Arts & Entertainment
Bold but vague
Out playwright explores political speech in new satire


Playwright Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s new play is in the midst of a multi-city rollout premiere. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
‘The Totalitarians’
Through June 29
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
641 D St., N.W.
$45-75
202-393-3939
In Peter Sinn Nachtrieb’s new political comedy “The Totalitarians,” it takes three words — “freedom from fear” — to turn a lopsided election around.
Former roller derby queen and all-around loose cannon Penelope Easter has political aspirations. Though she has zero knowledge of the issues and stands for nothing, Penny is undeterred. She’s rightfully confident that her big hair and her gay husband’s enormous fortune will open doors. But still, she needs help connecting with voters, low information and otherwise. That’s where Francine Jefferson comes in. Francine is a wannabe political operative with a talent for words. She believes that one killer speech with a catchy slogan repeatedly delivered by an appropriately passionate Penny could put this unlikely candidate on the path to becoming Nebraska’s lieutenant governor.
Meanwhile Francine’s doctor husband Jeffrey wants her to have a baby and stay at home. Besides, he doesn’t trust Penelope — even less when his young terminally ill patient Ben warns him of Penelope’s connection with a nefarious 1 percent cabal seeking to control all American politics. He joins militant Ben in trying to snuff out Penelope’s campaign.
Nachtrieb is tall (6’6”) and rangy. At 39, the gay playwright retains boyish charm and exudes a quiet intelligence. The inspiration for the “The Totalitarians,” he explains, came from a frustration with the language of politics and rhetoric; and whether anyone is actually saying anything or is it all just sound bites? He felt a need to dive into that.
“Penelope is very seductive cipher,” he says. “Whether she is left or right is uncertain. Seems like she’s fighting for something but you can’t pin down on what she stands for on any issue. Still Francine’s dream gets married to Penny’s. She writes some soaring, beautiful imagery reminiscent of early Obama’s — inspirational but with few specific references.”
And though Nachtrieb purports Penelope is not a commentary on any single party or person, her over-the-top vulgarity definitely come off more like Sarah Palin than Elizabeth Warren. Penelope is so outrageous, says the playwright, that in a different production she could easily be played by a male actor in drag.
“There is an attraction between Francine and Penelope. And the dynamic between Jeffrey and Ben is just shy of being a gay relationship. There are those clandestine meetings in cruisy parks. And the long hernia examination that Jeffrey gives to Ben is interesting.”
Commissioned by the New Play National Network, “The Totalitarians” is currently undergoing a year-long rolling premiere that kicked off at Southern Rep in New Orleans and is now playing at Woolly Mammoth. Later this year it will play at Z Space in San Francisco where Nachtrieb is playwright in residence.
Woolly’s production is staged by talented gay playwright and director Robert O’Hara. The cast features local actors Emily Townley and Dawn Ursula as Penelope and Francine, respectively. Jeffrey is played by Sean Meehan who played Morton in HBO’s production of “The Normal Heart,” gay dramatist Larry Kramer’s seminal AIDS play. Chicago actor Nick Loumos plays Ben. It’s Nachtrieb’s second collaboration with Woolly Mammoth. The first was his dark, apocalyptic comedy, “boom.”
Growing up in affluent Marin County, the suburb across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco, Nachtrieb who’d been bullied in middle school, found a safe haven participating in musical theater. He majored in theater and biology at Brown University. While there, he came out during a production of “West Side Story.” (“All the other Jets were gay. I thought I must be too.”) He returned to the Bay Area where he entered the San Francisco State MFA Playwriting program, and earned his MFA in creative writing in 2005.
Today Nachtrieb lives in San Francisco’s Mission District with his partner of 13 years, Mark Marino, a nurse. Sometimes his relationship and feelings are reflected in his work, sometimes through straight characters: “Francine and Jeffrey talk about having children and the challenges of busy work schedules. Those are discussions my partner and I have, too.
“And for instance, Ben, the young activist, has a monologue that isn’t just about wanting equality but sometimes you want a little vengeance as well for being treated badly.”
Next up, Nachtrieb is working on a new play concerning house tours. “It’s all about shame,” he says, “and the pleasures of hiding things.”
Books
A boy-meets-boy, family-mess story with heat
New book offers a stunning, satisfying love story

