Arts & Entertainment
Nominees (and 2 winners) for 2021 Golden Globes announced
A rainbow of LGBTQIA nominees….and winners
The Golden Globes 2021 nominees were announced today in Los Angeles and there were a multitude of LGBTQ actors, films, television and other nominees announced. Two LGBTQ-inclusive films, The Life Ahead and Two Of Us, were nominated for Best Picture.
The Golden Globes 2021 nominees were announced today in Los Angeles and there were a multitude of LGBTQ actors, characters, films, television and other nominees announced. Two LGBTQ-inclusive films, The Life Ahead and Two Of Us, were nominated for Best Picture.
In truth, it’s somewhat difficult to single out which of this year’s slate count as nods to LGBTQ inclusion. Thanks to ongoing pressure from advocacy groups like GLAAD and growing public demand via social media and other platforms, there’s a growing queer presence in the content produced by the Hollywood machine; LGBTQ characters and/or creative talent are part of the mix in multiple titles throughout the list. In just the four Best Picture categories alone, Promising Young Woman, Music, The Prom, Onward, and the aforementionedThe Life Ahead and Two of Us can be considered queer or queer-adjacent. When you consider all the other categories as well, keeping track of the LGBTQ connections becomes a challenge.
That, of course, is nothing to complain about. It’s a sign that decades of media invisibility for non hetero-and-cis-normative people and their experiences are at long last giving way to an era of increased visibility.
Still, there is at least one eyebrow-raiser.
A disquieting note comes from the nomination of James Corden as Best Actor in a Musical or Comedy Motion Picture, for his role as a gay Broadway actor in Ryan Murphy’s movie adaptation of The Prom. Corden identifies as straight, and despite his status as a long-standing and supportive ally, his performance in the film has been criticized by many observers as leaning heavily into the realm of stereotype and caricature. Add to this the continuing discussion around straight actors playing non-straight roles, and the nomination – already a surprise, at least in part because of the notable snub of Corden’s co-star Meryl Streep in the Best Actress category – has stirred controversy, as well.
Corden is not the only nominee, however, who is being honored for “playing gay.” Rosamund Pike, who is straight, earned her Best Actress in a Drama nod for playing a lesbian con artist; in addition, performers Viola Davis (Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom) and Andra Day (The United States vs. Billie Holliday), both nominated for playing real-life musical icons in films that address their bisexuality, and Jodie Comer, nominated once more for her acclaimed work as a lesbian assassin in the Hulu series Killing Eve, have never publicly identified as anything other than straight. These nominations have not met with the same level of vocal criticism levied at Corden’s nod. Pike, Davis and Day will all face off against each other in their category.
Dwelling on the problematic, as tempting as it is, overshadows the considerable triumph represented by the impressive score of Schitt’s Creek. The beloved Canadian sitcom has already made history by sweeping all its eligible acting categories at last year’s Emmy Awards for its final season. It is now positioned for a possible repetition of that feat, with series stars Eugene Levy, Catherine O’Hara, Dan Levy, and Annie Murphy in the running in the Television Comedy division for Best Leading Actor, Best Leading Actress, Best Supporting Actor, and Best Supporting Actress, respectively. Levy, playing a pansexual-identified character who becomes half of arguably one of television’s all-time favorite same-sex couples to date, is gay in real life. The show is also up for Best Comedy or Musical Television Series.
As for the rest of the lineup, here’s a breakdown of the other most notable LGBTQ-relevant nominees:
The Best Television Series Drama category includes two shows featuring LGBTQ storylines and characters, Netflix’s Ratched and HBO Max’s Lovecraft Country.
Out actress Sarah Paulson joins previous winner Comer in the running for Television Drama Best Actress, nominated for the title role in Ratched. The series also picked up a nod for out actress Cynthia Nixon in the Supporting Actress category.
Out actor Jim Parsons was tapped as a contender for Best Supporting Actor for his role in Netflix’s Hollywood. Though the show is a drama, he will be competing directly against Levy for the win, since the Golden Globes lump supporting performances together in a single category rather than differentiating between drama and comedy, as they do for the leading players.
In the Best Comedy Series category, The Flight Attendant, a popular HBO Max show featuring two gay men among its cast of major characters, picked up a nomination.
On the Film side, while the nominees for Best Picture (Drama) don’t include any notable LGBTQ storylines or characters, one of them, Promising Young Woman, does feature transgender actress Laverne Cox in a significant supporting role. The Prom received a nod in the Best Picture (Comedy or Musical) race; in addition to Corden’s role, the film features a number of other queer characters, as well as multiple out performers, and its story centers on the efforts of a lesbian teenager to force her high school to allow her to take her girlfriend to the senior prom. In the same category, Music, written and directed by out bisexual singer/songwriter Sia, also received a nomination. The inclusion of both films in that race were something of a surprise – especially the latter, given that Sia’s acclaimed cinematic debut is still mostly unseen by all but a few industry insiders.
Up for Best Animated Picture is Disney/Pixar’s Onward, which won praise for its casual inclusion of an openly-identified gay character – voiced by out actress Lena Waithe – in a minor role.
As mentioned above, the Best Foreign Language Film category includes The Life Ahead, an Italian drama starring cinema icon Sophia Loren which also features a transgender leading character, played by trans actress Abril Zamora. It will compete with France’s Two of Us, a drama about longtime lesbian lovers who face separation due to a health crisis.
In the Best Supporting Actress Category (again, as with television, the Globes combine both dramatic and comedic films for supporting roles), out actress Jodie Foster is up for the prize for her work in The Mauritanian.
