Theater
Cirque du Soleil director reflects on zig-zagging career
Out director served as creative director for Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show
Michel Laprise says ‘KURIOS’ is unlike any other show Cirque du Soleil has ever done. (Photo by Martin Girard, courtesy Cirque du Soleil)
Cirque du Soleil
‘KURIOS — Cabinet of Curiosities’
July 21-Sept. 18
Lerner Town Square at Tysons II
8025 Galleria Dr., Tysons, Va.
Tickets starting at $39
Michel Laprise loves big projects. The charming and whip-smart out director served as creative director for Madonna’s 2012 Super Bowl halftime show and directed her “MDNA Tour.” More recent credits include writer/director of Cirque du Soleil’s latest touring show “KURIOS — Cabinet of Curiosities” soon to set up its distinctive Grand Chapiteau (Big Top) in Tysons Corner, Va.
Inspired by the Victorian era’s surge of invention and creativity and imbued with a “French steam punk” aesthetic, “Kurios” premiered in Montréal in April 2014 and is Cirque du Soleil’s 35th production. Like Cirque du Soleil’s other shows, “Kurios” reinvents circus by combining the basics — tent, clowns and acrobats — with sophistication and the artistic elements of theater.
Recently, Laprise shared thoughts via phone from Montréal where he’s based about “Kurios,” Cirque du Soleil and Madonna, whom he calls M.
For a lot of people, Cirque du Soleil’s innovative aspects have become familiar. Is the pressure to remain cutting edge massive?
Yes, but it’s a pressure we put on ourselves. I hear people say, “I’ve seen Cirque once. I don’t need to see it again.” For us it’s a mission to constantly reinvent ourselves. “Kurios” is different from other shows. The characters are real people in real clothes. The set itself is a laboratory that someone inhabits and not the abstract magical place like in our other shows.
What led you to staging big productions? Did it happen by accident?
Well nothing happens by accident, only by passion. I’m a group person, so the bigger the project, the more people you get to play with. I’ve never looked at the obstacles, only the destination, which is to make people happy and storytelling. It’s like a big surprise party for a lot of people. When I joined Cirque 15 years ago to do casting, I styled auditions to be an intense two-day mini-workshop. Because most of the acrobats were not speaking English or French, I used my intuition to touch their talent and did my best to bring it out. Over the years, the artists who were cast encouraged me to direct. Eventually I told Cirque co-founder Guy Laliberté that I wanted to direct. Of course he wasn’t yet ready to give me a $30 million dollar project like “Kurios,” but he knew I came from theater and was a professional director so he made me special events designer. And eventually he allowed me to conceive and direct my show which was a longtime ambition of mine.
What’s the inspiration behind “Kurios”?
My dream was to do a show where a character accesses a parallel world and brings poetry and imagination back to earth. We live in a world where we can do so much. I can ring Tokyo for free on Internet right now. Yet it’s a very complex time of scarcity for many people. I want to help people believe that everything is possible, because I think it is. And I want them to feel joy. The show is set in the latter half of the 19th century, a time of invention and innovation. Lots was happening — the railroad, telegraph, gramophone, electricity. Suddenly invisible energy was stimulating people’s imaginations. Not accidentally, it was also the golden age of magic and illusionists. Magicians were the rock stars of the era.
Does being gay make you a better director?
I’ve always been gay so I don’t know any other way. But I do believe that going through the process of coming out to self and family and friends gives you a sense of compassion and allows you to appreciate diversity. And that I think makes for a better director. Of course I’m generalizing. There are assholes in every community. Within Cirque, same-sex couples are respected and celebrated. So being gay here isn’t an issue.
Why especially should LGBT people come to see “Kurios?”
Critics and fans say this is Cirque’s best touring show in 10 years. It’s more theatrical than most of Cirque’s other productions and what’s more, there’s a rainbow and disco ball in the show. I don’t want to spoil the surprise of when they appear. There’s also a lot of love and inclusiveness in the show. The planets were well aligned when we created this show. And of course the acrobats and what they can do with their bodies is amazing. To reach their level skill, they begin training at age 5 and live a strictly disciplined lifestyle. They eat tiny bites of food throughout the day. Stretch a couple hours before every performance.
I’d be doing our readers a disservice if I didn’t ask the next question.
You want to know whether or not I’m single?
No. I’d like to hear about working with Madonna.
