Arts & Entertainment
Best of Gay D.C. 2017: NIGHTLIFE
Winners from the Washington Blade’s annual poll
(Photo of Dylan Knight by David Claypool; Washington Blade photo of Distrkt C by Ben Keller; Washington Blade photos of DJ Tezrah and Ophelia Heart by Tom Hausman)
Best Dance Party
Distrkt C
D.C. Eagle
Second Saturday of the month
D.C. Eagle
3701 Benning Rd., N.E.
Editor’s choice: Gay Bash, Trade
Distrkt C (Washington Blade photo by Ben Keller)
Best Bartender
Dusty Martinez, Trade
Also won in 2014; last year’s runner-up.
1410 14th St., N.W.
Runner-up: Tommy Honeycutt, Nellie’s
Dusty Martinez (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Burlesque Dancer
Ophelia Hart
Runner-up: GiGi Holliday
Ophelia Zayna Hartis a belly dancer and drag and burlesque performer hailing from Washington.
“I am thunder thighs, sinful curves, and fiery spirit,” she says.
She made her debut at Washington’s 2015 Burlypicks, where she won the title of Master of Lip-sync, and she has been shimmying and shaking across the East Coast since then. Always true to her Arab roots, Hart celebrates the fusion of classic and neo-burlesque and her homeland’s cultural riches.
Hart, who is known for dancing with grace, seducing with elegance and jiggling with abandon, has some advice for performers working on a new act: “When you’re crafting a number — brainstorming a concept, working on your choreography, creating a costume and rehearsing your act — ask yourself, what story am I telling, and is it mine to tell?” (BTC)
facebook.com/opheliahartburlesque
Ophelia Hart (Washington Blade photo by Tom Hausman)
Best Avion Tequila Margarita
Winner: Lauriol Plaza
1835 18th St., N.W.
Editor’s pick: Rito Loco
Avion Tequila Margarita at Lauriol Plaza (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best DJ
DJ Tezrah
Runner-up: The Barber Streisand
Tezrah has a delightfully eclectic background and an amazing sound.
A native of Fairfax, Va., Tezrah says she “learned to play classical piano at age 5, which laid the foundation for future investigation into computer music programs.” She graduated with a pre-medical degree in Neuroscience from William & Mary, attended the Harvard School of Design Summer Program, and was accepted into the Graduate Architecture Program at Catholic University.
She also played semi-pro soccer.
Then, she says, “on a whim I tried turning my musical hobby into a profession.”
Now Tezrah reigns in her fourth year of DJing in the D.C. area, specializing in Top 40, electronic dance music, hip hop and other genres. Formerly known as DJ Deedub, she is hailed as one of D.C.’s and the LGBT community’s brightest stars. Her sound is eclectic, combining the newest music seamlessly with older classic songs. Winner of the DJ Battle for Her HRC for 2014 and 2015, headliner at the 9:30 Club, and headliner for a crowd of about 5,000 at Hampton Roads Pride 2016, she has garnered a solid local following. (BTC)
DJ Tezrah (Washington Blade photo by Tom Hausman)
Best Drag King
Roman Noodle
Runner-up: Avery Austin
Roman Noodle, real name Shay, first started doing drag in May 2016 as a way to escape being herself.
“Roman was created so I could kind of be myself without people judging me for being myself. Because they think I’m just being Roman. It turned into an avenue where in doing drag it made me completely myself,” Noodle, a dog walker by day, says.
The D.C. native kicked off her drag career as a choir boy for Pretty Boi Drag’s Sunday Service shows. At first she was unsure how to craft her drag persona and experimented with different genres and concepts. Eventually she settled on Roman, “a basic dude, no gimmicks.”
Even though Noodle has performed for other groups including D.C. Gurly Show and Girl Power in Baltimore, she still considers Pretty Boi Drag her family.
She also credits the art of drag with giving her, and countless others, a safe space to be who they are.
“I love that it gives everyone a place to be themselves, to feel safe, to express themselves creatively. Whether they are male-bodied or female-bodied, they’re able to present themselves the way they want without any issues or questions,” Noodle says. (PF)
Roman Noodle (Washington Blade photo by Chris Jennings)
Best Drag Queen
Sasha Adams
Runner-up: Tatianna
Drag performer Sasha Adams, whose real name is Richard Christmas, says “I’m the Clydesdale of D.C. drag. I’m plus sized but I dance. You’ll get the kicks, the splits, the hair flips and all that. Clydesdale are big, graceful, beautiful but most importantly, they’re work horses.”
