Arts & Entertainment
Queer identity paramount to Frenchie Davis’ identity
‘Idol,’ ‘Voice’ and Broadway alum to perform at Blade Gala
Frenchie Davis is not only a bisexual singer, actress and activist, she’s also an avid fan of the 1980s television series, “The Golden Girls.”
“You know, Bea Arthur didn’t get her first television job until she was almost 50 years old,” Davis says during a Blade interview. “You have to blaze your own trail. So, don’t try to follow my footsteps because I don’t even know where the hell they lead yet because I’m still walking them.”
Davis’ professional journey began when she left California to study theater at Howard University by day and sing in D.C.’s drag clubs at night. She performs Friday night at the Blade’s 50th Anniversary Gala.
“I sang at the Edge, at Tracks, at all the old clubs,” Davis, 40, says. “Because we tip our performers. Those tips bought groceries and paid for books.”
She credits those early experiences with helping her grow not only as a performer but as a person, and says “they were my aunts, uncles and surrogate parents.”
While still a student, Davis traveled to Germany as a “Little Shop of Horrors” cast member before returning to audition for “American Idol.” The community came through again and helped pay her way to New York.
“Every dollar raised for me to go was from someone who believed in me, so I was like, ‘Damn, now I have to see this shit through.’”
Davis delivered performances notable for both her talent and controversy. She points out she grew from that experience, which led to several Broadway and other stage performances.
“I knew Frenchie from ‘Rent,’” says bisexual writer, producer and actor J.C. Gonzalez. “As I was the first understudy to the original ‘Angel.’ She joined the cast after I had left, but everyone knows everyone on Broadway.”
Davis also marveled at all of the notable actors she came to know and work with over the years, including Billy Porter, who this year became the first openly gay black man to win an Emmy award for outstanding leading actor for his work in “Pose.” Davis and Porter worked together on “Dreamgirls” in 2004.
“Just being able to share the stage with talented people who are members of this community and opening doors for other people,” Davis says. “That’s really powerful and I feel really proud to be a part of that.”
In 2017 she received the Jose Esteban Munoz award from the Center for LGBTQ Studies (CLAGS) at the Graduate Center, CUNY for her portrayal as the butch bartender “Henri” in “The View UpStairs.”
The UpStairs Lounge was a New Orleans’ gay bar that was the target of an arson attack in 1973. It was the deadliest gay club massacre in the U.S. prior to the 2016 Pulse shooting.
“The reason we don’t know much about it is because it was the early ’70s,” Davis says. “And the few who survived the fire were so afraid of being outed that nobody ever talked about it.”
Davis and other cast members pored over police photos while preparing for the production. She recalls being moved by the burned body of a young man who failed to escape out a window.
“There was a straight club across the street,” she says. “And nobody there tried to help. Someone even said, ‘At least it burned their dresses off.’ That broke me.”
The experience and the award reaffirmed Davis’ connection to the community. But that connection hasn’t been an easy one.
“We have to acknowledge that there are racists in our community. I’ve heard white gay people use the (n-word),” Davis says, feeling an inconsistency between how people of color are treated for homophobia compared to how LGBT people are treated for racism.
“And don’t get me started on bi-phobia,” she says. “We all know of a (lesbian) who got pregnant for having sex with a guy. We all know one. So, it’s not as cut and dry as our community often places pressure on people to make it.”
Davis says life is complex and she’s even open to a polyamorous situation because of her demanding work schedule, which was a source of frustration in her previous relationship.
“It was hard because I traveled a lot. … If I’m singing on a cruise ship, I’m in the middle of the ocean, I might not be able to call you.”
For now, Davis is looking to upcoming holiday concerts in San Diego and Palm Springs as well as dropping a couple of indie mixtapes of covers called “Blunts and Alkaline Water” and “Coffee and Cocktails.” The first merges her love of acoustic cabaret and her love of hip hop. The second is a collection of her favorite jazz standards and Broadway hits.
“People love me for staying in this business for so long while maintaining my authentic self,” she says. “Others may make a lot of money but may not know who they are looking at in the mirror. I feel immense gratitude for being able to be real-life happy and enjoying the journey.”
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.
The Washington Blade hosted the inaugural WorldPride Boat Parade at The Wharf DC on Friday, June 6. NBC4’s Tommy McFly served as the emcee.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The 2025 Capital Pride Honors awards ceremony and gala reception was held at the National Building Museum on Thursday, June 5. Honorees included Cathy Renna, Jerry St. Louis, Ernest Hopkins, Lamar Braithwaite, Rev. Dr. Donna Claycomb Sokol, Kriston Pumphrey, Gia Martinez, Kraig Williams and SMYAL. Presenters and speakers included U.S. Rep. Mark Takano (D-Calif.), Amber Ruffin, Raven-Symoné and Paul Wharton.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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