Theater
Queer theater pros wow in varied productions
Michael Urie in ‘Hamlet,’ Signature’s ‘Passion’ among ’18 highlights
Jon Hudson Odom (left) and James Crichton in ‘Botticelli in the Fire.’ (Photo by Scott Suchman)
Throughout 2018, some LGBT actors made marvelous star turns while others stalwartly succeeded at supporting roles in myriad Washington-area productions. Less visible, but equally important, were the many out directors, designers and playwrights without whom nothing much happens.
The always terrific Jon Hudson Odom, a longtime Washington actor who decamped for Chicago several months ago, marvelously tackled the title role in Nathan Alan Davis’ “Nat Turner in Jerusalem” at Forum Theatre in the spring. Staged by out director José Carrasquillo, the exquisitely rendered piece concerns the last hours in the life of prisoner Turner, a condemned slave and educated minister who led the famed 1831 slave rebellion in Southampton County, Va.
Jon Hudson Odom in ‘Nat Turner in Jerusalem.’ (Photo by Teresa Castracane Photography; courtesy Form)
Odom was equally memorable as another title character in Woolly Mammoth Theatre’s striking staging of Jordan Tannahill’s “Botticelli in the Fire.” Odom fearlessly portrayed legendary painter in this carnal and campy reimagining of historical gay figures in Renaissance Italy.
Michael Kevin Darnell truly shone in Bosco Brasil’s “New Guidelines for Peaceful Times,” an intense two hander that made its American premiere at Spooky Action Theater in the fall. In a brilliantly nuanced performance, Darnell played Clausewitz, an immigrant from war-torn Poland, eager to charm his way into post-World War II Brazil.
Michael Kevin Darnall in ‘New Guielines for Peaceful Times’ at Spooky Action Theatre. (Photo by Teresa Castracane)
Karen Harman’s “Roz and Ray” mines the early years of HIV/AIDS in America, focusing primarily on the tragic experience of hemophiliacs and big pharma’s sometimes nefarious involvement. In Theater J’s compelling production, Tom Story played Ray from Texas, the smart but uneducated, bisexual father of hemophilic young twin sons. Ray becomes involved with Roz (Susan Rome), a dedicated pediatric hematologist/oncologist. In playing Ray, Story told the Blade he was definitely treading on new territory and liked it.
Round House Theatre’s summer production “The Legend of Georgia McBride” was an LGBT collaboration. Penned by Matthew Lopez, directed by Tom Story and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, the sweet story of a failed Elvis impersonator unwittingly turned solvent drag star, featured a talented, hardworking cast that included Desi Bing who played boozy drag performer Rexy and Rick Hammerly as self-proclaimed grande dame of drag, Miss Tracy Mills.
In Woolly Mammoth’s production of out playwright Branden Jacob-Jenkins dramedy “Gloria,” the reliably first-rate Justin Weaks displayed his versatility playing several characters including a quiet, Harvard-educated intern shot dead by a crazy coworker. And more recently at Round House Theatre, Weaks played Citizen Barlow, a man in spiritual turmoil who doesn’t realize the vastness of his adventure, in “Gem of the Ocean,” August Wilson’s ninth play in his Pittsburgh-set 10-play cycle examining African-American life in the United States during the 20th century.
Out playwright Ken Urban’s “The Remains,” an exploration of the internal and external pressures surrounding same-sex marriage, made its world premiere in a terrific production at Studio Theatre last winter. The comedy about the tragedy of love starred Maulik Pancholy (“Weeds,” “30 Rock,” “Star Trek: Discovery”) as rising literature professor Kevin and Glenn Fitzgerald (“Dirty Sexy Money,” “Six Feet Under”) as his lawyer husband Theo.
And, again in 2018, out actors took on the classics.
Early in 2018, Michael Urie, a familiar face from TV sitcoms and Broadway, played the coveted lead in the Shakespeare Theatre Company’s “Hamlet.” Set in a sleekly designed police state, the production was staged by the company’s out artistic director Michael Kahn. While Urie received reviews ranging from madcap to commanding, he relayed in an interview with the Blade that he was very satisfied with the production. Would he assay Hamlet again in the future? “Never say never,” he said.
Michael Urie in ‘Hamlet.’ (Photo by Tony Powell; courtesy STC)
Holly Twyford was a standout as the obsessively driven Constance in Folger Theatre’s “King John,” one of Shakespeare’s rarely produced works. Smartly staged by Aaron Posner, the quick-paced, thrilling account of court and familial struggles surrounding the English crown, left one wondering why this early history play isn’t mounted more often.
Out directors soared in 2018.
At Shakespeare Theatre Company, Alan Paul staged one of the year’s best — Shakespeare’s “The Comedy Errors” set in 1960s Athens. A fabulous cast included out actors Tom Story playing an effete jeweler and hilarious Sarah Marshall as a sham exorcist.
