Theater
FALL ARTS PREVIEW 2017: Vastly queer D.C. theater personnel pushing new envelopes this fall
From an ‘Act of God’ to ‘The Devil’s Music’
Chris Lane in ‘Word Becomes Flesh’ at Alliance Theater. (Photo by C. Stanley Photography)
The fall theater season promises an especially diverse mix of classics, innovative new works and some exciting instances of non-traditional casting. And as always, the productions are fueled in large part by LGBT talent and energy.
Mosaic Theater Company (mosaictheater.org) presents “The Devil’s Music: The Life & Blues of Bessie Smith” through Sept. 24. This bawdy, bluesy one-woman piece on the life of a unapologetically bisexual singing legend features an extraordinarily drawn performance by Miche Braden.
At GALA Hispanic Theatre (galatheatre.org) out director Jose Carrasquillo is staging “Don Juan Tenorio, the Infamous Seducer of All Times” (through Oct. 1) by out playwright Nando López (author of GALA’s Helen Hayes Award-winning “Yerma”). It’s a new, high-voltage adaptation of the legendary lover’s tale. The cast includes Iker Lastra, Luz Nicolás and out actor Carlos Castillo.
Factory 449: a theater collective (factory449.org) presents the hotly anticipated production of Cordelia Lynn’s “Lela & Co.” (through Oct. 1). Based on a true story, the play follows 14-year-old Lela (celebrated local actor Felicia Curry) as she marries and is relocated to an unnamed war-torn country where she finds herself isolated, locked up and eventually enslaved. Out actor/director Rick Hammerly directs.
Signature Theatre’s (sigtheatre.org) is kicking the season off with an exquisite production of Stephen Sondheim’s “A Little Night Music” (though Oct. 8). It’s a skillfully performed farce with a gorgeously sung score. The cast features out actors Holly Twyford, Bobby Smith and Will Gartshore. Signature’s out artistic director Eric Schaeffer directs.
Baltimore’s excellent Everyman Theatre (everymantheatre.org) is presenting David Henry Hwang’s intriguing “M. Butterfly” (through Oct. 8) featuring out actor Bruce Nelson as closeted French diplomat Rene Gallimard who falls in love with opera diva Song Liling (out actor Vichet Chum) who’s in fact a man masquerading as a woman. The Tony Award-winning play first opened on Broadway in 1988 and is now undergoing a revival there.
Studio Theatre (studiotheatre.org) presents Dominique Morisseau’s “Skeleton Crew” (through Oct. 8). The action focuses on a tight-knit group of workers at one of the last auto-stamping plants in Detroit who are forced to consider an uncertain future. Patricia McGregor directs.
Theater Alliance (theateralliance.com) is remounting its acclaimed Helen Hayes Award-winning production of “Word Becomes Flesh” (through Oct. 8). Using spoken word, stylized movement, tableau and music, an ensemble delivers a series of letters from a man to his unborn son, documenting his range of emotions, fears and expectations. The cast features out actors Chris Lane, Clayton Pelham, Jr. and Justin Weaks.
Woolly Mammoth opens its season with Alistair Beaton’s translation of Swiss playwright Max Frisch’s comedic reflection on fascism and communism “The Arsonists” (through Oct. 8). Directed by Michael John Garcés, the production features Woolly artistic director Howard Shalwitz in a return to the stage and company members including Kimberly Gilbert and Emily Townley.
Olney Theatre Center (olneytheatre.org) and Round House Theatre (roundhousetheatre.org) are co-producing “Hamilton” creator Lin-Manuel Miranda’s first Broadway musical, “In the Heights” (through Oct. 15). Set to hip hop, rap and salsa, it’s the inspiring story of immigrants striving to make it in New York City’s Washington Heights neighborhood. The cast features out actor Robin de Jesús (an original Broadway cast member). Marcos Santana directs and choreographs.
Constellation Theatre Company (constellationtheatre.org) opens its season with Andrew Lippa’s “The Wild Party” (Sept. 21-Oct. 29). Set in Prohibition-era Manhattan, this tale of passion, flappers and romance features an exciting score including jazz, vaudeville and gospel numbers. Constellation’s artistic director Allison Arkell Stockman directs.
Ford’s Theatre (fords.org) presents Arthur Miller’s classic play “Death of a Salesman” (Sept. 22-Oct. 22). Esteemed actor Craig Wallace, who’s black, stars as the beleaguered Willy Loman, a part typically played by white actors. Kimberly Schraf plays Willy’s wife Linda and Danny Gavigan and Thomas Keegan are sons Happy and Biff, respectively. Out actor Michael Russotto plays Willy’s friend Charley. Stephen Rayne directs.
At Shakespeare Theatre Company (shakespearetheatre.org) out artistic director Michael Kahn returns to the work of Harold Pinter with a to direct a double bill of short plays, “The Collection” and “The Lover” (Sept. 26-Oct. 29). STC writes: “In Pinter’s darkly comic world of revealing silences and pregnant pauses, the characters and audience never know quite where they stand, embracing reality and fantasy with equal conviction.”
At Forum Theatre (forum-theatre.org) in Silver Spring, Michael Dove is directing the great Caryl Churchill’s “Love and Information” (Sept. 28-Oct. 21).
Also at Signature (sigtheatre.org) out actor Tom Story plays the title role in the D.C.-area premiere of David Javerbaum’s irreverent comedy “An Act of God” (Oct. 3-Nov. 26). Longtime head writer for TV’s “The Daily Show,” Javerbaum riffs on Biblical passages and divine intervention.
Olney Theatre (olneytheatre.org) is also presenting “Our Town” (Oct. 4-Nov. 12). Penned by the late Thornton Wilder who was gay, the American classic focuses on young couple George and Emily and their typical yet profound life experiences in small town Grover’s Corners, New Hampshire. This promising production, directed by Aaron Posner, incorporates traditional Japanese Bunraku-style puppets into the cast. Out actor Jon Odom plays Stage Manager, the play’s narrator.
For two nights only, the Kennedy Center (kennedy-center.org) presents “Wilderness” (Oct 12-15), a new multimedia documentary theater work. It’s derived from the real-life stories of six families exploring issues of mental health, addiction and gender and sexual identity and features an evocative folk-rock score, video projections and emotionally charged movement.
And for a substantially longer stay, the Kennedy Center hosts the latest tour of “The Book of Mormon” (Oct. 24-Nov. 19). Trey Parker and Matt Stone’s Tony Award-winning musical follows the adventures of a mismatched pair of missionaries, sent far from home to spread the Good Word.
At Arena Stage (arenastage.org) out director Alan Paul is staging American musical theater classic “The Pajama Game” (Oct. 27-Dec. 24). A strike at the pajama factory sets off a battle of the sexes. The score includes hot favorites “Steam Heat” and “Hernando’s Hideaway.” The cast includes Edward Gero and the making her Arena debut Broadway’s Donna McKechnie who created the part of Cassie in “A Chorus Line.”
At National Theatre (nationaldc.org), Tina Fey’s “Mean Girls” (Oct. 31-Dec. 3) makes its world premiere before heading to Broadway. The new musical is based on Fey’s screenplay for the same-titled hit film.
Out director Steven Scott Mazzola and Reenie Codelka are co-directing “Jaques Brel: Songs From His World” (Nov. 4-19) starring Byron Jones for the In Series (inseries.org). The cabaret features the legendary Belgian singer/songwriter’s personal yet political works from the ‘50s and ‘60s.
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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