Arts & Entertainment
Best of Gay D.C. 2016: NIGHTLIFE
Blade readers voted for their nightlife favorites
Best Dance Party
Mixtape
Runner-up: BARE by LURe
DJs Shea Van Horn and Matt Bailer host Mixtape, an alternative dance party, on the second Saturday of each month. Locations vary. The fifth annual Mixtape Halloween party is on Monday, Oct. 31 at the Howard Theatre. It’s at the 9:30 Club on Saturday, Nov. 12.
Mixtape (Photo by Dave Claypool)
Best Bartender
Dito Sevilla, Dito’s Bar at Floriana
1602 17th St., N.W.
Runner-up: Dusty Martinez, Trade
Dito Sevilla (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Burlesque Dancer
Bella La Blanc
Runner-up: GiGi Holliday
Bella La Blanc is a housewife and mother of three, but unlike most wives and mothers, she’s a showgirl who has found a way to play multiple roles in her life and not just on stage.
La Blanc, originally from Miami, says she was a theater kid who first fell in love with burlesque after watching “Gypsy.” She then watched “Funny Girl” and once she came of legal age decided she wanted to emulate Barbra Streisand’s Fanny Brice. Her journey led her to frequent fetish clubs, at the time the only place to find burlesque shows.
Now La Blanc regularly performs at the Bier Baron Tavern and has her own burlesque production company Glit-O-Rama Productions. She’s also become known for her cos-play of Regina Mills from “Once Upon a Time.”
La Blanc says her showgirl life is an open book for her kids who often see an evening gown and a vat of crystals strung out on the dining room table after dinner in her Northern Virginia home. Events like this make it all the more fitting that her tagline is “The Stepford Wife gone wild!”
For La Blanc, burlesque is all about pride in being who you are.
“As an exhibitionist I love being on stage and I love sparkly things,” La Blanc says. “But I find that self-empowerment, self-confidence is what burlesque is all about. I go on stage and I’m like, ‘Yeah, I’m a 30-something-year old woman. This body has popped out babies and I’m still going to wear next to nothing and shake my bacon.” (Mariah Cooper)
Bella La Blanc (Photo courtesy of La Blanc)
Best Cocktail
Lemon Squeeze
Duplex Diner
2004 18th St., N.W.
202-265-7828
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Watermelon Basil Slush, Logan Tavern
A bartender makes a Lemon Squeeze at Duplex Diner. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best DJ
Matt Bailer
Peach Pit, Mixtape
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: DJ Tezrah
DJ Matt Bailer (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Drag King
Chris Jay
Runner-up: Sebastian Katz
Chris Jay — who identifies as gender non-conforming and goes by Chris Jennings in non-drag endeavors — started drag three-and-a-half years ago, led to the craft by photography.
Interested in finding some different subjects, he happened upon the D.C. Kings four years ago and started shooting as many of their performances as he could. About six months later, he started with the Kings and continues to this day.
“I’m a lover of R&B, so you’ll find me performing that mostly,” Jay says. “My drag persona is me at a thousand, so I’m kind of full of myself and way more outgoing.”
Now with Pretty Boi Drag (the Kings folded two years ago), Jay performs twice a month — the first Sunday of each at Acre 121 and the third Sunday of each month at the Bier Baron. Jay is 36, happily partnered and lives in Baltimore. (Joey DiGuglielmo)
Chris Jay (Photo courtesy of Chris Jay)
Best Drag Queen
Tatianna
Runner-up: Ba’Naka
While Tatianna has been a drag nightlife staple in D.C., for the rest of the nation she had dropped off the radar in between her appearance on the second season of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” and her reemergence in “RuPaul’s Drag Race All Stars 2.”
In her original season, Tatianna, who hails from Falls Church, Va., became a stand-out competitor when she won Snatch Game with her eerily on point imitation of Britney Spears circa 2005. Her taglines, “Thank you” and “Choices” also made her a fan favorite.
In “All Stars 2” Tatianna was booted from the show by fellow queen Alaska not once, but twice. However before leaving she yet again left an impression on the judges with her spoken word performance of “Same Parts,” an ode to men at parties who hit on her and don’t realize she also has the “same parts.”