At Signature Theatre, director Matthew Gardiner charmed audiences with a delightful production of Todd Almond’s musical “Girlfriend,” a gay love story about two very different teenage boys whose unlikely friendship blossoms into a full-blown romance.
Gardiner also helmed Signature’s production of Stephen Sondheim’s “Passion,” a musical about Giorgio, a handsome young officer, who rather inexplicably falls in love with his commanding officer’s sickly cousin. The exquisitely staged piece featured handsome out Broadway actor Claybourne Elder and Natascia Diaz who’s likely to garner awards for her Fosca.
And Gardiner closed the year with “Billy Elliot The Musical” (also at Signature). Set in Northern England during the 1980s miners’ strike, it’s the story of a working-class boy who’s a natural at ballet.
The year has proved a fine time for up-and-coming, local LGBT actors to show their stuff. Jade Jones played Senior Duke in Keegan Theatre’s “As You Like It,” a pop/rock musical take on the Bard’s romantic comedy by New York singer/songwriter Shaina Taub. In Signature’s “Girlfriend,” Jimmy Mavrikes was terrific as Will, an unfocussed but clever gay outcast who lands the closeted popular jock. And Ben Gunderson was a standout as the tap-dancing purser in Arena Stage’s hit production of Cole Porter’s “Anything Goes.”
It’s been a year filled with drama and music, re-imaginings and new works. There was a lot on offer in 2025, and much to enjoy. Here are 10 now-closed productions that come to mind.
On Valentine’s Day at Folger Theatre on Capitol Hill, out actor Holly Twyford served as narrator for “The Love Birds” a Folger Consort work that melds medieval music with a world-premiere composition by acclaimed composer Juri Seo and readings from Geoffrey Chaucer’s “A Parlement of Foules”
Standing behind a podium, Twyford beautifully read Chaucer’s words (translated from Middle English and backed by projected slides in the original language), alternating with music played on old and new instruments.
While Mosaic Theater’s “A Case for the Existence of God,” closed in mid-December, it’s proving a production not soon forgotten. Precisely staged by Danilo Gambini, and impressively acted by Lee Orsorio and Jaysen Wright, the soul-searching two hander by out playwright Samuel D. Hunter, tells the story of two men who form an unlikely friendship based on single-fatherhood, a specific sadness, and hope.
The action unfolds in a small office in southern Idaho, where the pair discuss the perplexing terms of a mortgage loan while delving deep into their lives and backgrounds. Nothing is left off the table.
Shakespeare Theatre Company’s spring production of “Uncle Vanya” gave audiences something both fresh yet enduring. Staged by STC’s artistic director Simon Godwin, the production put an impeccably pleasing twist on Russian playwright Anton Chekhov’s classic. It ranks among the very best area productions of the year.
Featuring a topnotch cast led by Hugh Bonneville (TV’s “Downton Abbey”) in the title role, the play was set on an unfinished stage cluttered with costume racks and assorted props, all assembled by crew uniformed in black and actors in street clothes. Throughout the drama tinged with comedy, the actors continued to assist with ever increasingly period set changes accompanied by an underscore of melancholic cello strings. It was innovative and wonderful.
GALA Hispanic Theatre’s production of Manuel Puig’s “Kiss of the Spider Woman” was an intimate and affecting piece of theater. Staged by José Luis Arellano, it starred out actors Rodrigo Pedreira and Martín Ruiz as two very different men whose paths cross as convicts in an Argentine prison.
Arena Stage scored with a re-imagined and updated take on the widely liked musical “Damn Yankees.” Directed by Sergio Trujillo, the Broadway bound production has been “gently re-tooled for its first major revival in the 21st century,” moving the action from the struggling Washington Senators baseball team to the turn-of-the-century Yankees lineup. Ana Villafañe’s charmingly seductive Lola and a chorus of fit ball players made for a good time.
Also at Arena, out playwright Reggie D. White’s new work “Fremont Ave.” was very well received. A semi-autobiographical glimpse into home and the many definitions of that idea specifically relating to three generations of Black men, the work boasts a third act with a deeply queer storyline to boot.
Before his smash hit “Hamilton” transformed Broadway, Lin-Manuel Miranda wrote “In the Heights,” a seminal musical set against the vicissitudes of an upper Manhattan bodega. Infused with hip-hop, rap, and pop ballads, the romance/dramedy takes place over a lively few days in the vibrant, close-knit Latin neighborhood, Washington Heights.
Signature Theatre’s exciting take on “In the Heights” featured a talented cast including out actor Ángel Lozado as the bodega owner who figures prominently in the barrio and the action.
Studio Theatre’s recent production of lesbian playwright Paula Vogel’s newest work “The Mother Play,” a drama with humor, is about a well put together alcoholic mother and her two gay children living under difficult circumstances in the less glitzy parts of suburban Maryland. With nuanced performances and smart direction, the production was terrific.
