Arts & Entertainment
Rising queer star Lena Waithe drops trailer for new series
Lena Waithe, the out lesbian woman of color who has been among those at the forefront in the struggle to bring more visibility and representation to the entertainment industry, is on a roll as 2019 comes to a close.
On the heels of an impressive opening weekend for her debut feature film, “Queen and Slim,” the Emmy-winner dropped the trailer for her upcoming television project on BET. Titled “Twenties,” it’s the first series in the network’s history to be centered on an LGBTQ character.
Slated for an eight-episode season, “Twenties” focuses on a queer black woman named Hattie, along with her two friends, Marie and Nia, as they pursue their dreams of success in Los Angeles. It stars Jonica “JoJo” T. Gibbs as Hattie, alongside Christina Elmore and Gabrielle Graham, as Marie and Nia, respectively. The show also features Sophina Brown as Ida B., a successful black TV writer and producer, and rapper Big Sean as Tristan, a student in Nia’s yoga class. There’s also an impressive list of supporting and guest performers, including Seth Green, Kym Whitley, and Vanessa Williams.
The series is loosely based on Waithe’s own beginnings in the entertainment industry.
Waithe won her Emmy for scripting the instant-classic “Thanksgiving” episode of the Netflix series, “Master of None,” a show on which she was also an actor. Her previous show for BET (“Boomerang,” based on the 1992 movie of the same name) debuted early this year and has been renewed for a second season.
“Queen and Slim,” the rising industry powerhouse’s first feature film screenplay (from a story she co-wrote with James Frey), surpassed industry expectations by making the top five box-office list for Thanksgiving weekend.
Waithe wrote “Twenties” at the very beginning of her career, originating as the basis for a proposed web series. It was developed once before by BET before moving to TBS, but now – ten years after its original conception – it has returned to BET for a release that is set for “early 2020,” according to the network.
You can watch the trailer below:
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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