Before working with Madonna in 2012, I presented my ideas to her manager. He liked them so he took me to her. She appeared in the room. I told her my thoughts and she was smiling as I spoke. Then she asked me to listen to “Give Me All Your Luvin’” the first track of her then-new album “MDNA.” M’s hands were shaking a little bit as we listened. So I thought that if after 30 years she’s still nervous to show new work, then this is somebody who really cares about what they’re doing. I knew then that I wanted to work her. For the first week of rehearsals for “MDNA,” M hurt her ankle and broke her little finger. I asked to slow down pace. She said, “No Michel.” That’s the job. It’s like going to war with her. She thinks like an acrobat. Her work ethic is incredible. She’s also very demanding but it’s nothing I wouldn’t expect from a woman of that level. She never yelled at me. The only time she raised her voice during rehearsal was when the schedule wasn’t allowing her to see her kids. Despite the pressure on her, she was calm and focused with brilliant sense of humor. She teases me about my (French Canadian) accent which is less strong now than it was. I don’t do a lot of pop music shows, but I’d definitely like to work with her again. We stay in touch. She sent me flowers on my birthday.
And are you single?
I am. But that might be changing. Some romance may be in the works, but that’s all I’ll say.
Theater
Mike Millan prepares to co-host Helen Hayes Awards
Accomplished actor has background in standup and improv
2025 Helen Hayes Awards
May 19
For tickets go to theatrewashington.org
It helps to have “an amalgamation of tricks, some more useful than others,” to host the Helen Hayes Awards. With a background in standup and improv and experience hosting children’s dance competitions and basement comedy clubs, out actor Mike Millan fits the ticket.
And if he has any misgivings, Millan isn’t showing them. He’s mostly looking forward to co-hosting with Felicia Curry, a Helen Hayes Award-winning local actor who’s successfully hosted the event more than once.
Based in both L.A. and New York, Millan is an accomplished actor whose connection to the DMV involves two productions at Arlington’s Signature Theatre, “Which Way to the Stage” (2022) and Sondheim’s zany romp “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum” (2024).
This year, “Forum” has nabbed seven Helen Hayes nominations including Outstanding Ensemble in a Musical, Hayes, and Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical, Hayes, for Erin Weaver who plays the central character Pseudolus, a cunning slave usually played by a man.
While Millan hasn’t been singled out for his memorable turn as Hysterium, a nervous gay slave in “Forum,” he enjoyed the part, and teasingly adds, “If they don’t nominate you, they will make you work for the event, so here we are.”
Both he and Curry will have their moments to shine: “It’s not my Netflix special; it’s not all about me. Granted that’s a twist for me, but I’ll do my best to share the spotlight” he promises.
The 41st Helen Hayes Awards celebration will be held on Monday, May 19, at The Anthem on the District Wharf in D.C. Named for Helen Hayes, the legendary first lady of Broadway, the lengthy program is comprised of an awards presentation, a leisurely intermission, all followed by an after-party with dancing.
Recognizing work from 165 eligible productions presented in the 2024 calendar year, nominations were made in 41 categories and grouped in “Helen” or “Hayes” cohorts, depending on the number of Equity members involved in the production with Hayes counting more.
The nods are the result of 51 carefully vetted judges considering 2,188 individual pieces of work, such as design, direction, choreography, performances, and more. Productions under consideration in 2024 included 57 musicals, 108 plays, and 37 world premieres.
Out sound designer Madeline ‘Mo’ Oslejsek is up for Outstanding Sound Design, Helen, for Flying V Theatre’s production of Natsu Onoda Power’s “Astro Boy and the God of Comics,” a retro-sci-fi piece. Oslejsek, 29, brings queerness to her work, both professionally and personally.
She describes “Astro Boy,” as a multimedia love letter: “We wanted it to be nostalgic, cartoonish when it was meant to be, and reality too.”
Based in Baltimore, Oslesjek who identifies alternately as queer and lesbian, says “my work is deeply tied to being queer. The reason I describe myself as a queer multidisciplinary artist is because I think it’s important for that word to be used and heartily embraced.
“I came out at 21 just before immersing myself in the study of sound design,” she says. “A big part of that allowed me to be serious about the work that I do. Also, part of coming out was to be unabashedly ambitious and unafraid to ask for what I want when it comes to art.
Director, playwright, and actor Nick Olcott is no stranger to the Helen Hayes Awards. Currently celebrating his 45th year in Washington theater, Olcott has received multiple Helen Hayes Awards nominations, and received the Charles MacArthur Award for Outstanding New Play; he’s also directed the ceremony several times.
This year he’s nominated for Outstanding Director for a Play, Helen, for 1st Stage’s production of “The Nance,” Douglas Carter Beane’s story of burlesque performers during the 1930s.
