a&e features
Fringe Festival rich with LGBT themes
A male pop star, Galactica and more on this year’s slate
Bryce Sulecki in ‘Bryce: Hydrogen Blonde.’ (Photo courtesy Marc Langston)
Growing up in the suburbs of Pittsburgh, Bryce Sulecki admired the likes of Britney Spears, Lady Gaga and Madonna. While their support of the gay community comforted him, he couldn’t help but feel that there was an absence.
“There was this voice missing,” says Sulecki, who graduated from American University’s prestigious musical theater program in 2015. “From a gay male pop star.”
Sulecki longed to hear a performer directly singing about gay relationships, struggles and even everyday life with the same type of choreography, costumes and theatrics that had inspired him as a child.
Sulecki decided to take matters into his own hands and create the gay pop star he’d been searching for, but he needed an outlet, which he found in the D.C. Capital Fringe Festival.
The Capital Fringe Festival, which just opened and runs through July 31, is a nonprofit organization founded in 2005 by Julianne Brienza and Damien Sinclair. Capital Fringe focuses on bolstering opportunities for audiences to view independent, off-the-beaten-path theater, music, dance and other forms of performance and visual art.
Fringe festivals began in 1947 as an alternative to the Edinburgh International Festival in Edinburgh, Scotland. The festival has since expanded its presence all over the world to countries such as Australia, Canada, the United Kingdom and the United States.
Capital Fringe has become the second largest Fringe Festival in the United States. As of 2015, it had generated $1.7 million for artists, featured more than 600 new productions and generated 886 paid jobs. Roughly 130 shows are featured in the Capital Fringe festival each year.
A spot in Fringe is determined on a first-come, first-served basis by submitting proposals for shows online. Capital Fringe provides the venue for accepted plays and handles the main marketing to promote the shows. The playwright is in charge of all other fees, including costumes, payment to cast, crew and the director and any other costs.
The festival prides itself on its focus of the performing arts community as a whole, rather than just promoting the work of an individual.
With this mission, it’s no wonder that in its 11th year Capital Fringe 2016 will feature a diverse range of LGBT productions, including Sulecki’s interactive-pop-concert- extravaganza, “Bryce: Hydrogen Blonde,” in which he is the producer, co-writer and star.
“I think that [the] most meaningful part of the experience is seeing my own work in front of an audience,” Sulecki says. “I keep getting chills just thinking about it.”
Themes this year touch on a variety of LGBT issues.
Kevin West, an out playwright and director of “The DOMA Diaries,” wants to reveal the struggles and obstacles that the Defense of Marriage Act created in the lives of LGBT couples. While the play is a work of fiction, it is based on real-life experiences.
The play also includes a fictional adaptation of West’s own struggle being part of a bi-national couple. West constantly feared that his then-partner (now husband) would be forced to return to his country of origin, as West could not sponsor him for a green card under DOMA’s restrictions.
“There’s a funny scene in which a gay couple goes to a Mailboxes Etcetera to have their domestic partnership documents notarized, and they treat the event like a mini-wedding,” West says. “Since gay marriage isn’t yet legal, and may never be, they realize that this mundane event is the closest they will ever come to a wedding ceremony.”
One of the stars of the play, Nell Quinn-Gibney, a 20-year-old senior at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County, who was raised by a lesbian couple and was present outside the Supreme Court when the DOMA decision was announced, says she never fully understood the impact of the act until she began working on the show.
“Reading the script for me the first time I got [it], I honestly started crying half-way through because the whole time I was thinking about what my relationship and what my sister’s relationship growing up with our parents was like and how grateful I was to them,” says Quinn-Gibney, a Bethesda, Md., native. “It wasn’t until I got older that I realized that there was anything different, abnormal or unusual about our family.”
The cast of ‘DOMA Diaries’ featuring Nell Quinn-Gibney, third from left. (Photo courtesy Kevin West)
Other shows to look out for at Capital Fringe include seasoned performer Jeffrey Johnson’s multimedia-drag-production, “A Romp Around Uranus with Special Agent Galactica.”
Johnson, who was the artistic director of the now-defunct, LGBT theater company Ganymede Arts in Washington, is the creator, writer, director and lead performer in the play. Galactica, a lip sync character, was born out of his work with Ganymede.
She became a success and generated a large local following. Johnson has performed as Galactica at almost every gay bar in town.
“A Romp” also features three original songs written by Johnson. Galactica’s spaceship is played by award-winning musician and B-52’s frontman, Fred Schneider.
“This is taking drag performance to a totally different place,” Johnson says. “It’s taking on drag done live, it has clever humor, but, you know, low-brow comedy as well.”
Johnson emphasizes that his production is not a drag show, but a theater piece that uses the elements of drag to enhance the show.
In 2010, Johnson took Galactica from a lip-sync character to a live music songstress and how he says he’s ready for the next chapter in her short, yet eventful life.
