Arts & Entertainment
Collaborating on Cole
Legendary gay composer celebrated with In Series production
Steven Mazzola and Greg Stevens, the creative team behind ‘The Cole Porter Project.’ (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
‘The Cole Porter Project: It’s All Right With Me’
Through March 9Source
1835 14th St. N.W.
$20-38
202-204-7763
When the In Series first asked director Steven Scott Mazzola to create a show about Cole Porter for its 2014 season, he was certain what he didn’t want: four singers seated on stools singing the legendary Broadway composer’s best known works, setting up each song with a bit of surfacey chitchat. And though unsure of exactly what direction to take, he was determined to celebrate the staggering breadth of Porter’s music and explore his many facets without getting bogged down in too much biography.
Mazzola tapped Greg Stevens as co-writer/director. The pair (both gay) had met working on Mozart’s “La Clemenza di Tito” (Mazzola directed, Stevens designed) for the In Series last season, and hit it off. After setting to work on six months of rewrites and workshops, the pair’s efforts resulted in “The Cole Porter Project: It’s All Right With Me,” a Washington-set tale about a delegation from Peru, Ind., (Porter’s hometown) who lobby Congress to honor their musical native son with his own national holiday.
While “The Porter Project” is mostly an entertaining romp, it also comments on Porter’s complexity, Stevens says. Invariably, Porter whose songbook includes sophisticated favorites like ”Night and Day,” ”What Is This Thing Called Love?” and ”I Get a Kick Out of You,” is pegged as urbanity incarnate, but there’s more to him than that. He was a classically trained musician who wrote popular music crammed with topical references. He loved both lowbrow humor and sleek sophistication, and his songs overflow with witty innuendo and double meaning. Porter, who died in 1964 at 73, and his older wife Linda, were a well-loved couple on the café society scene, yet he was gay and had romantic relationships with other men (an open secret among their set). It’s all there.
“I think D.C. is the perfect setting,” Mazzola says. “Like Porter, the city demonstrates a duality, particularly with politicians and government. Here it’s not unusual for the mirror to have faces.”
In preparing the project, Mazzola and Stevens combed through 1,000 songs before narrowing it down to three dozen ranging from familiar hits like “It Was Just One of Those Things,” “Love For Sale” and “Miss Otis Regrets” to the lesser known tunes “In the Morning, No” and “Experiment.”
“We’d identified some favorites that we wanted to use,” says Stevens, who first encountered Porter’s music in high school when he heard a disco version of “Begin the Beguine” by Tuxedo Junction. “But part of the process included thinking about how Cole Porter was among the very first musical theater composers whose scores propelled the story along. That was revolutionary in the 1930s. We wanted to do the same, so we ended up repurposing songs from a dozen musicals from the ‘20s through the ‘50s, all very different stylistically, to tell our story. And like Porter who wrote songs for performers like Ethel Merman (his favorite) and friend Fred Astaire, we wanted to select songs that fit our singers and characters.”
The nine-person cast features In Series vets Randa Rouweyha, Joe Haughton and Tammy Roberts. “The parts,” explains Mazzola, “are ‘gender open.’ The five principles have purposely been named Nick, Sam, Chris, Pat and Courtney and can be played by anyone.”
A long-time Washington company, the In Series works with local artists to create innovative theatrical programming around a musical core of opera, cabaret, poetry and song. Its productions strive to embrace fresh approaches to the classics, blend the performing arts in unconventional ways, and include Latino programs each season. “The Cole Porter Project” falls most closely to the cabaret category.
Primarily a set designer, Stevens (who heads the professional development program at the American Alliance of Museums by day) considers “The Cole Porter Project” his first formal effort in directing. “I’m looking to Steven as much as a mentor as a colleague. He knows more about the craft of directing whereas I’m going on instinct a lot of the time.”
A longtime director, Mazzola first came to Washington to assist Michael Kahn at the Shakespeare Theatre Company. (Today, in addition to directing, he’s a grants manager at the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities.) Yet, despite his ample staging experience, this is his first time co-directing. “It takes lot of negotiation. There are moments of frustration, but they don’t last. It’s interesting and you learn a lot watching how your co-director works.”
They like what they’ve come up with. But ultimately, Mazzola and Stevens agree: In the end, people will come to hear the music. It’s Cole Porter’s crowd-pleasing, enduring songs that are the draw, just as they have been for decades.
Crimsyn and Tatianna hosted the new weekly drag show Clash at Trade (1410 14th Street, N.W.) on Feb. 14, 2026. Performers included Aave, Crimsyn, Desiree Dik, and Tatianna.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Theater
Magic is happening for Round House’s out stage manager
Carrie Edick talks long hours, intricacies of ‘Nothing Up My Sleeve’
‘Nothing Up My Sleeve’
Through March 15
Round House Theatre
4545 East-West Highway
Bethesda, Md. 20814
Tickets start at $50
Roundhousetheatre.org
Magic is happening for out stage manager Carrie Edick.