“It’s funny the way things have changed, says Olcott, who’s gay. “It used to be The Washington Post would review something and you knew whether it was a hit or not. Well, the Post never came to ‘The Nance’ so I never knew if the show generated any interest. Naturally, I was staggered to learn that we received 11 nominations including nods for Outstanding Ensemble, Helen, Outstanding Production – Play, Helen, and Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play, Helen, for out actor Michael Russotto as Chauncey, the camp stock character.”
Olcott and Russotto go back to 1983 when both acted in a production of Agatha Christie’s “Mouse Trap” at Petrucci’s Dinner Theatre in Laurel, Md., and have worked together on and off ever since.
Four years in the making, “The Nance” was slated to open in May 2020, but the pandemic shut it down. Rather heroically, 1st Stage’s artistic doctor Alex Levy stuck with the production along with most of the cast and design team.
“In 2020, questions of gender and sexuality weren’t looming as heavily on the American political scene,” says Olcott, “but by the time we brought the play back those topics had become increasingly important. That’s something that rarely happens.
“The characters at the burlesque house were a family, bonded together to stand up to the outside world. It’s a fun milieu and slice of history that not many of us know about, and didn’t realize how relevant it would become.”
Other queer Helen Hayes nominees include Jon Hudson Odom for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Play, Hayes, in Folger Theatre’s “Metamorphoses.” And for Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical, Hayes, are Johnny Link in Signature’s “Private Jones” and Brandon Uranowitz in “tick, tick… BOOM!” at the Kennedy Center. Beanie Feldstein is up for Outstanding Supporting Performer in a Musical, Hayes, in “The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee,” also at the Kennedy Center.
A full list of award recipients will be available at theatrewashington.org on Tuesday, May 20.
Theater
A trip ‘through media, memory to examine cultural imperialism’
Ashil Lee on Woolly’s ‘Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt’
‘Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with live & active cultures!)’
Through June 1
Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company
641 D St., N.W.
Tickets start at $55
Woollymammoth.net
New York City-based artist Ashil Lee, 31, acts and directs. When you enter their name in a search engine, you’re first likely to find “Korean American trans nonbinary child of immigrants.”
Currently they’re playing in Woolly Mammoth Theatre’s world premiere production of Julia Izumi’s “Akira Kurosawa Explains His Movies and Yogurt (with live & active cultures!),” a trip “through media and memory to examine cultural imperialism, ‘healthy’ consumption, and why we make art.”
The play isn’t exactly a biopic of innovative Japanese filmmaker Kurosawa (1910-1998), says Lee.
“It’s more of a jumping off point for our own emotional journeys, which is parallel to how he’s inspired other filmmakers,” they continue. “While you may not have seen his ground-breaking samurai films, you’ve undoubtedly seen lots of movies and TV directly inspired by his work.”
Recently, I called Lee at their temporary Woolly-provided Penn Quarter digs just a block from the theater. Smart and warmly engaging, they were enthusiastic to share what brings them to D.C.
WASHINGTON BLADE: How did you find your way into this interestingly titled play?
ASHIL LEE: My part, Actor Two, was originally written for a female actor. When playwright and cast member Julia [Izumi] asked me if I was open to auditioning for the role, I agreed and subsequently booked the part.
Julia and I know each other from working in New York [“The Nosebleed” at The Lincoln Center Theatre] where she was associate director and an understudy, and I was an actor. She learned the part, but never went on stage, so our experience was limited to the rehearsal room
Now I get to act with Julia with people watching.
BLADE: Actor Two sounds pretty wide open.
LEE: And that’s what so great about it. A name like Actor Two that means you’re going to play a lot of different roles which is true in this case. More specifically, I play Stage Hand, myself, and an older version of Kurosawa.
BLADE: You play the iconic filmmaker’s filmmaker?
LEE: All of the cast play Kurosawa at different stages in his life. Similar to varied cultural strains of yogurt, we call them the different strains of Kurosawa.
The play includes other characters too: Heigo, Kurosawa’s older brother and childhood influence: and a famous fetishizer who proves a problematic guest, someone we love to hate.
BLADE: Are you a Kurosawa fan?
LEE: Actually, I’ve never seen a Kurosawa film. And since one of my characters hasn’t seen any of his work either, I thought I’d hold off seeing any. This is a play that’s equally appealing to both those who know a lot about Kurasawa and those who’ve never heard of him.
BLADE: Changing gears. Were your parents disappointed that you didn’t take a conventional career path?
LEE: I’m fortunate that my mother is an artist. She has seen the value of artistry and has encouraged me to go into the arts. To some extent, I think she lives vicariously through the way I do art as a job. Still, my parents haven’t entirely shaken that immigrant success driven mentality. They believe “you can be an artist but you have to be the best.” Whatever the best means.
BLADE: And how are they with your gender?
