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Webre’s farewell
Long-time Washington Ballet artistic director reflects
Septime Webre, artistic director of the Washington Ballet since 1999, says he worked to fuse classical ballet elements with contemporary and popular art during his tenure. (Washington Blade photo by Joey DiGuglielmo)
Imagination Stage Presents ‘The Little Mermaid’
In collaboration with the Washington Ballet
Continues through Aug. 14
Lerner Family Theatre
4908 Auburn Ave., Bethesda
Tickets start at $10
imaginationstage.org
Septime Webre didn’t plan on ‘The Little Mermaid,’ an Imagination Stage production produced in collaboration with the Washington Ballet, to be his swan song. It just kind of worked out that way.
But the 54-year-old co-choreographer says everything the Ballet has done this season — he mentions the April “Carmina Burana” performances and the “Bowie & Queen” rock show in May — as being fitting farewells. He wrapped his tenure at the Ballet this week and will join the S&R Foundation, a non-profit started in 2000 by Sachiko Kuno and Ryuji Ueno to support artists and scientists, as its artistic director.
During a Washington Blade interview, Webre — who lives in Adams Morgan with his partner of five years, Marc Cipullo — shared his philosophies, struggles and plans. His comments have been edited for length.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Why are you leaving?
SEPTIME WEBRE: I feel great about my accomplishments here. It’s grown amazingly. But particularly in the last few years, I’ve had a yearning to be in the studio a bit more. Being the director of a company, there are administration duties, PR duties, marketing duties, all that’s involved in overseeing an organization that has grown from a $2 million to a $12 million budget, so I had already been thinking that maybe another chapter would be interesting to really focus on creativity and less institution building for a while. That coincided with a blossoming of my work as a freelance artist in the last few years.
BLADE: Was the managerial aspect stultifying?
WEBRE: No. I’ve enjoyed all that institution building and felt like I wanted to do that while I was still somewhat young and energetic, or at least while my Grindr age was still young. I’m 54 but I skew young. I’m an energetic kind-of guy. So those duties weren’t stultifying, but they certainly got in the way of creating new work. In the last several years, I’ve done full-length ballets based on “The Great Gatsby,” on Hemingway’s “The Sun Also Rises,” last year I did a Washington Irving project and also “Alice in Wonderland.” These works have been much in demand over the last five or six years and I’ve also had some commissions by other companies.
BLADE: I assume the name recognition of these works helps?
WEBRE: That’s part of it but it’s also the return of narrative works in ballet after the era of modernism, which was my generation, and an aesthetic dominated by George Balanchine and Merce Cunningham. These were abstract artists and from the mid-century through the time I was dancing, serious choreographers really didn’t tackle narratives. It was not considered serious. But during my choreographic career, I began to tackle them because in many ways, it’s who I am. There’s something inside of me, this boisterous Cuban family and the brothers on the weekend, all we do is get together and drink cold Mexican beer and tell stories. So I was naturally drawn to these great books and they also happen to sell tickets.
BLADE: You were part of a larger trend with this?
WEBRE: I would say I was an early adopter of the return to narrative. … You could feel it in the air, particularly in the ‘90s. … It was a convergence of factors — the death of George Balanchine in the early ‘80s, we had been through modernism and that era and something new was needed. … Also just with the financial realities in the world, ballet companies were increasingly having to rely on box office in a financially challenging market and those story ballets sold better. … I was just on the front of a trend.
BLADE: How much of your work roughly has been choreographing vs. other duties at the Washington Ballet and did that change over time?
WEBRE: I’ve been creating a new work about every two years. That’s probably been the average. In the early years we did one a year, but they were smaller works. I would put my work into three different buckets. One is the creation of new ballet, the second is programmatic creativity, which I found really exciting. Curating repertoire, teaching, developing dancers, developing ancillary programs that are not creating ballets, but they’re really creative like the beerballet&bubbly series that brought thousands and thousands of Millennials in to watch rehearsals. … A third would be institution building.
BLADE: Did you ruffle many feathers along the way?