Working on Round House Theatre’s production of “Nothing Up My Sleeve,” Edick quickly learned the ways of magicians, their tricks, and all about the code of honor among those who are privy to their secrets.
The trick-filled, one-man show starring master illusionist Dendy and staged by celebrated director Aaron Posner, is part exciting magic act and part deeply personal journey. The new work promises “captivating storytelling, audience interaction, jaw-dropping tricks, and mind-bending surprises.”
Early in rehearsals, there was talk of signing a non-disclosure agreement (NDA) for production assistants. It didn’t happen, and it wasn’t necessary, explains Edick, 26. “By not having an NDA, Dendy shows a lot of trust in us, and that makes me want to keep the secrets even more.
“Magic is Dendy’s livelihood. He’s sharing a lot and trusting a lot; in return we do the best we can to support him and a large part of that includes keeping his secrets.”
As a production assistant (think assistant stage manager), Edick strives to make things move as smoothly as possible. While she acknowledges perfection is impossible and theater is about storytelling, her pursuit of exactness involves countless checklists and triple checks, again and again. Six day weeks and long hours are common. Stage managers are the first to arrive and last to leave.
This season has been a lot about learning, adds Edick. With “The Inheritance” at Round House (a 22-week long contract), she learned how to do a show in rep which meant changing from Part One to Part Two very quickly; “In Clay” at Signature Theatre introduced her to pottery; and now with “Nothing Up My Sleeve,” she’s undergoing a crash course in magic.
She compares her career to a never-ending education: “Stage managers possess a broad skillset and that makes us that much more malleable and ready to attack the next project. With some productions it hurts my heart a little bit to let it go, but usually I’m ready for something new.”
For Edick, theater is community. (Growing up in Maryland, she was a shy kid whose parents signed her up for theater classes.) Now that community is the DMV theater scene and she considers Round House her artistic home. It’s where she works in different capacities, and it’s the venue in which she and actor/playwright Olivia Luzquinos chose to be married in 2024.
Edick came out in middle school around the time of her bat mitzvah. It’s also around the same time she began stage managing. Throughout high school she was the resident stage manager for student productions, and also successfully participated in county and statewide stage management competitions which led to a scholarship at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) where she focused on technical theater studies.
Edick has always been clear about what she wants. At an early age she mapped out a theater trajectory. Her first professional gig was “Tuesdays with Morrie” at Theatre J in 2021. She’s worked consistently ever since.
Stage managing pays the bills but her resume also includes directing and intimacy choreography (a creative and technical process for creating physical and emotional intimacy on stage). She names Pulitzer Prize winning lesbian playwright Paula Vogel among her favorite artists, and places intimacy choreographing Vogel’s “How I learned to Drive” high on the artistic bucket list.
“To me that play is heightened art that has to do with a lot of triggering content that can be made very beautiful while being built to make you feel uncomfortable; it’s what I love about theater.”
For now, “Nothing Up My Sleeve” keeps Edick more than busy: “For one magic trick, we have to set up 100 needles.”
Ultimately, she says “For stage managers, the show should stay the same each night. What changes are audiences and the energy they bring.”
Friday, February 13
Center Aging Monthly Luncheon With Yoga will be at noon at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. Email Mac at [email protected] if you require ASL interpreter assistance, have any dietary restrictions, or questions about this event.
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Happy Hour Meetup” at 7 p.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. This is a chance to relax, make new friends, and enjoy happy hour specials at this classic retro venue. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Women in their Twenties and Thirties will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a social discussion group for queer women in the D.C. area. For more details, visit the group on Facebook.
Saturday, February 14
Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host a screening of “Love and Pride” at 1:30 p.m. This event is a joy-filled global streaming celebration honoring queer courage, Pride, and the power of love. It’s a bold celebration of courage and community — a fearless reminder of what we’ve overcome, how love is what makes us unstoppable, and how we have always turned fear into fierce. For more details, visit the Center’s website.
Sunday, February 15
LGBTQ+ Community Coffee and Conversation will be at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for people looking to make more friends and meaningful connections in the LGBTQ community. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.
Monday, February 16
Queer Book Club will be at 7:00p.m. on Zoom. This month’s read is “Faebound” by Saara El-Arifi. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
“Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more information, contact Adam ([email protected]).
Tuesday, February 17
Center Bi+ Roundtable will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is an opportunity for people to gather in order to discuss issues related to bisexuality or as Bi individuals in a private setting.Visit Facebook or Meetup for more information.
Wednesday, February 18
Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit thedccenter.org/careers.
Thursday, February 19
The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. To be fair with who is receiving boxes, the program is moving to a lottery system. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.
Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breath work and meditation that allows LGBTQ+ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.
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