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Bette and Joan forever

New series ’Feud’ delights, but only to a point

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Feud: Bette and Joan, gay news, Washington Blade

Susan Sarandon, left, as Bette Davis and Jessica Lange as Joan Crawford in ‘Feud: Bette and Joan,’ a new FX series. (Photo courtesy FX)

This Sunday night, grab your popcorn and sit back to enjoy one of the greatest catfights in Hollywood history.

Ryan Murphy (“Glee” and “American Horror Story,” among many others) turns his focus on the legendary “Feud” between iconic actresses Joan Crawford (Jessica Lange) and Bette Davis (Susan Sarandon). Billed as an anthology series, “Feud: Bette and Joan” premieres Sunday, March 5 and runs eight consecutive weeks on FX at 10 p.m.

As Olivia de Havilland (Catherine Zeta Jones) and Joan Blondell (Kathy Bates) reveal in delightful cameos that serve as barely concealed exposition, it’s a tough time for aging actresses in Hollywood in 1961. Marilyn Monroe is in her ascendancy; studio moguls are scared of television and desperate for younger audiences, actresses are considered “over the hill” at an age when their male counterparts are just starting to look “distinguished.”

After a series of failed television pilots, Academy Award-winning actress Joan Crawford decides to take matters into her own hands. She sends journeyman director Robert Aldrich a copy of the just-released novel “Whatever Happened To Baby Jane?,” a horror story about two reclusive sisters who were both actresses. Despite years of tension between them, Crawford asks Bette Davis, also fallen on hard times in Hollywood, to be her co-star.

The rest is Hollywood history: verbal and physical fights on the set, a battle over the Academy Award and a grudge match that lasted until Crawford’s death in 1977. Murphy and his stable of writers and directors mine this comic material for all its worth; Murphy’s Hollywood geekery is on delicious full display.

The team also captures the dark side of Tinseltown: the ageism and sexism that cuts down these two stellar actresses who are still in their prime and the ruthless way studio head Jack L. Warner (Stanley Tucci), feckless director Robert Aldrich (Alfred Molina) and vicious gossip columnist Hedda Hopper (Judy Davis) manipulate the pair for their own gain. They also capture the self-destructive and self-dramatizing tendencies of the two fading stars who are desperate to stay in the public eye and pay the bills.

There is unfortunately a basic problem with the material. After a while, it starts wearing thin. Murphy and his team also seem to miss a lot of opportunities. They capitalize on the presence of “Baby Jane” co-star Victor Buono (Dominic Burgess), a gay man who idolizes Davis, who bails him out after he is caught in a police raid at a gay cruising ground.

But, gossip columnist Louella Parsons is reduced to a voice on the telephone, even though her bitter rivalry with Hopper would seem to offer a handy mirror to the Crawford-Davis feud. Christina Crawford, who is trying to launch her own acting career, also remains unseen.

Nevertheless, the actors have a wonderful time with the script at hand. Both Lange and Sarandon are great fun as Crawford and Davis, chewing scenery to their hearts’ content and trying not to wallow too much during their lingering dewy-eyed close-ups. And love or hate “Mommie Dearest,” it’s nice to have another Crawford screen interpretation of Crawford besides Faye Dunaway’s.

Tucci and Davis roar through the script and energize their scenes. Molina is great as the long-suffering director caught between his producers, his stars and his own philandering. With her dry delivery and pitch-perfect physical comedy, Jackie Hoffman nearly steals the show as Mamacita, Crawford’s German maid.

Despite this star power, the real find of the series is Burgess, whose layered performance as the quirky and proudly gay Buono gives the series a grounding it often lacks. The growing friendship between Davis and Buono is a highlight and hopefully Buono’s Oscar nomination for “Baby Jane” will be mirrored by Burgess’ Emmy win for “Feud.”

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Photos

PHOTOS: Baltimore Pride Parade

Thousands attend city’s 50th annual LGBTQ celebration

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Baltimore Pride Parade (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

The 2025 Baltimore Pride Parade was held on Saturday, June 14. 

(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)

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Books

Celebrate Pride month by reading these books

History, pop culture, and more

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(Photo courtesy of Terri Schlichenmeyer)

You’ve done your share of marching.

You’re determined to wring every rainbow-hued thing out of this month. The last of the parties hasn’t arrived yet, neither have the biggest celebrations and you’re primed but – OK, you need a minute. So pull up a chair, take a deep breath, and read these great books on gay history, movies, and more.

You probably don’t need to be told that harassment and discrimination was a daily occurrence for gay people in the past (as now!), but “American Scare: Florida’s Hidden Cold War on Black and Queer Lives” by Robert W. Fieseler (Dutton, $34) tells a story that runs deeper than you may know. Here, you’ll read a historical expose with documented, newly released evidence of a systemic effort to ruin the lives of two groups of people that were perceived as a threat to a legislature full of white men.

Prepared to be shocked, that’s all you need to know.

You’ll also want to read the story inside “The Many Passions of Michael Hardwick: Sex and the Supreme Court in the Age of AIDS” by Martin Padgett (W.W. Norton & Company, $31.99), which sounds like a novel, but it’s not. It’s the story of one man’s fight for a basic right as the AIDS crisis swirls in and out of American gay life and law. Hint: this book isn’t just old history, and it’s not just for gay men.

Maybe you’re ready for some fun and who doesn’t like a movie? You know you do, so you’ll want “Sick and Dirty: Hollywood’s Gay Golden Age and the Making of Modern Queerness” by Michael Koresky (Bloomsbury, $29.99). It’s a great look at the Hays Code and what it allowed audiences to see, but it’s also about the classics that sneaked beneath the code. There are actors, of course, in here, but also directors, writers, and other Hollywood characters you may recognize. Grab the popcorn and settle in.

If you have kids in your life, they’ll want to know more about Pride and you’ll want to look for “Pride: Celebrations & Festivals” by Eric Huang, illustrated by Amy Phelps (Quarto, $14.99), a story of inclusion that ends in a nice fat section of history and explanation, great for kids ages seven-to-fourteen. Also find “Are You a Friend of Dorothy? The True Story of an Imaginary Woman and the Real People She Helped Shape” by Kyle Lukoff, illustrated by Levi Hastings (Simon & Schuster, $19.99), a lively book about a not-often-told secret for kids ages six-to-ten; and “Papa’s Coming Home” by Chasten Buttigieg, illustrated by Dan Taylor (Philomel, $19.99), a sweet family tale for kids ages three-to-five.

Finally, here’s a tween book that you can enjoy, too: “Queer Heroes” by Arabelle Sicardi, illustrated by Sarah Tanat-Jones (Wide Eyed, $14.99), a series of quick-to-read biographies of people you should know about.

Want more Pride books? Then ask your favorite bookseller or librarian for more, because there are so many more things to read. Really, the possibilities are almost endless, so march on in.

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Music & Concerts

Indigo Girls coming to Capital One Hall

Stars take center stage alongside Fairfax Symphony

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The Indigo Girls are back in the area next week. (Photo courtesy of Vanguard Records)

Capital One Center will host “The Indigo Girls with the Fairfax Symphony Orchestra” on Thursday, June 19 and Friday, June 20 at 8 p.m. at Capital One Hall. 

The Grammy Award-winning folk and pop stars will take center stage alongside the Fairfax Symphony, conducted by Jason Seber. The concerts feature orchestrations of iconic hits such as “Power of Two,” “Get Out The Map,” “Least Complicated,” “Ghost,” “Kid Fears,” “Galileo,” “Closer to Fine,” and many more.

Tickets are available on Ticketmaster or in person at Capital One Hall the nights of the concerts. 

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