WEBRE: I never felt I ruffled feathers precisely, but I tried to push the envelope. I took over the Washington Ballet from Mary Day, who was 89 years old when I became the director. She was a fabulous visionary, but the company was a bit sleepy. She had a great aesthetic and she loved classical ballet and she loved new work, so there was a connection I had with her. But right away, the company began to grow. The audiences began to grow, we had standing ovations at every show the first run. In my first year, I took the Washington Ballet to Cuba, we produced a “Carmina Burana” that was, at that time, very unprecedented for us. Those first programs were so popular that a buzz developed very early on.
BLADE: You make it all sound so easy, though. What obstacles did you encounter?
WEBRE: Well, without a doubt our huge labor dispute in 2005. That was immense. We had grown so rapidly over the course of my first five years — the number of performances had probably doubled — we had grown, but the admin support hadn’t grown with it. …. We were working on a huge, new version of “The Nutcracker,” a huge project, and in the midst of that, the dancers very appropriately decided to join a union. That was the right time in our organization’s history to do that, but over the course of negotiating that first contract, which took a year, our “Nutcracker” was canceled and we lost a million dollars. The dancers were out of work for months and there was so much acrimony. We were in the Washington Post every day for 19 days, I think. …. But we were eventually able to settle it when we got the lawyers out of it. We settled in March 2006 and went back to work in April. That was a big one. …. Another challenge was in 2009 when the City Council eliminated earmarks. They rescinded that appropriation two months into our fiscal year and so suddenly we had a million dollar hole and we had to scramble. We had to cancel our “Nutcracker” orchestra to save $350,000 and we performed to taped music, just because otherwise we were not going to survive.
Septime Webre in rehearsal for ‘The Little Mermaid’ at the Washington Ballet studios on Wisconsin Avenue on June 10. (Washington Blade photo by Joey DiGuglielmo)
BLADE: What kind of learning curve did you have here?
WEBRE: I had some strong mentors and I was able to steal some of their ideas. But before this, although I had a little bit of training when I was a director for six years in Princeton, N.J., so my work there really impressed on me that you have to take your work with the audience a step further. You’re not in an ivory tower. You can’t just sort of hang the shingle and hope they’ll come and understand what you’re doing. You have to connect with them more deeply. I’d had some trial and error with that in New Jersey. So I came here with a conviction that the Washington Ballet had to connect with the social fabric of the city and we’ve done that in multiple ways with our outreach programs in Anacostia, Dance DC in public schools, beerballet&bubbly for young professionals, our Latino programs, etc.
BLADE: How have the dancers changed over the time you’ve been here?
WEBRE: About five years into my tenure here, just before the labor dispute actually, we’d never done any full-length classical ballets. No “Giselle,” “Coppelia” or “Don Quixote.” Mary Day never chose to do that because American Ballet was already doing that kind of repertoire at the Kennedy Center. I sensed a kind of unspoken inferiority complex around the organization. No one said it, but I could sense that the dancers thought we couldn’t handle it, our staff thought we couldn’t handle it, our audiences thought we couldn’t do it. A dancer’s career is so short, a dancer wants to dance the full repertory they were trained for, so I made a decision about four years in to slowly, methodically begin to introduce some full-length 19th Century classical works into the repertoire. … I think that helped us be seen as a grown-up company and that’s led to really, really high-powered dancers and a higher quality of dancer. Younger dancers today are coming in with a lot more technique and what a dancer can do now compared with 15 years ago or when I retired 20 years ago, oh my God — they’re doing all this crazy crap that hadn’t even been invented yet. Just like in athletics, the technique has risen, risen, risen.
BLADE: How has being gay affected your career or has it?
WEBRE: The dancers themselves are much less gay than the public imagines. … As I was getting into admin work and started working with board members … I actually found it to be an asset. This is going to sound very retro, but it gave me a kind of exoticism. … They were a lot of businessmen who didn’t necessarily have gay friends, so now they did and it made them feel good about themselves.
BLADE: Are classical works and pop/contemporary works strange bedfellows in the ballet world?
