Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: events through Jan. 16
Parties, support groups, concerts and more for the coming week
A lithograph by artist Caroline Thorington on display now through the end of February at BlackRock Center for the Arts in Germantonw, Md. (Image courtesy BlackRock)
Friday, Jan. 10
Gallery B (7700 Wisconsin Ave., Bethesda, Md.) holds an opening reception for its new exhibit “New Works on Paper” from 6-9 p.m. this evening. The exhibit features artwork by local artists Cathy Kwart, Catherine Levinson, Bonny Lundy and Virginia Mahoney. The exhibit runs all month. For details, visit bethesda.org.
Women in Their 20s, a social discussion group for lesbian, bisexual, transgender and all women interested in women, meets today at The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) from 8-9:30 p.m. All welcome to join. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Town (2009 8th 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 more information, visit towndc.com.
Bachelor’s Mill (1104 8th St., S.E.) holds a happy hour from 5-7:30 p.m. tonight with all drinks half price. Music begins at 11 p.m. Enjoy pool, video games and cards. Admission is $5 after 9 p.m. Must be 21 and over. For more details, visit bachelorsmill.com.
TempTation, D.C’S biggest new gay dance party, is tonight at Howard Theatre (620 T St., N.W.) from 11 p.m.-2 a.m. Doors open at 11 p.m. Music by DJ Mike Reimer. Tickets are $15. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit thehowardtheatre.com.
Saturday, Jan. 11
BlackRock Center for the Arts (12901 Town Commons Dr., Germantown, Md.) holds an opening reception for its new exhibits “Forma Reliquias” and “Between Two Portraits” today from 3-5 p.m. There will be a brief artist talk at 4 p.m. Admission is free. For details, visit blackrockcenter.org.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) has free HIV testing from 4-7 p.m. today. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts “DIRTY POP with DJ Drew G” tonight at 10 p.m. Drew G plays electro-pop music all night long. Cover is $8 from 10-11 p.m. and $12 after 11 p.m. Drinks are $3 before 11 p.m. The drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Admission is limited to guests 21 and over. For more information, visit towndc.com.
Sunday, Jan. 12
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.
Burgundy Crescent, a gay volunteer organization, volunteers for D.C. Central Kitchen (425 2nd St., N.W.) from 9 a.m.-noon. Volunteers will cook alongside chefs who are graduates of D.C. Central Kitchen’s job training program. To volunteer, RSVP at [email protected]. For more information, visit burgundycrescent.org.
Number Nine (1435 P St., N.W.) hosts “Sunday Oneday: A Onesie Party” from 4-7 p.m. Rail drinks are $1 from 4-5 p.m. for anyone in a onesie. No cover. For details, visit numberninedc.com.
Monday, Jan. 13
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) hosts coffee and conversation this morning from 10 a.m.-noon for the senior LGBT community. Older LGBT adults can come and enjoy complimentary coffee while engaging in a discussion facilitated by Ron Swanda, a member of Mayor Vincent Gray’s Advisory Committee for LGBT Affairs, about what is important for older adults in D.C. For more information, visit thedccenter.org.
Us Helping Us (3636 Georgia Ave., N.W.) holds a support group for gay black men to discuss topics that affect them today, share perspectives and have meaningful conversations. For details, visit uhupil.org.
Tuesday, Jan. 14
Lord Fairfax Community College (173 Skirmisher Ln., Middletown, Va.) hosts a Veteran’s Hiring Event and Conference today from 9 a.m.-3:30 p.m. in its Community Development Center. There will be workshops and hiring representatives. Admission is free. For more details and to register, visit lfccworkforce.com or call 540-868-7021.
D.C. Bi Women hosts its monthly meeting in the upstairs room of Dupont Italian Kitchen (1637 17th St., N.W.) from 7-9 p.m. tonight. For more details, visit thedccenter.org.
SMYAL (410 7th St., S.E.) provides free and confidential HIV testing drop-in hours today from 3-5 p.m. For more information, visit smyal.org.
Wednesday, Jan. 15
Big Gay Book Group meets tonight at 1155 F St., N.W. Suite 200 at 7 p.m. to discuss ”Dreadful: The Short Life and Gay Times of John Horne Burns” and “The Gallery” both by John Horne Burns. The first book is Burns’s autobiography and the second is a novel that examines gay life in the military. Newcomers welcome. For details, email [email protected].
The Tom Davoren Social Bridge Club meets at the Dignity Center (721 8th St., N.E.) at 7:30 p.m. tonight for social bridge. No partner needed. For more information, call 301-345-1571.
Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce hosts its “January Women’s Wednesday” at Godiva (1143 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6:30-8:30 p.m. The lecture will be on the legend of how an 11th century woman influenced a master chocolatier while networking with prominent female business leaders. The event is free for Chamber members and $25 for guests. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
The Mayor’s Office of GLBT Affairs has a forum today called “Protecting Our Diversity: A Criminal Justice Forum” from 8:30 a.m.-5:30 p.m. at 441 4th Street, N.W. In celebration of Martin Luther King Jr.’s birthday, the forum will focus on various criminal justice issues that impact the LGBT community in Washington including hate crimes, domestic violence, wage theft and visas for non-immigrant witnesses. For more information, call 202-727-9493.
Also today, the Mayor’s GLBT Advisory Committee has its first meeting of the new year from 6:30-8:30 p.m. in the City-wide Conference Room on the 11th floor at 441 4th Street, N.W. Those attending will have two minutes to speak during a public comments section at the beginning of the meeting. For more information, call 202-727-9493.
Thursday, Jan. 16
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 details, visit rudeboientertainment.wordpress.com.
The D.C. Center (2000 14th St., N.W., Suite 105) hosts its monthly Poly Discussion Group at 7 p.m. People of all different stages are invited to discuss polyamory and other consensual non-monogamous relationships. This event is for newcomers, established polyamorous relationships and open to all sexual orientations. For details, visit thedccenter.org.
The D.C. Center and Professionals in the City host speed dating for women in their 20s and 30s at Chi-Cha Lounge (1624 U St., N.W.) tonight from 7-9 p.m. Dating is approximately one hour. After enjoy a mixer with fellow speed daters. Cash bar. Check in is at 7 p.m. and dating begins at 7:20 p.m. Complimentary valet parking offered to anyone who purchases two drinks or other items from the bar or restaurant. Cost is $30. For details, visit thedccenter.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.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
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