“Now, I’m taking her from being just a live cabaret or music show to actually being a theater piece,” Johnson says. “It’s always fun to challenge myself and rethink the presentation of this character and take her into new areas that she hasn’t gone before.”
Another pioneering piece comes from writer, director and professional home and office organizer, Brett Steven Abelman.
Abelman’s play, which he created and directs, is “Play Cupid,” his fourth production at Capital Fringe. The play features five characters that the audience can send on a date. There are two men, two women and one character that identifies as gender-queer.
“Anyone can be paired up with anyone,” says Abelman, a Washington-area native. He likes the component of audience choice in theater, which he says is not common.
Abelman hopes his show can “open little corners” within his audience’s mind by having them go through the process of meeting the characters, getting to know them and pairing them up.
The audience, director and actors will not know, on any given night, who will get sent on a date and who will not. So, as Abelman says, flexibility for everyone involved in “Play Cupid” is important.
“I am thrilled that I found these five collaborators, plus my assistant director and producer,” Abelman says. “The No. 1 thing is getting along with each other and we share stories about dating and romance and all that kind of stuff to help build the show.”
Niusha Nawab, one of the male actors in “Play Cupid,” who graduated from American University in 2015 with a degree in theater arts and audio production, describes the play as “modern” in terms of its LGBT content.
“On the one hand, it’s somewhat of an idealistic alternative reality where the sexuality of all the characters is mostly irrelevant to their lives within the play and isn’t a defining factor of who they are,” Nawab says. “On the other hand, when it does recognize and deal with their sexuality, it does so in specific and useful ways, like the fact that one character is pansexual, not bi, or that the only black character (in the show) has to deal with the intersectionality of being both black and queer in his love life.”
Nawab also emphasizes how gender-queerness plays a role in “Play Cupid.” He says it unfurls in “differing but challenging ways.”
“Our play is a high-scorer on the not-straight-white-cis-dude scale,” Nawab says.
The cast of ‘Play Cupid’ in rehearsal. (Photo by Sonia Zamborsky)
Another LGBT-themed Fringe show is “HUNT: a Political Drama,” written and produced by Jean P. Bordewich and directed by Kristin Shoffner. The play is based on the true story of Sen. Lester Hunt, a Wyoming Democrat, who was blackmailed by Sen. Joe McCarthy’s allies in the Senate over homosexual allegations against his son.
Bordewich, who has spent her life in politics on Capitol Hill as a Senate and House staff member and in Red Hook, N.Y., as a town council member, and as a candidate for Congress and Senate district staffer, says she wanted to explore the dangers of political extremism, demagoguery and homophobia through the lens of the 1950s Cold War era.
“I had no idea when I wrote ‘HUNT,’” she says, “that the rise of a demagogue as a presidential candidate and the massacre at the Pulse nightclub in Orlando would make this history so tragically relevant today.”
Terry Loveman as Sen. Hunt in ‘HUNT: a Political Drama.’ (Photo courtesy Jean P. Bordewich)
Full details at capitalfringe.org
‘Bryce: Hydrogen Blonde’
Logan Fringe Arts Space: Trinidad Theatre (1358 Florida Ave., N.E.)
Friday, July 8 at 10:15 p.m.
Thursday, July 14 at 7:45 p.m.
Sunday, July 17 at 4:15 p.m.
Friday, July 22 at 9 p.m.
Sunday July 24 at 12:30 p.m.
Tickets are $17
‘The DOMA Diaries’
Flashpoint: Mead Theatre Lab (916 G St., N.W.)
Thursday, July 7 at 6:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 10 at 6:30 p.m.
Friday, July 15 at 8:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 21 at 8 p.m.
Saturday, July 23 at 12:45 p.m.
Tickets are $17
‘A Romp Around Uranus with Special Agent Galactica’
Logan Fringe Arts Space: Upstairs (1358 Florida Ave., N.E.)
Saturday, July 9 at 10 p.m.
Wednesday, July 13 at 8:30 p.m.
Sunday, July 17 at 10 p.m.
Tuesday, July 19 at 9 p.m.
Sunday, July 24 at 6 p.m.
Tickets are $17
‘Play Cupid’
Atlas Performing Arts Center: Lab II (1333 H St., N.E.)
Friday, July 8 at 8:15 p.m.
Sunday, July 10 at 7 p.m.
Friday, July 15 at 10:30 p.m.
Thursday, July 21 at 6 p.m.
Sunday, July 24 at 6:30 p.m.
Tickets are $17
‘HUNT: A Political Drama’
Flashpoint: Mead Theatre Lab (916 G St., N.W.)
Thursday, July 7 at 8:45 p.m.
Wednesday, July 13 at 6:45 p.m.
Saturday, July 16 at 2:30 p.m.
Tuesday, July 19 at 8:45 p.m.
Friday, July 22 at 6:45 p.m.
Sunday, July 24 at 2:15 p.m.
Tickets are $17
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.
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PHOTOS: Crush Dance Bar