Though he maintains a day job as a contractor with the federal government, Christmas performs as Sasha four or five times a week. His drag career is two-pronged: performing at clubs and brunches and competing in national drag pageants. “Sasha isn’t modeled after anyone in particular,” Christmas says. “I lip sync R&B and hip-hop. I like old school Janet, Missy and Mariah. And Donna Summer if the venue calls for it. I do contemporary top 20 artists too.”
Christmas grew up in a small-town outside of Charlottesville, Va. He did choir in high school but not a lot of acting. He graduated from James Madison University where he majored in finance and minored in dance and music. The Eagle Scout’s foray into drag began when he won amateur drag night at Freddie’s Beach Bar in 2010. Gigs and bookings followed.
When the wig is off and he’s untucked, Christmas can be found at home in Columbia Heights lying on the couch watching “Law & Order.” As a performer, he finds relationships difficult. He’s single but likes a guy who has his shit together.
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St., N.W.
Sasha Adams (Photo by Bobby DeCanio)
Best Drag Show
Ladies of Town
Fridays and Saturdays at 10:30 p.m. Sixth win in this category!
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St., N.W.
A perennial favorite in this category!
Editor’s choice: Pretty Boi Drag
Ba’Naka and Tatianna perform at Town. (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Best Singer or Band
Wicked Jezabel
Also won this award in 2013!
Runner-up: Homo Superior
Wicked Jezebel at NOVA Pride (Photo by Bobbie English)
Best Transgender Performer
Phoenix King
Runner-up: Salvadora Dali
Performer Phoenix King, real name Benny Rodriguez, identifies as trans.
“I’ve been a drag king in Washington for about four years,” he says. “Entertaining has translated into different kinds of performance art including burlesque. Being trans is a big part of my life but it’s not my entire performance persona.”
Rodriquez got into drag performance in 2013 while working at the now-defunct lesbian hot spot Phase 1 in Dupont Circle. “They had a drag show with drag kings and queens and I asked if I could perform,” he says. “The experience was totally exhilarating and ties into my trans identity. To see myself as a masculine-presenting person for the first time was shocking and exciting to me.”
By all accounts, Rodriguez’s drag debut was a resounding success. Over the last two years, he’s attracted an enthusiastic following and for the last two year he has been performing mostly at Bier Baron Tavern in D.C. He’s also performed in clubs and burlesque.
“Initially I perceived drag as a hobby but increasingly I’ve come to see it as a money-making venture,” says Rodriguez, 26. “Over this year, I’ve become increasingly focused on where I perform and for whom I perform. This experience has opened doors all over town. There’s no telling where it might lead.” (PF)
Phoenix King (Photo courtesy of Benicio Rodriguez)
Best Gay-Friendly Straight Bar
Dacha Beer Garden
Third consecutive win in this category!
1600 7th St., N.W.
202-524-8790
Editor’s choice: DC9
Dacha Beer Garden (Photo by Ted Eytan; courtesy Flickr)
Best Go-Go Dancer/Stripper
Dylan Knight
Runner-up: Eddie Danger
Dylan Knight started gyrating lasciviously at Town about 2010 after seeing other go-go dancers there. This is his second consecutive win in this category.
He’s a regular at Town and performs there and elsewhere, never taking himself too seriously.
“I just try to be entertaining and cute,” the 26-year-old D.C. resident, who also does gay porn, says. (JD)
Dylan Knight (Photo by David Claypool; courtesy Knight)
Best Absolut Happy Hour
Number Nine
Two-for-one happy hour is 5-9 p.m. Monday-Thursday and 2-9 p.m. on weekends. This is Nine’s fifth Best Of award.
1435 P St., N.W.
Editor’s choice: Trade
Number 9 happy hour (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)
Hottest Bar Staff
The Dirty Goose
913 U St., N.W.
Editor’s choice: Trade
The Dirty Goose bar staff (Washington Blade photo by Tom Hausman)
Best Live Music
9:30 Club
A perennial favorite in this category!
815 V St., N.W.
Editor’s Choice: Wolf Trap
Troye Sivan performs at the 9:30 Club (Photo by Katherine Gaines)
Best Neighborhood Bar
Trade
1410 14th St., N.W.
Editor’s choice: JR.’s
Trade (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)
Best Outside-the-District Bar
Freddie’s Beach Bar
This is Freddie’s 20th Best Of win, a Washington Blade record. Freddie’s has won this award every year since 2002 in addition to several others.
555 S. 23rd St.
Arlington, Va.
Editor’s choice: Baltimore Eagle
Freddie’s Beach Bar (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
Best Outdoor Drinking
Town Patio
Third consecutive win in this category!
Town Danceboutique
2009 8th St., N.W.