Keegan Theatre surpassed expectations with its production of “Lizzie” a punk rock opera about Miss Borden, the fabled axe wielding title character. Performed by a super all-female cast, they belted a score that hits hard on subjects like money, queerness, and strained (to say the least) family relationships.
Round House Theatre impressed autumn audiences with “The Inheritance,” a two-part drama sensitively staged by out director Tom Story and acted by a mostly queer cast that included young actor Jordi Bertrán Ramírez in a breakout performance.
Penned by out playwright Matthew López, the epic work inspired by E.M. Forster’s novel “Howards End,” explores themes of love, legacy, and the AIDS crisis through the lives of three generations of gay men in New York City.
Prior to opening, Story commented that with the production’s predominately queer cast you get actors who “really understand the situation, the humor, and the struggle. It works well.” And he was right.
Theater
Out actor talks lead role in ‘Fiddler on the Roof’
Signature Theatre production runs through Jan. 25
‘Fiddler on the Roof’
Through Jan. 25
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, Va.
Tickets start at $47
Sigtheatre.org
Out actor Ariel Neydavoud is deep into a three-month run playing revolutionary student Perchick in the beloved 1964 musical “Fiddler on the Roof” at Signature Theatre in Arlington. And like his previous gigs, it’s been a learning experience.
This time, he’s gleaning knowledge from celebrated gay actor Douglas Sills who’s starring as the show’s central character Tevya, a poor Jewish milkman in the fictional village of Anatevka in tsarist Russia circa 1905.
In addition to anti-Semitism and expulsion, Tevya is struggling with waning traditions in a changing world where his daughters dare suggest marrying for love. Daughter Hodel (Lily Burka) falls for Perchick, an outsider who comes to town brandishing new ideas.
And along with its compelling and humor filled storyline, “Fiddler” boasts iconic numbers like “If I Were a Rich Man,” “Tradition,” “Matchmaker, Matchmaker,” and “Sunrise, Sunset.”
Neydavoud, born and raised as an only child in the West Los Angeles neighborhood lightheartedly referred to as Tehrangeles (due to the large Iranian-American population), has always been passionate about performing. “It’s like I came out of the womb tap dancing,” he says. Fortunately, his mother, an accomplished pianist and composer, served as built-in accompanist.
He began acting and singing at kid camps and a private Jewish middle school alongside classmate Ben Platt. In his teens, Neydavoud spent three glorious weeks at Stagedoor Manor, a well-known theater camp in Upstate New York, where he solidified his desire to pursue theater as a profession, and started to feel comfortable with being queer.
Following high school, he studied at AMDA (American Musical and Dramatic Academy) and soon after morphed from theater student to professional actor.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Your entry into showbiz seems to have been a smooth one.
ARIEL NEYDAVOUD: I’m happy to hear it seems that way. I’d rarely describe anything about this profession as smooth; nonetheless, what I love about this work is that it gives opportunities to have so many new experiences: new shows, new parts, and new communities who come together in a moment’s notice purely for the sake of creating art.
BLADE: Tell us about Perchick.
NEYDAVOUD: He comes to Anatevka and challenges their ideals and way of life. That’s something I can relate to.
I’m Jewish on both sides, but I’m also queer, first generation American, [his mother and father are from Germany and Iran, respectively], and a person of color. I never feel like I belong to a single community. That’s what has emboldened my inner activist to speak up and challenge ideas that I don’t necessarily buy into.
BLADE: You sing beautifully. Perchick’s song is “Now I have Everything,” an Act II melody about finding love. Was it an instant fit for you?
NEYDAVOUD: Not instantly.I’m traditionally a first tenor. Perchick is baritone range, a little outside of my comfort zone. After being cast, I asked our director Joe Calarco if he would be comfortable raising the key, something they did with the recent Broadway revival. He was firm about not doing that.
As an artist I see challenges as opportunities to grow, so it’s been really good exploring my lower register.
BLADE: Audiences have commented on an intimacy surrounding this production.
TK: It’s performed in the round with a dining table at its center. It could be a sabbath or seder table, however you interpret it, but I find it a brilliant way to illustrate community and tradition.
It feels like the audience is invited to the table and join the residents of Anatevka. The show’s moments of joy like the betrothal song “To Life (L’Chaim)” are intensified, and conversely the pogrom scenes are made more difficult. It feels like we’re sharing space.
BLADE: Do your encompassing identities broaden casting possibilities for you?
NEYDAVOUD: Marketing yourself as ethnically ambiguous can be a helpful tool. After “Hamilton” and the pandemic there was more of a shift toward authenticity. I try to steer toward playing Middle Eastern, Southwest Asian, Jewish, and mixed-race characters without being too prescriptive.
