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Rehoboth theater in ‘design development phase’

Clear Space seeks new home

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Clear Space Theatre, gay news, Washington Blade
(Washington Blade file photo by Daniel Truitt)

The leader of the Clear Space Theatre in the Delaware resort town of Rehoboth Beach says the theater company will move ahead with its plans to build a larger facility at a new location to house the popular theater.

But Executive Director Wesley Paulson hasn’t disclosed how the Clear Space Theatre Company will accomplish that goal after Rehoboth Beach officials declined to back a proposed change in the zoning law to waive a 128-space parking requirement that Paulson initially said was needed to allow the beloved performing arts theater to build its new theater at 415 Rehoboth Ave. near the entrance to the town.

The Clear Space Theatre Company, founded in 2004, has produced highly acclaimed Broadway-style plays and musicals and operates an arts institute that teaches theater to students of all ages in a former church building it rents on Baltimore Avenue near the boardwalk.

In September 2018, the theater announced plans to build its own larger building that would include a 300-seat theater on Rehoboth Avenue. Theater officials said they made adjustments to the architectural plans for the new 25,600-square-foot building, including lowering its height, so it meets all city codes except a requirement that it include 128 on-site parking spaces.

Paulson said the theater company didn’t have the funds to include more than 28 parking spaces onsite, and urged Rehoboth officials to consider an exemption to the parking requirement. Rehoboth Mayor Paul Kuhns and the City Commission, which is Rehoboth’s legislative body, declined to make any immediate zoning changes and sent the matter to the Rehoboth Planning Commission.

In April 2019, the commission issued a recommendation of no new zoning designations for Clear Space. However, it further recommended an amendment to the city code allowing satellite parking spaces to be leased under a long-term contract to be counted toward the parking requirements, according to the Cape Gazette newspaper.

The Rehoboth City Commission has so far not taken further action on the commission’s recommendation.

“After more than three years of study, the Company has selected this site to construct a new theatre and rehearsal space,” the theater company said in a Jan. 1 press release. “We welcome this opportunity to provide a permanent home for Clear Space and where we can continue to present artistic endeavors of integrity and risk in the City of Rehoboth Beach,” the release quoted Carl Schloegel, the Clear Space board chair, as saying.

“We look forward to building a facility that is designed within City code,” Schloegel added.

In response to an inquiry from the Washington Blade, Krys Johnson, a spokesperson for the City Commission, said the city “has not exempted Clear Space Theatre from any zoning requirements.”

Johnson added that Clear Space Theatre has not submitted any revised plans to the city for the property on which it plans to build its new theater and “therefore no ‘approval’ has been given” for the project.

When asked about Johnson’s comments, Paulson told the Blade in an email, “We have purchased land and will build a new theater on the site.”

Added Paulson, “We are in the design development phase of the project…We have carefully considered feedback from the planning commission in the redesign of our project,” he said. “Once we finish the design development phase our architect and engineer will provide an estimated construction schedule.”

He said the project will be funded by a combination of a capital campaign fundraising effort “supported by the community” and through a mortgage underwritten by a U.S. Department of Agriculture Direct Loan Program.

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World Pride 2025

Episcopal bishop to speak at WorldPride human rights conference

Trump demanded apology from Mariann Edgar Budde over post-Inauguration sermon

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The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde. (Screen capture via PBS NewsHour/YouTube)

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde is among those who are scheduled to speak at the WorldPride 2025 Human Rights Conference that will take place from June 4-6.

Budde, who is the bishop of the Diocese of Washington, in January urged President Donald Trump “to have mercy” on LGBTQ people, immigrants, and others “who are scared right now” during a post-Inauguration service that he and Vice President JD Vance attended at the Washington National Cathedral. Trump criticized Budde’s comments and demanded an apology.

The Right Rev. Mariann Edgar Budde speaks at the Washington National Cathedral on Jan. 21, 2025. (PBS NewsHour clip)

A press release the Washington Blade received notes Icelandic Industries Minister Hanna Katrín Friðriksson, UK Black Pride founder Phyll Opoku-Gyimah, and Bob the Drag Queen are among those who are also expected to participate in the conference.

The conference will take place at the JW Marriott (1331 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) and registration is open here.

