Arts & Entertainment
Booze and boos
The Zoo, Distrkt C, Synetic among main Halloween area events
The region is teeming with LGBT-friendly Halloween parties and costume contests this weekend. (Washington Blade photo by Damien Salas)
With Halloween falling mid-week this year, all the big partying is this weekend. Here are some regional highlights, many with a gay twist.
Friday, Oct. 27
Camp Variety Cabaret presents the “Scary Tales: A Grimm Night of Burlesque” tonight at 8 p.m. Burlesque and variety performers will bring to life Washington’s scary fairy tales. Performers include Ophelia Zayna Hart, Danny Cavalier, Queen Nefertittie, Ginger Jameson, Delilah Dentata (Rocky), Cherie Sweetbottom, Carlita Caliente, Phoenix King. Buster Britches hosts the show. Zamora the Torture King will be the special guest.Tickets are $15 in advance and $17 at the door. Doors open at 8 p.m. For more details, search “Camp Variety Cabaret” on Facebook.
Night of the Living Zoo is at Smithsonian’s National Zoo (3001 Connecticut Ave., N.W.) tonight from 6:30-10 p.m. There will be live entertainment, performance artists, a bar and food trucks. There will also be a costume contest, rides on the Speedwell Conservation Carousel and snowless tubing. Guests will receive after-hours access to the Small Mammal House, Reptile Discovery Center and Great Cats Circle. General admission tickets are $30 for members of FONZ and $40 for non-members. It includes two drink tickets and complimentary soda and water. VIP tickets are $65 for FONZ members and $90 for non-members. It includes three drink tickets, VIP express check-in, a souvenir tumbler, one ticket for snowless tubing, private access to the VIP bar and lounge, complimentary food tastings, animal demonstrations and a private dance party. For more details, visit national zoo.si.edu/events/night-living
D.C. Bear Crue hosts its annual Halloween contest at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight from 6-11 p.m. Prizes include drink tickets and bottles of alcohol. Line up starts at 9 p.m. and contest starts at 9:30 p.m. For more information, visit facebook.com/bearhappyhour.
Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) hosts Stranger Queens Halloween Party, for guests 18 and older, tonight at 10 p.m. Drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. GoGo boys perform after 11 p.m. DJ West and DJ Back2back will play music. There will be a costume contest at midnight with cash prizes of $500, $250 and $150. Cover is $15.
Burlesque-a-pades presents a two-night Halloween show featuring Angie Pontani, the Main Attraction, Mr. Gorgeous, Ginger Leigh, Cherry Bomb, Peek-a-Boo Revue and Rosalee Sweet and other special guests. Albert Cadabra hosts. The show will take place at the Creative Alliance (3134 Eastern Ave., Baltimore, Md.) tonight at 8 p.m. Tickets are $25. On Saturday, Oct. 28 at 7 p.m., the show takes place at Rams Head On-Stage (33 West St., Annapolis, Md.). Tickets are $22.50. For more information, visit creativealliance.org and ramsheadonstage.com.
Synetic Theater (1800 S Bell St., Arlington, Va.) hosts its 11th annual Vampire’s Ball tonight at 8 p.m. The party will follow the theater’s performance of “Peter Pan.” There will be an open bar and costume content. DJ Konstantine Lortkipandidze will play music. Tickets include the 8 p.m. performance of “Peter Pan.” Tickets range from $25-75.
Saturday, Oct. 28
Ghosttown, Town’s 21-and-over Halloween party, is tonight at 10 p.m. There will be a costume contest at midnight with $1,000, $500 and $250 cash prizes. DJ Ed Bailey and DJ West will play music. Drag show starts at 10:30 p.m. Cover is $15. For more details, visit towndc.com.
Synetic Theater hosts its new Pirate’s Ball, a family friendly party, today at 2 p.m. Tickets include the 2 p.m. performance of “Peter Pan,” family activities, light appetizers and a meet-and-greet with some of the cast. Guests are encouraged to come in costume and to bring a trick-or-treat bag. Tickets range from $50-70. For more details, visit synetictheater.org.
Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) hosts Eighties Mayhem: ‘80s Halloween Dance Party tonight at 9 p.m. DJ Missguided, DJ Steve EP and DJ Killa K will spin tracks. Costumes are encouraged. Cover is $15. For more details, blackcatdc.com.
Mamajuana Edibles hosts “Tree or Treat,” a Halloween cannabis event, today from noon-4 p.m. Costumes are encouraged but not required. There will be music, vendors, special edition edibles and more. Smoking is permitted. A $5 donation is required. The address will be given with RSVP. For more information, visit facebook.com/mamuanaedibles.
Uproar Lounge and Restaurant (639 Florida Ave., N.W.) hosts House of Horror Costume Party tonight from 9 p.m.-2 a.m. The party is open theme and all costume types are allowed. For more details, visit facebook.com/uproarloungedc.
Skintight USA hosts Hot Horror Halloween at Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.) tonight from 8 p.m.- 2 a.m. There will be a costume contest and raffle with $1,000 in prizes including porn, comics, toys and games. Shirley U. Jest will perform. DJ David Merrill will spin tracks. Tickets are $10 at the door. For more information, visit facebook.com/skintightusa.
Distrkt C hosts Warlock, a Halloween party, at the D.C. Eagle (3701 Benning Rd., N.E.) tonight from 10 p.m.-6 a.m. DJ Josh Whitaker will play an extended set. There will be a midnight costume contest with a $250 prize. Tickets are $25. For more details, visit distrktc.com.
Lindy Promotions hosts its 19th annual Nightmare on M Street bar crawl today from 2-8 p.m. There will be costume contests, prizes and drink specials. Participating bars are Barcode, the Big Hunt, Blackfinn, Decades, Dirty Bar, Dirty Martini, The Gryphon, Public Bar and D.C. Taphouse. Tickets range from $10-20. For more information, visit lindypromo.com.
Sunday, Oct. 29
Flash hosts a Halloween edition of Flashy After Hours this morning from 3:30-9 a.m. Tickets are $30. Guests with a wristband to the Cherry Fund party at Cobalt will receive $5 off. DJ Sean Morris and DJ Twin will play music. For more information, visit facebook.com/flashydc.
Tuesday, Oct. 31
D.C. Gaymers host a Halloween party at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) tonight from 7-10 p.m. The group will be playing classic games like “Smash Bros.,” “Mario Kart,” “Tekken,” “Pokken Tournament” and more. The game “Resident Evil” will also be screened. There will be a raffle for prizes and a costume contest with a grand prize of $500. For more details, visit facebook.com/dcgaymers.
D.C. Front Runners hosts a Halloween-themed run kicking off at Union Station (50 Massachusetts Ave., N.E.) tonight from 7-9 p.m. Costumes are encouraged. For more details, search “D.C. Front Runners” on Facebook.
WorldPride 2025 concluded with the WorldPride Street Festival and Closing Concert held along Pennsylvania Ave., N.W. on Sunday, June 8. Performers on the main stage included Doechii, Khalid, Courtney Act, Parker Matthews, 2AM Ricky, Suzie Toot, MkX and Brooke Eden.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 WorldPride Parade was held in Washington, D.C. on Saturday, June 7. Laverne Cox and Renée Rapp were the grand marshals.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key and Robert Rapanut)
Theater
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan stars as Duke Orsino
‘Twelfth Night’
Through June 22
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan (they/them)loves tapping into the multitudes within.
Currently Keegan plays the melancholic Duke Orsino in Folger Theatre’s production of Shakespeare’s romantic comedy “Twelfth Night.” Director Mei Ann Teo describes the production as “sexy, hilarious, and devastating” and full of “elegant kink.”