BLADE: Tell us your dream roles?
NEYDAVOUD: I’d love to play the Emcee in Cabaret [often portrayed as a gender-fluid, queer-coded, or non-binary figure]. And I’d like to direct a production of “Godspell” with a fully Middle Eastern cast. I think portraying Jesus and disciples in Middle Eastern bodies as Bohemian idealists living under an oppressive regime could be especially impactful.
BLADE: Can today’s queer audiences relate to life on the shtetl?
NEYDAVOUD: As a piece, “Fiddler” is timeless. Beyond the magical score, it hits home with just about anyone who’s ever felt othered. There are relevant themes of displacement and persecution, and maintaining cultural identity in the wake of turbulence, all ideas that tend to resonate with queer people.
Theater
Studio’s ‘Mother Play’ draws from lesbian playwright’s past
A poignant memory piece laced with sadness and wry laughs
‘The Mother Play’
Through Jan. 4
Studio Theatre
1501 14th St., N.W.
$42 – $112
Studiotheatre.org
“The Mother Play” isn’t the first work by Pulitzer Prize-winning lesbian playwright Paula Vogel that draws from her past. It’s just the most recent.
Currently enjoying an extended run at Studio Theatre, “The Mother Play,” (also known as “The Mother Play: A Play in Five Evictions,” or more simply, “Mother Play”) is a 90-minute powerful and poignant memory piece laced with sadness and wry laughs.
The mother in question is Phyllis Herman (played exquisitely by Kate Eastwood Norris), a divorced government secretary bringing up two children under difficult circumstances. When we meet them it’s 1964 and the family is living in a depressing subterranean apartment adjacent to the building’s trash room.
Phyllis isn’t exactly cut out for single motherhood; an alcoholic chain-smoker with two gay offspring, Carl and Martha, both in their early teens, she seems beyond her depth.
In spite (or because of) the challenges, things are never dull in the Herman home. Phyllis is warring with landlords, drinking, or involved in some other domestic intrigue. At the same time, Carl is glued to books by authors like Jane Austen, and queer novelist Lytton Strachey, while Martha is charged with topping off mother’s drinks, not a mean feat.
Despite having an emotionally and physically withholding parent, adolescent Martha is finding her way. Fortunately, she has nurturing older brother Carl (the excellent Stanley Bahorek) who introduces her to queer classics like “The Well of Loneliness” by Radclyffe Hall, and encourages Martha to pursue lofty learning goals.
Zoe Mann’s Martha is just how you might imagine the young Vogel – bright, searching, and a tad awkward.
As the play moves through the decades, Martha becomes an increasingly confident young lesbian before sliding comfortably into early middle age. Over time, her attitude toward her mother becomes more sympathetic. It’s a convincing and pleasing performance.
Phyllis is big on appearances, mainly her own. She has good taste and a sharp eye for thrift store and Goodwill finds including Chanel or a Von Furstenberg wrap dress (which looks smashing on Eastwood Norris, by the way), crowned with the blonde wig of the moment.
Time and place figure heavily into Vogel’s play. The setting is specific: “A series of apartments in Prince George’s and Montgomery County from 1964 to the 21st century, from subbasement custodial units that would now be Section 8 housing to 3-bedroom units.”
Krit Robinson’s cunning set allows for quick costume and prop changes as decades seamlessly move from one to the next. And if by magic, projection designer Shawn Boyle periodically covers the walls with scurrying roaches, a persistent problem for these renters.
Margot Bordelon directs with sensitivity and nuance. Her take on Vogel’s tragicomedy hits all the marks.
Near the play’s end, there’s a scene sometimes referred to as “The Phyllis Ballet.” Here, mother sits onstage silently in front of her dressing table mirror. She is removed of artifice and oozes a mixture of vulnerability but not without some strength. It’s longish for a wordless scene, but Bordelon has paced it perfectly.
When Martha arranges a night of family fun with mom and now out and proud brother at Lost and Found (the legendary D.C. gay disco), the plan backfires spectacularly. Not long after, Phyllis’ desire for outside approval resurfaces tenfold, evidenced by extreme discomfort when Carl, her favorite child, becomes visibly ill with HIV/AIDS symptoms.
Other semi-autobiographical plays from the DMV native’s oeuvre include “The Baltimore Waltz,” a darkly funny, yet moving piece written in memory of her brother (Carl Vogel), who died of AIDS in 1988. The playwright additionally wrote “How I Learned to Drive,” an acclaimed play heavily inspired by her own experiences with sexual abuse as a teenager.
“The Mother Play” made its debut on Broadway in 2024, featuring Jessica Lange in the eponymous role, earning her a Tony Award nomination.
Like other real-life matriarch inspired characters (Mary Tyrone, Amanda Wingfield, Violet Weston to name a few) Phyllis Herman seems poised to join that pantheon of complicated, women.
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