WEBRE: Well, “Giselle” sold significantly less well than “The Great Gatsby” or than “Bowie & Queen.” “Don Quixote” sold less than “The Sun Also Rises” or “The British Invasion.” What I found was that when classical, lofty art remained itself and didn’t get a bit dirty, it was less popular from a ticket sale standpoint. So we remained ballet, but we got down and dirty with Freddie Mercury wailing sometimes. That collision creates a buzz and a connection. … But things are always colliding and mixing in a postmodern world. I mean, I wish everyone loved “Giselle” as much as I do, but it’s also exciting because ballet is a language just like you use the same English language for Shakespeare, Emily Dickinson or Mad Magazine.
The cast of ‘The Little Mermaid.’ (Photo courtesy Imagination Stage)
Jesse Arnholz contributed to this interview.
a&e features
Mr. Henry’s celebrates 60 years of proud inclusivity
Capitol Hill staple remains ‘a caring community’
America’s 250th isn’t the only milestone birthday D.C. is celebrating this year.
Beloved D.C. restaurant Mr. Henry’s, that Capitol Hill staple, celebrates its Diamond Jubilee all year long. Named for its original owner Henry Yaffe, the restaurant opened on a warm day 60 years ago in the summer of 1966 and has never looked back.
Yaffe took over what was then a country western restaurant, renovated the interior to his liking, and created an institution. Yet Yaffe had another goal. As a gay man, “he created Mr. Henry’s to be a place where everyone felt welcome — not easy in 1966 — and he succeeded,” says current owner Mary Quillian.
“Mr. Henry’s has long been a place the LGBTQ community has supported because they felt and still feel welcomed,” says Quillian. Even in the current administration, “the gay community and the diversity-minded community continue to come.”
Since then, Mr. Henry’s has changed hands, opened and closed its second floor, welcomed famed musical acts, and played host to politicians, date nights, breakups, and birthdays. But it still feels like home (and has a note in the National Trust for Historic Preservation) at 601 Pennsylvania Ave., S.E.
Its wood-paneled, Victorian-inspired art-filled décor in the downstairs dining room and bar serves American pub fare for lunch and dinner daily, with brunch on weekends (and a dog-friendly patio). Upstairs, Mr. Henry’s hosts live jazz performances and special events most nights, continuing a musical tradition that has defined the venue for decades. That upstairs bar has played host to names like Roberta Flack and Woody Allen.
Musician Kevin Cordt said that, “Mr. Henry’s has been a part of my life for more than 30 years. I started as a customer, then became a bartender and server, and now I have the good fortune to play trumpet at one of the best live music venues in Washington, D.C.”
Aaron Myers, executive director of the D.C. Commission on the Arts and Humanities, is also a supporter. “Not many cities can sport venues that have consistently served the community in the space of culture for more than 50 years, let alone can brag as the birthplace of culture defining talent.”
From the start, Yaffe promoted a rare yet celebrated combination of locals’ bar and soulful nightlife venue. Mr. Henry’s has attracted a diverse crowd at a time when such spaces were – and perhaps still are – uncommon, a diversity that is credited with helping protect the pub during the 1968 D.C. riots.
Longtime customer Evelyn Branic said, “Mr. Henry’s has been my ‘Cheers’ hangout since my wife and I moved to the Hill in 1987. I’ve experienced many iconic moments meeting politicians, reporters, civic activists, and neighbors engaging in spirited conversations. Whether political, LGBTQ, historians, neighbors, or out-of-towners, everyone could find a special place to be greeted as a friend.”
Its welcoming tables come dabbed with a bit of tea: In 1971, in a moment that has since become part of Capitol Hill lore, Yaffe lost the pub in a poker game to Larry Quillian. The Quillian family, recognizing the special role Mr. Henry’s played in the neighborhood, took over ownership, and committed to preserving its spirit. Today, Larry’s daughter Mary owns the bar, having given it a bit of a facelift for the bar’s 50th birthday, bringing in new tables and some fresh menu items.
For example, the menu has some of those dishes that regulars would riot if they disappeared. The Reuben and the hamburgers, the chili and in-house roasted turkey have never departed the menu. Dishes do evolve, says Quillen: they added wings about two decades ago.
