Arts & Entertainment
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW EVENTS: Notes to self …
D.C.’s LGBT spring social calendar swirling as always
Helen Hayes Awards (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
SPRING ARTS PREVIEW 2015: Some upcoming events don’t fit in our regular spring arts categories. Here are a few to mark on your calendar.
• The Miss Gaye Universe D.C. Ball is Sunday at 4 p.m. at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.).
• The Capital Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (CAGLCC) has its seventh annual mega networking event on March 25 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.). It’s free.
• Allied in Pride, an LGBT group at George Washington University, hosts Trans Day of Visibility with Laverne Cox on March 31 at 7 p.m. at the Lisner Auditorium (730 21st St., N.W.). The event is sold out.
• Brother Help Thyself has a town hall meeting on March 25 at 7:30 p.m. at the Hyatt Place Baltimore Inner Harbor (511 South Central Ave.). Another is planned for Washington. The mission is to discuss community needs and available resources.
• Family Equality Council and the D.C. Center are co-hosting a “family dance” on April 3 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at the Center (2000 14th St., N.W.). It’s part of the Council’s “family weekend in D.C.” event running April 3-5.
• The Helen Hayes Awards for local theater are April 6.
• The Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch is April 19 at 11 a.m. at the Marriott Marquis (901 Massachusetts Ave., N.W.).
• The Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner is April 18 in Richmond.
The Equality Virginia Commonwealth Dinner in Richmond, Va. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
• The Gay & Lesbian Activists Alliance has its annual Distinguished Service Awards on April 23 from 6:30-8:30 p.m. at Policy Restaurant and Lounge (1904 14th St., N.W.). Tickets are $55. Chuck Hicks, Alexandra Andrea Beninda and Anne Phelps will be honored.
• Comedian Judy Gold will headline the CAMP Rehoboth Women’s FEST April 9-12.
• Cherry is April 16-19 at various locations.
• Pride at Work has its third LGBT Labor Leadership Training April 17-18 at the AFL-CIO Building (815 16th St., N.W.).
• Dining Out for Life is April 30. Details on participating D.C. restaurants at its site.
• Gay Day at the Zoo is May 3 at the Smithsonian’s National Zoo (3001 Connecticut Ave. N.W.).
• Youth Pride is May 3 from noon-5 p.m. in Dupont Circle. Details at youthpridedc.org.
• The Blade’s annual Rehoboth summer kick-off party is May 15. Details coming soon.
• Hagerstown Hopes Pride 2015 is May 16 from noon-4 p.m. at Doubs Woods park (1307 S. Potomac St., Hagerstown, Md.).
• Miss Gay Maryland America is May 16 at the Hippo (1 W. Eager St., Baltimore).
• Capital Trans Pride is May 16 from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. at the Reeves Center (2000 14th St., N.W.).
• The 53rd annual Gay Golden Boy Awards for the Academy of Washington are June 6 at Town (2009 8th St. N.W.) at 4 p.m.
• The GenOUT Chorus, a new youth chorus spin-off of the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington, makes its debut May 15-16 at the Lincoln Theatre (1215 U St., N.W.).
• D.C. Black Pride weekend is May 21-25. Wet Dreamz 2015 from Daryl Wilson Promotion and Omega Entertainment is the same weekend.
Black Pride Picnic at Fort Dupont Park. (Washington Blade file photo by Damien Salas)
• The Capital Pride Heroes Gala is June 3 at 7 p.m. at the Carnegie Library (801 K St., N.W.). Many other Pride-related events are also planned for June 5-14. Details at capitalpride.org/pride-2015.
• The Capturing Fire Queer Spoken Word Summit & Poetry Slam is June 4-6. Details at capturingfire.org.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
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.
Gay D.C. police lieutenant arrested on child porn charges
Demonstrators disrupt OMB director hearing over PEPFAR
HIV/AIDS group NMAC is ‘destabilized’ and in financial crisis: sources
Madonna announces release date for new album
Senegalese court issues first conviction under new anti-LGBTQ law
An effort to increase the number of psychiatrists of color
Comings & Goings
Trump budget targets ‘gender extremism’
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