The local queen also dressed up as T-Boz for her last runway challenge impressing both the judges and fans.
Tatianna can frequently be found performing at Town and has said her favorite celebrities to impersonate are Britney Spears, Ariana Grande and Miley Cyrus. Tatianna has mentioned on “RuPaul’s Drag Race” that she first began doing drag in middle school at age 14.
Since leaving the show, Tatianna is ready to continue working hard on her career.
“You can expect to see me everywhere because I’m traveling the world, dropping new music and saying ‘Yes!’ to any and all projects,” Tatianna told the Huffington Post following her exit from the show. (Mariah Cooper)
Tatianna (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Best Drag Show
Ladies of Town
Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 p.m.
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St., N.W.
Runner-up: Pretty Boi Drag
Ladies of Town (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Gay-Friendly Straight Bar
Dacha Beer Garden
1600 7th St., N.W.
202-524-8790
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Black Cat
Dacha Beer Garden (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Go-Go Dancer/Stripper
Dylan Knight
Runner-up: Christian Lezzil
Dylan Knight (Photo by David Claypool; courtesy Knight)
Tatianna isn’t the only star to launch from Town Danceboutique. Dylan Knight started gyrating lasciviously about 2010 after seeing other go-go dancers there.
He’s a weekly regular at Town and performs there and elsewhere, never taking himself too seriously.
“I just try to be entertaining and cute,” the 25-year-old D.C. resident says.
He’s also honored to win — “It feels good, I didn’t think I would.”
Knight dances nude sometimes and has shot more than 100 gay porn scenes since 2012 (favorite co-star? Colby Jansen).
He got his famous shamrock tattoo at Ocean City at age 18 when he was there for his senior trip. “My boyfriend and I got matching tattoos,” he says. “I’m Irish and pretty lucky, so it fits.” (Joey DiGuglielmo)
Best Happy Hour
D.C. Bear Crüe Bear Happy Hour
Every Friday at 6 p.m.
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St., N.W.
Runner-up: Number Nine
D.C. Bear Crüe Bear Happy Hour (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Hottest Bar Staff
Nellie’s
900 U St., N.W.
Runner-up: Town Patio
Nellie’s Sports Bar (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Best Live Music
9:30 Club
815 V St., N.W.
(A perennial favorite in this category)
Runner-up: Black Cat
Troye Sivan performs at the 9:30 Club (Photo by Katherine Gaines)
Best Neighborhood Bar
JR.’s Bar & Grill
1519 17th St., N.W.
(A perennial favorite in this category)
Runner-up: Uproar
JR.’s (Washington Blade photo by Pete Exis)
Best Outside-the-District Bar
Freddie’s Beach Bar
555 S. 23rd St.
Arlington, Va.
(A winner of this award many times previously)
Runner-up: Grand Central (Baltimore)
Freddie’s Beach Bar and Grill (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Best Outdoor Drinking
Town Patio
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St., N.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Dacha Beer Garden
Town Patio (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Place for Guys Night Out
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets
1824 Half St., S.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: D.C. Bear Crüe Bear Happy Hour
Ziegfeld’s-Secrets (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)
Best Place for Girls Night Out
BARE by LURe
Every third Saturday of the month at Cobalt
1639 R St., N.W.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: WhiskHER
BARE by LURe (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
Best Rehoboth Bar
Blue Moon
35 Baltimore Ave.
Rehoboth Beach, Del.
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Aqua
Blue Moon (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Rehoboth Bartender
Matt Urban, Blue Moon
35 Baltimore Ave.
Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Runner-up: Jamie Romano, Purple Parrot
Matt Urban has been behind the bar at the venerable Blue Moon for 14 years. His friendly, reserved demeanor keeps the customers coming back year after year. He says the best part of the job is “meeting so many different people and catching up with friends.” Originally from Wilmington, he lives in Rehoboth with his wife.
Matt Urban (Photo courtesy Urban)
Best Rooftop
Uproar Lounge & Restaurant
639 Florida Ave., N.W.
Runner-up: Nellie’s
UpRoar rooftop (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Best Singer or Band
Frankie & Betty
(Second consecutive win in this category)
Runner-up: Wicked Jezabel
Frankie & Betty (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Transgender Performer
Gigi Paris Couture
Runner-up: Lady Dane
Gigi Paris Couture started performing 20 years ago. She was just hanging out in drag one night at a bar and one of the performers was a no-show.