In 2026, the restaurant is hosting monthly ticketed “decades” parties, celebrating each of the 10-year periods the restaurant’s been open, plus there were specials in June for Pride. The official 60th anniversary gala takes place Aug. 29, featuring performers, beverages, timeless favorite foods, swag – and the unveiling of a new cocktail.
Inclusive, eccentric, eclectic, Mr. Henry’s is looking forward to maintaining its centrality to diverse crowds in Capitol Hill. Battling inflation, rising menu prices, changing tastes, and thin margins, Quillian says that Mr. Henry’s has — and will always be — “a caring community for so many different folks. And THAT is why I am committed to keeping us going. Society needs places like Mr. Henry’s, now more than ever.”
a&e features
Television loses a legend, longtime ‘Will & Grace’ director James Burrows
Iconic hitmaker leaves behind a legacy of telling LGBTQ stories
You don’t have to be a pretentious film major to name 10 movie directors. But naming television directors is not that simple. They’re the unsung heroes of your favorite shows, and the late James Burrows was the television director. He passed on June 19, but his DNA runs through television history.
He directed over 1200 episodes of television and over 50 pilots. He co-created “Cheers” and directed many episodes of long-running series like “Friends,” “Taxi,” “Frasier,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and “Two and a Half Men.” You also may remember him from playing a heightened version of himself on the Lisa Kudrow comedy “The Comeback.”
He has left an indelible mark on the LGBTQ community. As recently as last year, he directed the series run of “Mid-Century Modern” starring Nathan Lane, Matt Bomer, and Linda Lavin. He was also a longtime director of “Will & Grace” and directed every episode of the series revival. He even directed the unaired “Absolutely Fabulous” pilot with Kathryn Hahn, Kristen Johnston, and Zosia Mamet.
Not to mention he’s worked with queer icons throughout history, including Betty White and Stockard Channing on their single-season series, and Jennifer Coolidge in “2 Broke Girls.”
He started his career on shows like “The Mary Tyler Moore Show,” “Rhoda,” “Laverne & Shirley,” and the first four seasons of “Taxi.”
He continued to work steadily and directed successful pilots that went to series for “Roc,” “3rd Rock From the Sun,” “Dharma & Greg,” and “Wings.” He directed multiple episodes of “Friends,” “Caroline in the City,” and “Frasier.”
This magic continued into the 2000s with him directing the pilots for “Two and a Half Men,” “The Big Bang Theory,” and multiple episodes of “Mike & Molly,” and the entire return series of “Will & Grace.”
What was the secret to his success? He’d enact the “fun clause” in his contract. In his words, “Life is too short to deal with obnoxious leads,” he shared. “So as long as the writing is good and the cast is fun, I’m going to enjoy the experience.”
He had the magic touch, having multiple pilots turned into long-running series. He was nominated for an Emmy 24 times in 26 years and worked consistently until a year before his death.
The secret was the way he brought the cast together. He describes, “it was my job to mold them into an ensemble, and they did round into a group of people who loved each other.”
This earned him 11 Emmy Awards and five Directors Guild of America Awards, including being awarded the inaugural DGA’s Lifetime Achievement Award for Television Direction.
In a 2003 interview by the Television Academy, he was asked how he wants to be remembered, and he said, “That every night forever you can tune in somewhere, and there’ll be a show I did.”
He’s survived by his wife, Debbie, four daughters, seven grandchildren, and the countless people whose careers he launched and the countless viewers he inspired with his television legacy.
a&e features
D.C. prepares to party as Pride celebrations kick off Saturday
Bars, clubs have busy lineups; Pride on the Pier returns
Capital Pride’s date change isn’t slowing down the festivities. Back in December, the Capital Pride Alliance shifted the calendar for Pride celebrations in the nation’s capital from the second weekend of June to two weeks later to the weekend of June 20-21 to not conflict with President Trump’s birthday and 250th anniversary of America celebrations, with the aim that “our community can gather safely and without unnecessary barriers… We are protecting our space and preserving Pride as a powerful act of visibility, solidarity, and resistance.”