Editor’s choice: Dascha Beer Garden
Town Patio (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Best Place for Guys Night Out
Crew Club
1321 14th St., N.W.
Editor’s choice: DC Bear Crue: Bear Happy Hour
Crew Club (Washington Blade photo by Pete Exis)
Best Place for Girls Night Out
Pretty Boi Drag
Editor’s choice: BARE by LURe
Take a break from the numerous drag queen brunches and parties to have fun with the boys.
Pretty Boi Drag is D.C.’s newest drag king troupe that features daytime and nighttime parties and events throughout the city. The troupe started in 2016 and since then has expanded into a staple in the D.C. drag community.
Perhaps their best known event is Pretty Boi Sunday Service at the Bier Baron Tavern (1523 22nd St., N.W.). Described as “a parody drag church for the non-religious,” the kings entertain with heavy influences of hip-hop and R&B. The event is hosted by the troupe’s co-producer, Pretty Rik E.
Other events include happy hours, brunches and variety shows at different locales around town. Their performers are a diverse mix of characters and acts including Best Drag King winner, Roman Noodle.
“Pretty Boi Drag creates a fun, safe and unique atmosphere for queer women to see drag kings like they’ve never seen them before,” their website states. “Our events are drag show meets dance party meets a queer woman’s version of ‘Magic Mike.’ Our audience isn’t there to just watch what happens on stage, they also get to be a part of the show.” (MC)
(Washington Blade photo by Chris Jennings)
Best Rehoboth Bar
Purple Parrot
134 Rehoboth Ave.
Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Editor’s choice: Blue Moon
Purple Parrot (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)
Best Rehoboth Bartender
Holly Lane, Cafe Azafran
18 Baltimore Ave.
Rehoboth Beach, Del.
Runner-up: Jamie Romano, Purple Parrot
Holly Lane (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)
Best Rooftop
Uproar Lounge & Restaurant
Second consecutive win in this category!
639 Florida Ave., N.W.
Editor’s choice: Nellie’s
UpRoar Lounge (Washington Blade photo by Hugh Clarke)
To see winners in other categories in the Washington Blade’s Best of Gay D.C. 2017 Awards, click here.
The Bonnet Ball was held at JR.’s Bar (1519 17th St., N.W.) on Sunday.
(Washington Blade photos and video by Michael Key)
Books
Risking it all for love during World War II
New book follows story of Black, gay expat in Paris
‘The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram’
By Ethelene Whitmire
c.2026, Viking
$30/308 pages
You couldn’t escape it.
When you fell in love, that was it: you were there for good. Leaving your amour’s side was unthinkable, turning away was impossible. You’d do anything for that person you loved – even, as in the new biography, “The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram” by Ethelene Whitmire, you’d escape toward danger.
On Aug. 28, 1938, Reed Peggram boarded a ship from Hoboken, N.J., hoping to “become a proper gentleman” and fulfill his dreams. A prolific writer and Harvard scholar of comparative literature, he’d recently been awarded the Rosenwald Fellowship, which put him in the company of literary stars like Du Bois, Hurston, and Hughes.
Both Peggram’s mother and grandmother were then domestic workers, and they had big expectations for him. Reed himself was eager to study abroad, for professional and personal reasons; he was “determined to become a French professor and an accomplished linguist” and “He also hoped to find love.”
What better place to do it than in Paris?
Outgoing and confident, Peggram made friends easily and had no trouble moving “through the world of his white male peers.” Where he faltered was in his lack of funds. He relied on the kindness of his many friends – one of whom introduced Peggram to a “man who would become so pivotal in his life,” a Danish man named Arne.
Peggram and Arne had a lot in common, and they began to enmesh their lives and dreams of living in the United States. But there were complications: homosexuality was largely forbidden, World War II was in its early stages, and it quickly became apparent that it was dangerous to stay in Europe.
And yet, Peggram loved Arne. He refused to leave without him and so, while most visiting Black Americans fled the war in Europe, “Reed was trying to stay.”
There’s so much more to the story inside “The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram,” so much to know about Reed himself. Problem is, it’s a long haul to get to the good stuff.
In her introduction, author Ethelene Whitmire explains how she came to this tale and yes, it needs telling but probably not with the staggering number of inconsequential details here. Peggram moved homes a lot, and many people were involved in keeping him in Europe. That alone can be overwhelming; add the fact that costs and other monetary issues are mentioned in what seems like nearly every page, and you may wonder if you’ll ever find the reason for the book’s subtitle.
It’s there, nearly halfway through the book, which is when the tale takes a tender, urgent turn — albeit one with determination, rashness, and a dash of faux nonchalance. Also, if you’re expecting an unhappily-ever-after because, after all, it’s a World War II tale, don’t assume anything.