“They asked me to perform and I liked it,” Couture, a veteran of Ziegfeld’s, Town, Freddie’s, Cobalt, Perry’s and many others, says.
She performs weekly and works by day as a stylist at the Cosset Aveda in Crystal City, Va., near where she resides in Alexandria.
Couture, who’s single, says many trans performers work right alongside drag queens. She acknowledges there is “occasional tension, but nothing major.”
“There’s always something funny at every show,” Couture says. “That’s the nature of the business. A pastie can come off, duct tape might fall off or a piece of jewelry might fall on someone’s eggs during brunch. Little funny things that make people laugh.”
She’s happy to win this new category, a Washington Blade Best of Gay D.C. first.
“It’s an honor to be acknowledged for something I have enjoyed doing for so long.” (Joey DiGuglielmo)
Gigi Paris Couture (Photo courtesy of Couture)
To see winners in other categories in the Washington Blade’s Best of Gay D.C. 2016 Awards, click here.
Books
Bros + romance + fantasy = ‘Bromantasy.’
New book a romp full of humor, dragons, kings, and adventure
‘Bromantasy’
By Maire Roche
c.2026, G.P. Putnam’s Sons
$20/339 pages
“Danger” just happens to be your middle name.
Any fray, any tussle, anytime anybody needs help, they count on you to step in and save the day. You’re brave, smart and strategic, kind to old people, children, and small animals and, as in the new book “Bromantasy” by Maire Roche, dragons.
Of all the things there were to do – preserving food, keeping house for himself and his best friend Morningthall “Mo” Elmthorn, advanced skincare, and drinking at the local tavern down the road – the one thing Juniper O’Reilly couldn’t resist was a good brawl. It happened so often that Juniper honestly looked forward to it, though Mo wasn’t a fan.
Mo was more grown-up, calm, thoughtful, able, and Juniper loved him for it. He loved Mo, in fact, since they were little boys. He loved Mo in ways that they didn’t talk about, so they kept a wall between their bedrooms in their cottage.
Except for that one time.
They didn’t talk about that, either.
Instead, as they did often, on a warm fall night, Juniper and Mo went to the tavern, where mead was served and they could learn about the king’s weekly quests. There, Juniper could also find a good brawl, which is how he and Mo accidentally got into trouble: Juniper trounced one of the king’s men and was forced into a quest.
He didn’t want to fight dragons and he felt bad that Mo had been dragged along. He felt even worse leaving their farm, sleeping on the ground, wearing the same clothes every day, and not having enough skincare product along. A campfire added to the problem. A roving, lying prince, also in search of dragons, didn’t help. And though a quest was no place for a child, Juniper and Mo found a frightened little girl they had no choice but to protect.
A child with strange eyes, sharp teeth, and fire on her breath.
“And just like that, Juniper and Mo had a dragon.”
Bros + romance + fantasy = “Bromantasy.” It also could equal one of two other things: a romp full of humor, dragons, kings, princes, and adventure.
Or it could equal a whole lot of eye-rolling.
It’s a fact that this book is funny, in the way that a 1980s high school comedy movie is funny – meaning that it’s dippy, giddy, and very caricaturish but you’ll laugh quite often. The story contains everything you want in a fantasy romance (a “romantasy”), including human-like alternate species, a life-changing journey, and plenty of nudge-nudge-wink skirting around the attraction the two main characters have for one another. It’s a decent story, convoluted in just the right way. Purely, it’s an escape.
So why wouldn’t you want to read it? See above, and depending on your favorite reading genre. High-brow literature, this ain’t.
For the right reader, “Bromantasy” is a decent-enough vacation read, something not too taxing or hard on the brain. It’s for novel lovers, dragon hunters, king’s questers, princes, and romantics. For everyone else, this tale is just middling.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
Theater
National tour of ‘The Notebook’ retains its tearjerking power
Talented queer actor Grace Rundberg joins cast fresh out of college
‘The Notebook’
Aug. 18-30
National Theatre
1321 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.