‘When the Harvest Comes’
By Denne Michele Norris
c.2025, Random House
$28/304 pages
Happy is the bride the sun shines on.
Of all the clichés that exist about weddings, that’s the one that seems to make you smile the most. Just invoking good weather and bright sunshine feels like a cosmic blessing on the newlyweds and their future. It’s a happy omen for bride and groom or, as in the new book “When the Harvest Comes” by Denne Michele Norris, for groom and groom.

Davis Freeman never thought he could love or be loved like this.
He was wildly, wholeheartedly, mind-and-soul smitten with Everett Caldwell, and life was everything that Davis ever wanted. He was a successful symphony musician in New York. They had an apartment they enjoyed and friends they cherished. Now it was their wedding day, a day Davis had planned with the man he adored, the details almost down to the stitches in their attire. He’d even purchased a gorgeous wedding gown that he’d never risk wearing.
He knew that Everett’s family loved him a lot, but Davis didn’t dare tickle the fates with a white dress on their big day. Everett’s dad, just like Davis’s own father, had considerable reservations about his son marrying another man – although Everett’s father seemed to have come to terms with his son’s bisexuality. Davis’s father, whom Davis called the Reverend, never would. Years ago, father and son had a falling-out that destroyed any chance of peace between Davis and his dad; in fact, the door slammed shut to any reconciliation.
But Davis tried not to think about that. Not on his wedding day. Not, unbeknownst to him, as the Reverend was rushing toward the wedding venue, uninvited but not unrepentant. Not when there was an accident and the Reverend was killed, miles away and during the nuptials.
Davis didn’t know that, of course, as he was marrying the love of his life. Neither did Everett, who had familial problems of his own, including homophobic family members who tried (but failed) to pretend otherwise.
Happy is the groom the sun shines on. But when the storm comes, it can be impossible to remain sunny.
What can be said about “When the Harvest Comes?” It’s a romance with a bit of ghost-pepper-like heat that’s not there for the mere sake of titillation. It’s filled with drama, intrigue, hate, characters you want to just slap, and some in bad need of a hug.
In short, this book is quite stunning.
Author Denne Michele Norris offers a love story that’s everything you want in this genre, including partners you genuinely want to get to know, in situations that are real. This is done by putting readers inside the characters’ minds, letting Davis and Everett themselves explain why they acted as they did, mistakes and all. Don’t be surprised if you have to read the last few pages twice to best enjoy how things end. You won’t be sorry.
If you want a complicated, boy-meets-boy, family-mess kind of book with occasional heat, “When the Harvest Comes” is your book. Truly, this novel shines.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

The Victory Fund held its National Champagne Brunch at the Ritz-Carlton on Sunday, April 27. Speakers included Tim Gunn, Sen. Tammy Baldwin (D-Wis.), Gov. Wes Moore (D-Md.), Rep. Sarah McBride (D-Del.), Rep. Chris Pappas (D-N.H.) and Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.).
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

















Music & Concerts
Tom Goss returns with ‘Bear Friends Furever Tour’
Out singer/songwriter to perform at Red Bear Brewing Co.

Singer Tom Goss will bring his “Bear Friends Furever Tour” to D.C. on Sunday, June 8 at 8 p.m. at Red Bear Brewing Co.
Among the songs he will perform will be “Bear Soup,” the fourth installment in his beloved bear song anthology series. Following fan favorites like “Bears,” “Round in All the Right Places,” and “Nerdy Bear,” this high-energy, bass-thumping banger celebrates body positivity, joyful indulgence, and the vibrant spirit of the bear subculture.
For more details, visit Tom Goss’s website.
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