Reading this book will take a certain amount of patience, so skip it if you don’t have that fortitude. If you’re OK with minuscule details and want a heart-pounder, though, “The Remarkable Life of Reed Peggram” might be a good escape.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
Theater
Iconic Eddie Izzard takes on 23 characters in ‘Hamlet’
Energized take on role offers accessible way to enjoy Shakespeare
‘The Tragedy of Hamlet’
Through April 11
Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre
450 7th St., N.W.
Tickets start at $90
Shakespearetheatre.org
Eddie Izzard is an icon.
Best known for her innovative standup and film roles, the famed British performer is also a queer activist who over the years has good-naturedly shared details from her decades long trans journey. What’s more, Izzard has remarkably run 43 marathons in 51 days for charity.
And now, Izzard finds a towering new challenge with the worldwide tour of “The Tragedy of Hamlet” (at Shakespeare Theatre Company’s Klein Theatre through April 11), in which she plays 23 characters (Hamlet, King Claudius, Queen Gertrude, the ghost, etc.) in a solo performance running just over two hours.
At a recent performance, Izzard, before slipping into character, appeared on the unadorned stage to say that though infused with comedy, “Hamlet” is definitely a tragedy, a story of a family and country both tearing themselves apart. She also warns that there’ll be a lot of breaking the fourth wall. After all, it didn’t exist in 1600 around the time when “Hamlet” was written.
The play unfolds in flurry of movement and scandal as the Danish prince begins to plot revenge after learning that his father, the old king was conspired against and murdered.
While some of Izzard’s character shifts are shown only by a subtle change in stance or modulation of voice, others are more obviously displayed like court sycophant Polonius walking with a stiff leg and mimed cane, or his ill-fated daughter Ophelia trotting girlishly across the upstage platform.
Delivered downstage at the intimate Klein venue, Izzard’s Hamlet soliloquies are performed with striking clarity. The one actor play is adapted and edited by Mark Izzard (the star’s older brother) and directed by Selina Cadell who successfully fosters the visceral connection between the actor and the house. Directly addressing an audience is something Izzard does exceedingly well. You feel as if she’s looking at/speaking to only you.
Cuts and choices are made that might not please traditionalists. The stabbing of eavesdropping Polonius might prove disappointingly underplayed to some. Whereas, the subsequent satisfying dual/death scene is long and precisely choreographed. Fear not, Izzard doesn’t flag a bit, not even when battling a cough (as was the case on the night of No Kings Day).
Not surprisingly, Izzard leans into the comedy. Her deliciously placed pauses, lines read ironically, and double takes, all gifts of comedy sharpened to perfection over a long career that kicked off as a street performer in the early eighties in London’s Covent Garden.
The play within a play scene finds Hamlet slyly rattling the conscience of King Claudius. As played by Izzard, it’s wickedly delightful and especially good. And the back and forth between the grave diggers done as a clever Cockney and his green assistant is a master class in how to play a Shakespearean clown.
Kitted out in a black peplum jacket over leather leggings and boots, Izzard gives gender fluid shades of contemporary diehard scenester and a Renaissance courtier. (Design and styling by Tom Piper and Libby DaCosta)
Attention has been paid to the blonde high ponytail, crimson lips and matching lacquered nails. The hands are important. Whether balled into fists or fingers fluttering, they’re in use, especially when playing Hamlet’s ex-friends Rosencrantz and Guildenstern (a clever surprise that can’t be spoiled).
Tom Piper’s set is wonderfully minimal. It’s an empty white walled space with three narrow windows that appear cut deeply into stone like those of a castle. These white flats serve as the ideal canvas for lighting designer Tyler Elich’s looming shadows, ghostly green light, and other unexpected flourishes of drama.
Izzard fills the stage. Her presence is huge, and her acting first-rate. At times, you forget it’s a one-person show.
I’d like to say, prior knowledge of the Bard’s best tragedy isn’t necessary to enjoy this fast-paced production. Despite a halved runtime and obscure words replaced with modern equivalents (“tedious old git” Hamlet says of Polonius), familiarity with the play is helpful.
With “The Tragedy of Hamlet,” Izzard secures a place among fellow queer Brits like Miriam Margolyes (“Dickens’ Women”), Sir Ian Mckellan (“Ian McKellen on Stage”), and more recently Andrew Scott (“Vanya”) in the solo players’ pantheon.
Izzard’s energized take on Hamlet is terrific. The way her powerful public persona bleeds into the work without taking over is exciting, and a uniquely accessible way to enjoy Shakespeare.
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