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Anthony Rapp announces engagement to partner

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Ken Ithiphol and Anthony Rapp (Photo credit: Joseph Marzullo/WENN)

Out actor Anthony Rapp is marrying his boyfriend, and he wants everyone to know about it.

The 48-year old Rapp went on social media Sunday to tell fans and followers he had proposed to partner Ken Ithiphol, saying:

“So something happened tonight. I asked Ken if he would marry me and he said yes. I am so very happy and I’m so very thrilled to share this news.”

Photo via albinokid1026 on Instagram

The couple on Sunday both re-posted Instagram stories from others, showing the actor down on one knee proposing to his partner in front of friends at a Toronto party.

Ithiphol is a leadership coach, social researcher and advocate.

Rapp has been an actor since childhood, making his Broadway debut in 1981 in a short-lived musical called “The Little Prince and the Aviator,” based on the beloved children’s book by Antoine de Saint-Exupéry, and his film debut with 1987’s “Adventures in Babysitting.” It was with the original production of “Rent” in 1994 that he first gained widespread recognition, creating the role of Mark in the now-iconic Jonathan Larsen musical and reprising the role in the 2005 film version. He has since appeared in numerous roles in theatre, television, and film, recently expanding his fanbase with the role of Lt. Commander Paul Stamet in the CBS All Access series, “Star Trek: Discovery,” in which his character, alongside fellow out actor Wilson Cruz, is half of the first gay couple in the “Star Trek” television franchise.

Rapp came out as queer in the mid-90s. At the time, he told Oasis magazine: “I don’t want to get into labels, but I’ve never labeled myself except to say I’m queer. The thing that’s been most important to me to be out about is that I have been in loving relationships with men … I haven’t said, ‘I am gay.’ Because the truth is that I’ve also been in love with women, although the truth is I do think I’m primarily homosexual.”

He made headlines when he revealed that he had been the recipient of unwanted sexual advances from actor Kevin Spacey at the age of 14, saying that he had attended a party at the home of the then 26-year-old Spacey. At the end of the evening, according to Rapp, the older actor, who was apparently drunk, picked him up and placed him on a bed, attempting to begin a sexual encounter. He had spoken about the incident in an Advocate magazine interview in 2001, but had at that time withheld Spacey’s name; inspired by the rise of the #MeToo movement, he came forward with the full story in 2017. Spacey claimed, on Twitter, not to have remembered the incident, but did not explicitly deny it, instead apologizing for “what would have been deeply inappropriate drunken behavior.” At least 14 other men subsequently came forward with similar accusations against the older actor.

Rapp has credited activist/author Larry Kramer as an inspiration, saying in a 2018 interview on “The View” that he had worked with the activist on a play as a young man.

“[He] was a really powerful force to be around,” said Rapp, “so I always thought it was really important to live an open life.”

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Theater

‘We Are Gathered’ a powerful contemplation of queer equality

Arena production dives fearlessly into many facets of same-sex connection

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Nic Ashe (Free) and Kyle Beltran in ‘We Are Gathered.’ (Photo by T Charles Erickson Photography)

‘We Are Gathered’
Through June 15
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
$70-$110
Arenastage.org

Aptly billed as a queer love story, Tarell Alvin McCraney’s terrific new play “We Are Gathered” (now at Arena Stage) dives deeply and fearlessly into the many facets of a same-sex connection and all that goes with it. 

McCraney’s tale of two gay men’s romance unfolds entertainingly over two acts. Wallace Tre (Kyle Beltran), a tense architect, and his younger partner Free (Nic Ashe), a campy and fun-loving musician with a deep sense of quiet and peace are contemplating marriage after five years together, but one of the two isn’t entirely comfortable with the idea of imminent matrimony.

At 14, Wallace Tre (nicknamed Dubs) first learned about gay cruising via renowned British playwright Caryl Churchill’s seminal work “Cloud Nine.” It was an intoxicating introduction that led Dubs to an exciting world of sex and risk. 

