Arts & Entertainment
Shirtless Violinist gays up ‘Beauty and the Beast’ with drag Belle
male ‘Bello’ takes on the romantic lead role
Matthew Olson, known as the Shirtless Violinist, is back again with a cover of the “Beauty and the Beast” theme song. This time his boyfriend Paul Castle, also the video’s director, joins him for a gay reimagining of the classic Disney tale.
In the video, Olson is seen performing in an empty room when he catches the attention of Bello (Castle). Bello hatches a plan to dress in drag as “Belle” to get the interest of Olson. After fleeing the room, Bello returns as himself in hopes that Olson will still have feelings for him. To his surprise, Olson is perfectly happy with Bello as himself.
“When I first had the idea to cover ‘Beauty and the Beast’, I wanted to keep the video fairly simple. I envisioned myself (transformed as the Beast) with a beautiful dancer floating around me in a ballroom,” Olson writes in the video description. “No frills, no story, just a pretty song and some sweeping camera movements. But when the “gay controversy” erupted over the new live action version of the film, it sparked another idea: What if, instead of a ballroom dancer, I asked a drag queen to perform with me?”
Out & About
Washington Improv Theatre hosts ‘The Queeries’
Event to celebrate queer DMV talent and pop culture camp
The Washington Improv Theatre, along with the Mayor’s Office of LGBTQ Affairs and the Gay Men’s Chorus of Washington DC, will team up to host “The Queeries!” on Friday, April 26 at 9:30 p.m. at Studio Theatre.
The event will celebrate Queer DMV talent and pop culture camp. With a mixture of audience-submitted nominations and blatantly undemocratically declared winners, “The Queeries!” mimics LGBTQ life itself: unfair, but far more fun than the alternative.
The event will be co-hosted by Birdie and Butchie, who have invited some of their favorite bent winos, D.C. “D-listers,” former Senate staffers, and other stars to sashay down the lavender carpet for the selfie-strewn party of the year.
Tickets are just $15 and can be purchased on WITV’s website.
Out & About
Drag Underground returns
Indiana Bones, Bombalicious Eklaver, Shi-Queeta Lee, Cake Pop! to perform
Dupont Underground and the Washington Blade have teamed up to host “Drag Underground” on Friday, April 26 at 7:30 p.m. at Dupont Underground.
Performers include Indiana Bones, Bombalicious Eklaver, Shi-Queeta Lee and Cake Pop.
Tickets start at $15 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
The annual White House Correspondents’ Association Dinner is set for Saturday, April 27 at the Washington Hilton with Colin Jost serving as emcee.
President Biden is scheduled to speak and numerous celebrities are expected around D.C. all weekend for related parties and events.
The Washington Blade is the only LGBTQ outlet that is a member of the Association and is hosting a table of VIPs, including actor Billy Porter and Congressman Robert Garcia (D-Calif.).
“We look forward to the Dinner each year to celebrate our press freedoms and to thank a range of allies and supporters for their work on behalf of the LGBTQ movement,” said Blade Editor Kevin Naff.
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