On the heels of WorldPride last year, the city shows no sign of slowing down. Instead, restaurants, bars, clubs, and neighborhoods are taking the opportunity to be even more visible. The Blade has put together a (non-comprehensive) list of parties, activations, and activities across town:
Pride on the Pier returns on Saturday, June 13 to the Wharf on the Southwest waterfront. The event, sponsored and hosted by the Washington Blade, is free and runs from 4-9 p.m. There will be vendors, DJs, and drag performances all day. VIP tickets are $25 and come with air conditioned party room, private bathrooms, and free cocktail. More details at prideonthepierdc.com.
Capital Pride Official Opening Party: RIOT! is the official opening dance party of Capital Pride, taking place Friday June 19, 9 PM-3AM. The 2026 edition headlining performer is Myki Meeks, a finalist of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” season 18; Bob The Drag Queen will perform a special set. DMV-area DJs and performers include: Bambi, Baphomette, Bumper, Cake Pop!, Connor, DJ Ed Bailey, DJ Diyanna Monet, Evry Pleasure, Jakknife Complex, Mari Con Carne, Pussy Noir, WessTheDJ. Trade owner Ed Bailey is producing the event.
Kinetic Presents brings the heat across the entirety of Pride weekend as well. It again is partnering with Capital Pride Alliance to produce four events over four days this Pride, including the Official Main Event on Saturday (the Friday official event is at Echostage). Kinetic’s parties are splayed across various D.C. venues, with special performances, massive productions, shirtless dancers, play zones, dance-forward audio and visuals, and international DJ talent. Thursday, June 18 at 10 PM at District Eagle is Lust, with music by Dan Slater and TOMI. Friday, June 19 at 10 PM is UNCUT XXL Heavy Load, at A.i. Warehouse in Union Market District, with music by Alex Acosta, Felipe Lira & Mitch Ferrino; the party is a “high-octane night of muscular house and tribal rhythms.” Saturday, June 20 at 10 PM brings that official main event, Kinetic Toy Land, at Echostage, with music by GSP & Matt Suave. Alaska Thunderfuck headlines. Sunday evening June 21 at 10 PM closes with discoVERS at SAX. A portion of tickets supports the DC LGBTQ+ community through Capital Pride Alliance.
9:30 Club always comes in clutch for the LGBTQ community. Already in June, it produced Kitty Kat Ball on June 7, and Kiesza performed on June 8. On June 20 at 10 PM, the famed Mixtape party hits the stage, care of gay DJs Shea van Horn and Matt Bailer, who have spun together for coming up on two decades. Mixtape has been held at several venues across the city over those years, and now settled on 9:30 Club for Pride. On June 25 at 7 PM, Big Freedia – the bounce artist from New Orleans – hits the 9:30 Club scene for the eighth time, as part of the Big Freedom Tour.
Crush: New this year from the 14th Street bar is the Pride Pop-Up, sitting pretty in the parking lot at 1820 14th St., N.W., at the corner of Swann Street by the start of the Pride Parade route. Hours are Friday from 2-10 PM and Saturday from 12-10 PM. Friday evening features Grizzly Bear Happy Hour, a DJ will set up shop on Saturday, and for those needing another layer, there’s a Crush merch store. Co-owner Mark Rutstein “has always wanted to throw a party in that parking lot, so he did,” said co-owner Stephen Rutgers. Note that Crush (the bar) will have a cover on Friday and Saturday.
Kiki: Over at Kiki, there’s a full slate of Pride-themed programming all week. Tuesday, June 16 at 9 PM brings karaoke; Wednesday, June 17 at 7:30 PM is trivia; Thursday June 18 at 9PM is “Night of 1000 Tatianna’s Drag Show”, and Friday June 19 at 9 PM brings the Juneteenth Serve Drag Show. Saturday, June 20 at 10 PM, post-parade, is a Pride Dance Party with DJ Lemz. Sunday daytime at 5 PM is the Father Figures Daddy Issues Special Drag Show; and after the festival at 8 PM, DJ Tezrah hits the tapes.