Washington-based, Keegan enjoys a busy and celebrated career. Her vast biography includes Come From Away at Ford’s Theatre; Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (Helen Hayes Award, Best Actress) and Paula Vogel’s How I Learned to Drive, both at Round House Theatre; Diana Son’s Stop Kiss directedby Holly Twyford for No Rules Theatre Company; and Contractions at Studio Theatre, to name just a few.
In addition to acting, Keegan works as a polyamory and ethical non-monogamy life and relationship coach, an area of interest that grew out of personal exploration. For them, coaching seems to work hand in hand with acting.
WASHINGTON BLADE: You’re playing the lovesick Orsino in Twelfth Night. How did that come about?
ALYSSA KEEGAN: The director was looking to cast a group of actors with diverse identities; throughout auditions, there were no constraints regarding anyone’s assigned sex at birth. It was really a free for all.
BLADE: What’s your approach to the fetching, cod-piece clad nobleman?
KEEGAN: Offstage I identify as completely nonbinary; I love riding in this neutral middle space. But I also love cosplay. The ability to do that in the play gives me permission to dive completely into maleness.
So, when I made that decision to play Orsino as a bio male, suddenly the part really cracked open for me. I began looking for clues about his thoughts and opinions about things like his past relationships and his decision not to date older women.
Underneath his mask of bravura and sexuality, and his firmness of feelings, he’s quite lonely and has never really felt loved. It makes sense to me why his love for Olivia is so misguided and why he might fall in love with the Cesario/Viola character.
BLADE: As an actor, do you ever risk taking on the feelings of your characters?
KEEGAN: Prior to my mental health education, yes, and that could be toxic for me. I’ve since learned that the nervous system can’t tell the difference between real emotional distress and a that of a fully embodied character.
So, I created and share the Empowered Performer Project. [a holistic approach to performance that emphasizes the mental and emotional well-being of performing artists]. It utilizes somatic tools that help enormously when stepping into a character.
BLADE: Has changing the way you work affected your performances?
KEEGAN: I think I’m much better now. I used to have nearly debilitating stage fright. I’d spend all day dreading going onstage. I thought that was just part of the job. Now, I’ve learned to talk to my body. Prior to a performance, I can now spend my offstage time calmly gardening, working with my mental health clients, or playing with my kid. I’m just present in my life in a different way.
BLADE: Is Orsino your first time playing a male role?
KEEGAN: No. In fact, the very first time I played a male role was at the American Shakespeare Center in Staunton, Va. I played Hipolito in Thomas Middleton’s The Revenger’s Tragedy.
As Hipolito, I felt utterly male in the moment, so much so that I had audience members see me later after the show and they were surprised that I was female. They thought I was a young guy in the role. There’s something very powerful in that.
BLADE: Do you have a favorite part? Male or female?
KEEGAN: That’s tough but I think it’s Maggie the Cat. I played the hyper-female Maggie in Tennessee Williams’ Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at Round House. In the first act she didn’t stop talking for 51 minutes opposite Gregory Wooddell as Brick who barely had to speak. That lift was probably the heaviest I’ve ever been asked to do in acting.
BLADE: What about Folger’s Twelfth Night might be especially appealing to queer audiences?
KEEGAN: First and foremost is presentation. 99% of the cast identify as queer in some way.
The approach to Shakespeare’s text is one of the most bold and playful that I have ever seen. It’s unabashedly queer. The actors are here to celebrate and be loud and colorful and to advocate. It’s a powerful production, especially to do so close to the Capitol building, and that’s not lost on any of us.
Pride is wherever you are
If you are sick, or old, maybe don’t run for Congress
Delaware Senate passes bill to codify same-sex marriage
WorldPride recap: Festival, parade, fireworks, and Doechii
World Bank resumes lending to Uganda
PHOTOS: WorldPride Boat Parade
Activists rally for Andry Hernández Romero in front of Supreme Court
A hilarious ‘Twelfth Night’ at Folger full of ‘elegant kink’
The best U.S. cities for LGBTQ homebuyers in 2025