$89-$197
Broadwayatthenational.com
When Grace Ohwensadeyo Rundberg first imagined a career in musical theater, she wasn’t sure exactly how she’d fit in. As a gay actor would she play queer characters? Outside of “Rent” and a few other shows, would there be lesbian parts coming her way?
Rundberg, 23, remembers an acting class in college. “I was doing a romantic scene opposite a male actor when the professor interrupted to say it was ‘unconvincing.’ Well, I’d never had the experience of what it’s like to be with a man, so I’m not surprised it looked a little awkward.”
But for Rundberg, being in the national tour of “The Notebook” has quelled those misgivings. Of course, booking the show straight out of college bolstered her confidence, and playing a woman whose love interests are men has put Rundberg in a place where she’s fine playing straight or gay.
Opening this week in D.C.’s National Theatre (Aug. 18-30), “The Notebook” is a genuine tearjerker (the book, the film, and the musical). It’s the decades long love story of Noah and Allie who despite vast differences, fall in love as teenagers. Over the years, their romance faces separation, societal pressures, the challenges of Alzheimer’s disease, yet somehow prevails.
Shortly after graduating from Pace University’s musical theater program in 2025, the upfront and buoyant Rundberg was signed to play ensemble member Georgie and understudy for Middle Allie (a young woman caught between youthful passion and reflective memory).
A mezze soprano mixed belter experienced with folk, pop, contemporary styles, she proves an ideal performer to sing Ingrid Michaelson score and act Bekah Brunstetter’s romantic libretto.
And when she understudies the role of Middle Allie, whether by scheduled design or insanely short notice, she sings the familiar tune “My Days,” a standout track from the musical that serves as the show-stopping “11 o’clock number.” Here, she captures the emotional climax when Middle Allie chooses the life and loves she desires.
During a musical childhood spent in Pittsford, N.Y, just seven miles outside of Rochester, Rundberg began music classes at four; she learned piano and belonged to choirs. And though, she says, the family was not really into theater, her mom was a Cher impersonator for a while.
Significantly, Rundberg (whose middle name Ohwensadeyo translates from Cayuga as “Beautiful Earth”) is a citizen of the Cayuga Nation, an Indigenous nation native to New York state.
Recently, she began learning the Cayuga language, a very important part of the culture, particularly since it’s almost exclusively a spoken language. Rundberg’s cousin, a professor at Cornell University where he teaches Cayuga language and culture, has been a great help. She feels fortunate: “Not everyone has access to their ancestry I’m blessed in this way.”
The Brooklyn-based actor’s ambitions are bold and varied. While landing a national tour was high on her bucket list, she longs to work on Broadway and auditions for TV and film. Being the first to create a character in a new work, especially a lesbian character, is a big goal. “That would tie a lot of things together,” she says. “That’s the ultimate dream.”
In the meantime, Rundberg is working professionally and seeing the country. But touring isn’t without its drawbacks. “I miss New York a lot,” she says. “My girlfriend is there; long distance is a challenge for sure. I’m always in a different place often with different time zones. Still, she has come to see me in San Francisco, Miami, Cleveland, and a few other stops. And I fly to New York when I can. We make it work.”
As a kid, Rundberg watched and rewatched the movie version of ‘The Notebook.’ She says, “It’s one of my favorites. It’s kind of a cliché, I know, but I’m a hopeless romantic.”
The show touches a lot of people; it’s evident at every performance. From the stage, the cast sees audience members crying. In fact, “The Notebook” sells branded souvenir tissue boxes at its merchandise stands for five dollars a pop.
“Beyond elements of sadness there’s also joy,” she adds. “There’s the never-ending devotion and getting through hard times together too. We do our best to send the audience home with hope and love.”
Anja Dick will host “Song Birds – Live Music Drag Cabaret” on Saturday, Aug. 15 at 9 p.m. at Shaw’s Tavern.
This is an all live singing drag hit sensation. The event will debut performances from Breast Midler and Harri Balls.
Tickets start at $17.85 and are available on Eventbrite.
Bros + romance + fantasy = ‘Bromantasy.’
National tour of ‘The Notebook’ retains its tearjerking power
Live music drag cabaret set for Shaw’s Tavern
Calendar: August 14-20
Comings & Goings
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