Arts & Entertainment
Faye Dunaway sued for calling assistant ‘little homosexual boy’
The screen legend was fired from Broadway play for ‘hostile’ behavior
Faye Dunaway’s former assistant is alleging in a lawsuit filed with the Manhattan Supreme Court that the actress was verbally abusive to him when he worked for her on the Broadway play “Tea at Five.”
Michael Rocha, who is gay, says he was hired by production to work as a personal assistant for Dunaway on April 5. His duties included shopping for the star, arranging her schedule, helping her take her medication and taking her to and from rehearsals. He also worked out of Dunaway’s East 57th Street apartment.
The lawsuit claims Dunaway “regularly and relentlessly subjected plaintiff to abusive demeaning tirades.”
Rocha alleges that on May 2 Dunaway called crew members “little gay people” and later that month called Rocha “little homosexual boy.” Rocha says he has a recording of the incident, which he turned into the general manager and general counsel.
Court documents say Rocha was fired on June 12 because Dunaway “is not comfortable with you anymore.”
Dunaway was fired from the play in July after crew members claimed she created a “hostile” and “dangerous” working environment, the New York Post reports. The play was a one-woman play, with Dunaway portraying actress Katharine Hepburn.
Celebrity News
Madonna announces release date for new album
‘Confessions II’ marks return to the dance floor
Pop icon Madonna on Wednesday announced that her 15th studio album will be released on July 3.
Titled “Confessions II,” the new album is a sequel to 2005’s “Confessions on a Dance Floor,” an Abba and disco-infused hit.
The new album reunites Madonna with producer Stuart Price, who also helmed the original “Confessions” album. It’s her first album of new material since 2019’s “Madame X.”
“We must dance, celebrate, and pray with our bodies,” Madonna said in a press release. “These are things that we’ve been doing for thousands of years — they really are spiritual practices. After all, the dance floor is a ritualistic space. It’s a place where you connect — with your wounds, with your fragility. To rave is an art. It’s about pushing your limits and connecting to a community of like-minded people,” continued the statement. “Sound, light, and vibration reshape our perceptions. Pulling us into a trance-like state. The repetition of the bass, we don’t just hear it but we feel it. Altering our consciousness and dissolving ego and time.”
Denali (@denalifoxx) of “RuPaul’s Drag Race” performed at Pitchers DC on April 9 for the Thirst Trap Thursday drag show. Other performers included Cake Pop!, Brooke N Hymen, Stacy Monique-Max and Silver Ware Sidora.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Arts & Entertainment
In an act of artistic defiance, Baltimore Center Stage stays focused on DEI
‘Maybe it’s a triple-down’
By LESLIE GRAY STREETER | I’m always tickled when people complain about artists “going political.” The inherent nature of art, of creation and free expression, is political. This becomes obvious when entire governments try to threaten it out of existence, like in 2025, when the brand-new presidential administration demanded organizations halt so-called diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) programming or risk federal funding.
Baltimore Center Stage’s response? A resounding and hearty “Nah.” A year later, they’re still doubling down on diversity.
“Maybe it’s a triple-down,” said Ken-Matt Martin, the theater’s producing director, chuckling.
The rest of this article can be found on the Baltimore Banner’s website.
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Comings & Goings
Minimal version of ‘Streetcar Named Desire’ heading to Dupont Underground