Soon after, a nearby park became a thrilling constant in his life. It remains a source of excitement, fun, danger, and fulfillment. The local cruising zone is also a constant in McCraney’s play.

One memorable evening, Dubs experienced a special night in the woods, a shadowy hour filled with exhilaration and surprise. That’s when Dubs unpredictably learned something he’d never felt before. That night in the park, he met and fell madly in love with Free. 

In addition to being a talented playwright, McCraney is the Academy Award-winning Black and queer screenwriter of “Moonlight,” the 2016 film. He’s happy to be a part of WorldPride 2025, and grateful to Arena for making space for his play on its stage. McCraney says he wrote “We Are Gathered” as a contemplation of queer marriage and the right for same-sex couples, like opposite-sex couples, to marry anywhere in the United States.

For Dubs, it’s important that Free speak openly about how they met in the park. He’d like Free to share the details of their coming together with his supportive grandparents, Pop Pop (Craig Wallace) and Mama Jae (out actor Jade Jones). As far as they know, their grandson met Dubs at a lovely gathering with a nice crowd assembled under a swanky canopy. When in truth it was a park busy with horny guys cruising beneath a canopy of leafy verdure.

Understandably, Free is more than a tad embarrassed to reveal that he enjoyed al fresco sex with Dubs prior to knowing his boyfriend’s name. Clearly, in retrospect, both feel that their initial meeting is a source of discomfort, tinged with awkwardness.  

There is a lot more to “We Are Gathered” than cruising. Dubs and Free are ardently liked by friends and family. Both are attractive and smart. Yet, they’re different. Free is quite easy going while Dubs is, at times, pricklier.  

While Free is part of a happy family, Dubs’s people aren’t entirely easy. He grew up with a strung-out mother and a cold father (Kevin Mambo). Yet, his sister Punkin (Nikolle Salter), an astronaut, is very caring and close to him. While she doesn’t necessarily like “the gay stuff,” she very much wants to live in a world where there’s room for her gay brother. 

Adeptly directed by Kent Gash, the production is memorable, and it’s not his first collaboration with McCraney. Ten years ago, Gash, who’s Black and queer, staged McCraney’s “Choir Boys” at Studio Theatre, another well-written and finely staged work.

“We Are Gathered” is performed in the round in Arena’s cavernous Fichandler Stage. The space is both a forest and various rooms created by designer Jason Sherwood and lighting designer Adam Honoré. It’s a world created by elevating a circular platform surrounded by charming street lamps both hanging overhead and lining the perimeter. 

Ultimately, what takes place in “We Are Gathered” is a party, and something even more; it’s a paean to marriage, and a call to a sacrament. 

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Out & About

Justice-centered theater production comes to D.C.

Mexican Cultural Institute to host ‘La Golondrina’

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(Poster via Mexican Cultural Institute)

The Mexican Cultural Institute will host “La Golondrina” on Friday, June 6 at 7:30 p.m. at its location on 2829 16th St. NW.

“La Golondrina” is a theater production that aims to elevate the conversation around hate crimes and the urgent need for dialogue and healing. It is also a powerful and deeply moving story that brings to the stage the emotional legacy of the Pulse nightclub shooting. The play explores that tragedy through an intimate encounter between two characters, Amelia (Luz Nicolás) and Ramón (Victor), whose connection unveils grief, love, and the enduring shadow of homophobia.

Tickets for this event are available on the Cultural Institute’s website

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Out & About

Celebrate Pride with a thoughtful book club

Second edition of ‘Books and Wine’ held at Urban Grape DC

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(Photo by gOrlica/Bigstock)

Meet the World Image Solutions will host the second edition of “Books and Wine” on Thursday, June 5 at 5:30 p.m. at Urban Grape DC, a Black- and woman-owned winery in Washington, D.C.

The featured authors are: Beautiful Lawson, Chanele Ramos, and Pamela Coleman. All will read from works that reflect love, resilience, and queer identity across genres. For more details, visit Eventbrite.

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