LEE: My parents know that I’m nonbinary and they’ve been understanding, however I haven’t talked much about the transmasc part of it; I’m letting them take their time on that.
BLADE: As a kid in Lafayette, Kentucky, you played bugs (Glow-Worm, Cricket, and Charlotte). What do you like playing now?
LEE: I especially like parts where you play yourself and get to put on different characters. If I could only be in that kind of play for the rest of my life, I’d be more than satisfied. That’s my jam.
As a trans performer it’s such a gift. I’m able to show up completely as myself and then step into different characters without quieting myself. It feels like a gift. I think about it in relation to my gender but also my race.
BLADE: You’re current gig in a sentence?
LEE: It’s awonderful mishmash, a theatrical playground that takes you to a lot of different places in a short amount of time and leaves you thinking about your own life.
Theater
Theatre Prometheus spreads queer joy with ‘Galatea’
Two girls dressed as boys who find love despite the odds
‘Galatea’
Through May 10
Theatre Prometheus
Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center
7995 Georgia Ave, Silver Spring, Md.
$27
Theatreprometheus.org
In a timely move, Theatre Prometheus thought it would be a beneficial thing to spread a little queer joy. And since the company’s mission includes engaging audiences and artists in queer and feminist art, there was nothing to stop them.
Co-artistic directors Tracey Erbacher and Lauren Patton Villegas, both queer, agree they’ve found that joy in John Lyly’s “Galatea,” an Elizabethan-era comedy about Galatea and Phillida, two girls dressed as boys who find love despite some rather slim odds.
Now playing at Montgomery College Cultural Arts Center on the Takoma Park/Silver Spring campus, the upbeat offering is a mix of contemporary and period, and strives to make audiences happy. Galatea’s cast includes Amber Coleman and Cate Ginsberg as the besotted pair.
Erbacher, also the production’s director, adds “queer joy is something that I prioritized in casting actors and interviewing production people. I asked them what it means to them, and resoundingly the reply — from both them and the play — is that queer joy is the freedom to be yourself without having to think about it.
“Galatea” was first brought to Prometheus’s attention by Caitlin Partridge, the company’s literary director. Erbacher recalls, “she strongly suggested I read this very queer play. I read it and fell absolutely in love. And because it’s a comedy — I really like directing comedy — I knew that I could lean into that while not neglecting its universal themes of young love.”
Villegas, who’s not ordinarily drawn to the classics, was also instantly smitten with Galatea.
“Usually with classics, the language doesn’t jump out at me the way modern works do,” she says. “But not so with ‘Galatea.’ The first time I heard it read aloud, I found it easy to follow and entirely accessible in the best way.”
Whether Lyly deliberately wrote a queer play isn’t known. What’s definitely known is the play was written with an all-boy performing troupe in mind; that’s partly why there are so many young female roles, the parts 10-year-old boys were playing at the time.
There’s not a lot known about Lyly’s personal life, mostly because he wasn’t wildly famous. What’s known about the times is that there wasn’t a concept of “gay,” but there were sodomy laws regarding homosexual activity in England geared toward men having sex with men; it was all very phallocentric, Erbacher says.
She categorically adds, “Women’s sexuality wasn’t considered in the equation. In fact, it was often asked whether women were even capable of having sex with other women. It just was not part of the conversation. If there wasn’t a dick involved it didn’t count.
“Perhaps that’s how the playwright got around it. If there were two male characters in the play he could not have done it.”
Prometheus has done adaptations of ancient myths and some classics, but in this case it’s very faithful to the original text. Other than some cuts winnowing the work down to 90 minutes, “Galatea” is pretty much exactly as Lyly wrote it.
And that includes, “girls dressed as boys who fall in love thinking girls are boys,” says Erbacher. “And then they start to clock things: ‘I think he is as I am.’ And then they don’t care if the object of their affection is a boy or a girl, the quintessential bisexual iconic line.”
And without spoiling a thing, the director teases, “the ending is even queerer than the rest of the play.”
Erbacher and Villegas have worked together since Prometheus’s inception 11 years ago. More recently, they became co-artistic directors, splitting the work in myriad ways. It’s a good fit: They share values but not identical artistic sensibilities allow them to exchange objective feedback.
In past seasons, the collaborative pair have produced an all-women production of “Macbeth” and a queered take on [gay] “Cymbeline,” recreating it as a lesbian love story. And when roles aren’t specifically defined male or female, they take the best actor for the part.
With Galatea, Prometheus lightens the current mood. Erbacher says, “the hard stuff is important but exhausting. We deserve a queer rom-com, a romantic sweeping story that’s not focused on how hard it is to be queer, but rather the joy of it.”
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