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World Pride 2025

Pabllo Vittar to perform at WorldPride

Brazilian drag queen, singer, joined Madonna on stage in 2024 Rio concert

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Pabllo Vittar (Screen capture via Pabllo Vittar/YouTube)

A Brazilian drag queen and singer who performed with Madonna at her 2024 concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach will perform at WorldPride.

The Capital Pride Alliance on Thursday announced Pabllo Vittar will perform on the Main Stage of the main party that will take place on June 7 at DCBX (1235 W St., N.E.) in Northeast D.C.

Vittar and Anitta, a Brazilian pop star who is bisexual, on May 4, 2024, joined Madonna on stage at her free concert, which was the last one of her Celebration Tour. Authorities estimated 1.6 million people attended.

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District of Columbia

$3.7 billion RFK stadium proposal draws support from Team DC

Washington Commanders ‘proud’ to champion LGBTQ community

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The long-suffering RFK Stadium will be razed to make way for a new domed facility that could one day host the Super Bowl. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Miguel Ayala, president of the D.C. LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C., has expressed support for the $3.7 billion deal reached between Mayor Muriel Bowser and the Washington Commanders football team to bring the team back to D.C. in a redeveloped site on the grounds of the city’s long shuttered RFK stadium.

With the deal calling for the city to provide $1 billion in taxpayer funds for infrastructure related costs for the massive redevelopment project — and with the Commanders to provide the remaining $2.7 billion — as of this week the deal did not have majority support on the D.C. Council, which must vote to approve it.

Ayala’s support for the project on behalf of Team D.C. raises the question of whether members of the city’s influential LGBTQ community might play some role in urging the D.C. Council to approve the project.

The proposal comes at a time when the Washington Commanders team includes a message of support for the LGBTQ community on its website. The message follows its hosting last October of its 4th annual LGBTQ Pride Night Out at the Commanders game against the Cleveland Browns.

“The Washington Commanders are proud to champion the LGBTQ+ community and its allies,” the team states on its website. “Through the unifying power of sports, we aim to create a culture where all feel welcome and celebrated.”

In a statement released to the Washington Blade, Ayala points out that the Commanders are among every D.C.-based professional sports team that hosts a Pride Night Out event, which Team DC helps to organize.

“Each year, our events have grown stronger, with vibrant tailgates, on-field celebrations, and powerful moments that shine a spotlight on our community,” Ayala said. “We can’t wait to kick off our first Night Out at the Commanders Stadium in 2030.”

He was referring to plans by the Commanders organization and the D.C. mayor’s office to have the stadium deal approved by the D.C. Council in July, with construction of the new stadium to begin then, and with a planned completion in time for the 2030 professional football season.

Ayala also points out that the RFK stadium grounds currently serve as home to LGBTQ-related sports activity, including the D.C. Gay Flag Football League and the D.C. Front Runners group. He added that the RFK grounds will serve as the playing fields for this year’s WorldPride Capital Cup sports competition, where LGBTQ rugby and soccer teams from around the world will compete.

“This new stadium will be more than just a field – it will be a powerful new addition to the vibrant, diverse, and proud communities we champion every day,” he said in his statement.

At an April 28 news conference, Bowser, Washington Commanders owner Josh Harris and other city officials provided details of the stadium project, noting that it includes a massive development of the new stadium and the surrounding 180 acres of land.

In addition to the 65,000-seat domed stadium, officials said the project would include 5,000 to 6,000 residential housing units, with 30 percent designated as “affordable” for low- and moderate-income residents. They said the project would also include parks and recreation areas, hotels, restaurants, retail, and neighborhood amenities.

“As we focus on the growth of our economy, we’re not only bringing our team home, but we’re also bringing new jobs and new revenue to our city and to Ward 7,” Bowser said in a statement

Opponents of the project, including D.C. Council Chair Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large), have said they don’t believe the city should use its own funds for a stadium and the related development. 

So far, just four Council members have expressed support for the project. Mendelson and two other Council members have expressed opposition, and the remaining five have not yet said whether they would vote for or against it. The project needs seven of the current 12-member Council for it to be approved.

Council member Zachary Parker (D-Ward 5), the Council’s only gay member, who initially had not taken a position on the proposal, this week said he was looking at the project more favorably, according to news media reports. 

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