores seldom challenged.
At Bernarda’s house, the atmosphere, already stifling, is about to get worse.
On the day of her second husband’s funeral, Bernarda Alba (superbly played by Luz Nicolás), a sixtyish woman accustomed to calling the shots, gathers her five unmarried daughters (ages ranging from 20 to 39) and matter-of-factly explain what’s to happen next.
She says, “Through the eight years of mourning not a breeze shall enter this house. Consider the doors and windows as sealed with bricks. That’s how it was in my father’s house and my grandfather’s. Meanwhile, you can embroider your trousseaux.”
It’s not an altogether sunny plan. While Angustias (María del Mar Rodríguez), Bernarda’s daughter from her first marriage and heiress to a fortune, is betrothed to a much younger catch, Pepe el Romano, who never appears on stage, the remaining four stand little chance of finding suitable matches. Not only are they dowry-less, but no men, eligible or otherwise, are admitted into their mother’s house.
Lorca is a literary hero known for his mastery of both lyrical poetry and visceral drama; still, “Bernarda Alba’s” plotline might suit a telenovela. Despotic mother heads a house of adult daughters. Said daughters are churning with passions and jealousies. When sneaky Martirio (Giselle Gonzáles) steals the photo of Angustias’s fiancé all heck kicks off. Lots of infighting and high drama ensue. There’s even a batty grandmother (Alicia Kaplan) in the wings for bleak comic relief.
At GALA, the modern classic is lovingly staged by José Zayas. The New York-based out director has assembled a committed cast and creative team who’ve manifested an extraordinarily timely 90-minute production performed in Spanish with English subtitles easily ready seen on multiple screens.
In Lorca’s stage directions, he describes the set as an inner room in Bernarda’s house; it’s bright white with thick walls. At GALA, scenic designer Grisele Gonzáles continues the one-color theme with bright red walls and floor and closed doors. There are no props.
In the airless room, women sit on straight back chairs sewing. They think of men, still. Two are fixated on their oldest siter’s hunky betrothed. Only Magdelena (Anna Malavé), the one sister who truly mourns their dead father, has given up on marriage entirely.
The severity of the place is alleviated by men’s distant voices, Koki Lortkipanidze’s original music, movement (stir crazy sisters scratching walls), and even a precisely executed beatdown choreographed by Lorraine Ressegger-Slone.
In a short yet telling scene, Bernarda’s youngest daughter Adela (María Coral) proves she will serve as the rebellion to Bernarda’s dictatorship. Reluctant to mourn, Adela admires her reflection. She has traded her black togs for a seafoam green party dress. It’s a dreamily lit moment (compliments of lighting designer Hailey Laroe.)
But there’s no mistaking who’s in charge. Dressed in unflattering widow weeds, her face locked in a disapproving sneer, Bernarda rules with an iron fist; and despite ramrod posture, she uses a cane (though mostly as a weapon during one of her frequent rages.)
Bernarda’s countenance softens only when sharing a bit of gossip with Poncia, her longtime servant convincingly played by Evelyn Rosario Vega.
Nicolás has appeared in “Bernarda Alba” before, first as daughter Martirio in Madrid, and recently as the mother in an English language production at Carnegie Melon University in Pittsburgh. And now in D.C. where her Bernarda is dictatorial, prone to violence, and scarily pro-patriarchy.
Words and phrases echo throughout Lorca’s play, all likely to signal a tightening oppression: “mourning,” “my house,” “honor,” and finally “silence.”
As a queer artist sympathetic to left wing causes, Lorca knew of what he wrote. He understood the provinces, the dangers of tyranny, and the dimming of democracy. Early in Spain’s Civil War, Lorca was dragged to the the woods and murdered by Franco’s thugs. Presumably buried in a mass grave, his remains have never been found.
Cupid’s Undie Run, an annual fundraiser for neurofibromatosis (NF) research, was held at Union Stage and at The Wharf DC on Saturday, Feb. 21.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Sweat DC is officially expanding to Shaw, opening a new location at 1818 7th St., N.W., on Saturday, March 28 — and they’re kicking things off with a high-energy, community-first launch event.
To celebrate, Sweat DC is hosting Sweat Fest, a free community workout and social on Saturday, March 14, at 10 a.m. at the historic Howard Theatre. The event features a group fitness class, live DJ, local food and wellness partners, and a mission-driven partnership with the Open Goal Project, which works to expand access to youth soccer for players from marginalized communities.
For more details, visit Sweat DC’s website and reserve a spot on Eventbrite.
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