Jane Jane: Right along the parade route, gay-owned Jane Jane has transformed its space into a “No Kings, Yas Queens” activation in a direct response to the America 250th commemorations happening downtown, from the colorful window installation, to merch (including a custom bandana and tank) to disco wig installations. Events include industry night on Mondays, donations to LGBTQ charities, and to-go cocktails during the Pride Parade.
Shaw’s Tavern: Gay-owned Shaw’s Tavern on Florida Avenue celebrates Pride week with a full lineup of themed events, entertainment, and specials, including Pride trivia on Monday, June 15 at 7:30 PM, bingo on Tuesday, June 16 at 8 PM, a cabaret on Thursday, June 18 at 9 PM, Juneteenth Drag Brunch on Friday, June 19 at 12:30 PM, and both a pre-parade brunch (10 AM-4 PM) and post-parade party (5-9 PM) on Saturday, June 20. Sunday, June 21 at 7 PM brings Mama’s Sunday Supper & Drag Pride Show in the evening for anyone who is still awake.
Trade: This classic has a weekend of events, starting on Thursday, with Tiburon Pride Edition, a Latin Dance party in the Shark Tank. On Friday, the bar opens early (at 2 PM), with all-day happy hour and the Jx&Evry Show. On Saturday, the bar opens at noon, offering a prime parade viewing spot from its windows. There will be the CLASH drag show hosted by Tatianna and Crimsyn, and Sweet Spot party that night. On Sunday, the bar opens for normal hours at 2 PM, with DJs Adam K, Alex Love, and WESSTHEDJ.
Pitchers: The multi-level bar in Adams Morgan is hosting a Pride-themed show on Thursday, June 18 at 10 PM, with drawstring bag giveaways – the only kind of bag that will be allowed into the bar during Pride weekend. The show features drag queen Kyle Sonique Love.
Barrel House Cafe and Bar: Also by the parade route on 14th Street, Barrel House Cafe takes advantage of its large patio to have a slate of events during Pride week, including Schism, a drag and burlesque show on June 18 at 10 PM, as well as an all-day Pride party coinciding on parade day.
Bunker: Bunker again plays host to a series of afters. Friday night (Saturday 3:30 AM) is Unhinged, and Saturday night (Sunday 3:30AM) is Unholy. The regular Saturday night party (10 PM) brings in Venetian and Tiara Missou. All parties have cover charges.
District Eagle: Beyond the Kinetic party on Friday, June 19 brings Gear Night at 10 PM; Saturday, June 20 at 10 PM is LOBO presents PRISM, and Sunday, June 21 is Sundaze wit Papi at 6 PM.
African Art Museum: On Thursday, June 18 at 5 PM, this Smithsonian museum is hosting a free event with artists and curators celebrating its exhibit, “Here: Pride and Belonging in African Art,” “based on years of close collaboration and dialogue with African visual art practitioners who claim belonging in the LGBTQ+ community, however they define those terms,” according to the museum.
KNEAD Hospitality & Design: The gay-owned KNEAD restaurant group (including spots like Gatsby, Mi Vida, Succotash The Grill) is featuring the GLITTERATI cocktail, made with Tito’s, St-Germain Elderflower, Butterfly Flower, ginger, and yes, glitter. A portion of proceeds from every Glitterati cocktail sold will benefit The Trevor Project. The cocktail will be sold throughout June.
The Fountain Inn is partnering with Rhodium spirits (Rhode Island’s first LGBTQ+ owned distillery) all month, making cocktails like gimlets and espresso martinis featuring Rhodium’s liquors. Proceeds benefit SMYAL, an organization dedicated to empowering LGBTQ+ youth.
Hard Rock Cafe: Hard Rock DC is taking part in the chain’s annual “LOVE OUT LOUD” campaign, with Pride merch, specials on June 20, and a donation to The Trevor Project.
Pro-trans court ruling does little for Naval healthcare worker
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Gay librarian to discuss new novel at Green Lantern
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