Also of note: out producer/director Ryan Murphy, whose body of work has established himself as one of the de facto leaders in the effort to claim space for LGBTQ people and narratives in mainstream entertainment culture, has an impressive three projects represented in this year’s nominations: Ratched, Hollywood, and The Prom. His film of The Boys in the Band, however, is one of many worthy films and shows to be snubbed this year – a particularly egregious omission in light of the presence of titles like The Undoing, Emily in Paris, and Borat Subsequent Moviefilm among the honorees, all of which received mixed critical and audience reception, at best. If we’re being fair, the same could be said of Murphy’s three nominated shows and films, though each found popularity with enthusiastic fans.
Lastly, the recipients of this year’s two honorary awards are each notable for their LGBTQ connections. Screen legend Jane Fonda, who will be honored with the Cecil B. deMille Award, is one of the stars of Netflix’s extremely LGBTQ-friendly Grace and Frankie, while Carol Burnett Award-winner Norman Lear has been lauded for his many groundbreaking contributions toward inclusion in the classic sitcoms he has created and developed in a career that spans over 70 years.
Hosted by Tina Fey and Amy Poehler, the 78th Annual Golden Globe Awards will air live coast to coast on Sunday, Feb. 28 from 8-11 p.m. ET/5-8 p.m. PT on NBC. Poehler will host the awards show from the Beverly Hilton in Los Angeles, where the Golden Globes are typically held, while Fey will be set up in The Rainbow Room, which is inside NBC’s corporate headquarters at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in New York City. Jane Fonda will receive this year’s Cecil B. DeMille Award and Norman Lear will be awarded the Carol Burnett Award.
The complete list of nominees is below.
Best Picture Drama
The Father
Mank
Nomadland
Promising Young Woman
The Trial of the Chicago 7
Best Picture – Musical/Comedy
Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Hamilton
Music
Palm Springs
The Prom
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama
Viola Davis Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Andra Day United States vs. Billie Holiday
Vanessa Kirby Pieces of a Woman
Frances McDormand Nomadland
Carey Mulligan Promising Young Woman
Best Actor – Motion Picture Drama
Riz Ahmed Sound of Metal
Chadwick Boseman Ma Rainey’s Black Bottom
Anthony Hopkins The Father
Gary Oldman Mank
Tahar Rahim The Mauritanian
Best Actress – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy
Maria Bakalova for Borat Subsequent Moviefilm
Kate Hudson for Music
Michelle Pfeiffer for French Exit
Rosamund PikeI for Care A Lot
Anya Taylor-Joy for Emma.
Best Actor – Motion Picture – Musical/Comedy
Sacha Baron CohenBorat Subsequent Moviefilm
James Corden The Prom
Lin-Manuel Mirandafor Hamilton
Dev Patel for The Personal History of David Copperfield
Andy Samberg for Palm Springs
Best Supporting Actress – Motion Picture
Glenn Close for Hillbilly Elegy
Olivia Colman for The Father
Jodie Foster for The Mauritanian
Amanda Seyfried for Mank
Helena Zengel for News of the World
Best Supporting Actor – Motion Picture
Sacha Baron Cohen, The Trial of the Chicago 7
Daniel Kaluuya for Judas and the Black Messiah
Jared Leto for The Little Things
Bill Murray for On The Rocks
Leslie Odom Jr.in One Night in Miami…
Best Director Motion Picture
Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman
David Fincher for Mank
Regina King for One Night in Miami…
Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7
Chloé Zhao for Nomadland
Best Screenplay Motion Picture
Emerald Fennell for Promising Young Woman
Jack Fincher for Mank
Aaron Sorkin for The Trial of the Chicago 7
Christopher Hampton,Florian Zeller for The Father
Chloé Zhao for Nomadland
Best Picture – Animated
The Croods: A New Age
Onward
Over the Moon
Soul
Wolfwalkers
Best Picture – Foreign Language
Best Score Motion Picture
Alexandre Desplat The Midnight Sky
Ludwig Göransson, Tenet
James Newton Howard, News of the World
Atticus Ross,Trent Reznor for Mank
Jon Batiste,Atticus Ross,Trent Reznor for Soul
Judas and the Black Messiah, Fight For You
The United States vs. Billie Holiday, Tigress & Tweed
Best Drama Series
The Crown
Lovecraft Country
The Mandalorian
Ozark
Ratched
Best Musical/Comedy Series
Emily in Paris
The Flight Attendant
The Great
Schitt’s Creek
Ted Lasso
Best Television Motion Picture
Normal People
The Queen’s Gambit
Small Axe
Undoing, The
Unorthodox
Best Actress – Television Motion Picture
Cate Blanchett for Mrs. America
Daisy Edgar-Jones for Normal People
Shira Haas for Unorthodox
Nicole Kidman for The Undoing
Anya Taylor-Joy for The Queen’s Gambit
Best Actor – Television Motion Picture
Bryan Cranston for Your Honor
Jeff Daniels, The Comey Rule
Hugh Grant The Undoing
Ethan Hawke for The Good Lord Bird
Mark Ruffalo for I Know This Much Is True
Best Television Actress – Drama Series
Olivia Colman, The Crown
Jodie Comer, Killing Eve
Emma Corrin, The Crown
Laura Linney, Ozark
Sarah Paulson, Ratched
Best Television Actor – Drama Series
Jason Bateman, Ozark
Josh O’Connor, The Crown
Bob Odenkirk, Better Call Saul
Al Pacino, Hunters
Matthew Rhys, Perry Mason
Best Television Actress – Musical/Comedy Series
Lily Collins, Emily in Paris
Kaley Cuoco, Flight Attendant
Elle Fanning, The Great
Jane Levy, Zoey’s Extraordinary Playlist
Catherine O’Hara, Schitt’s Creek
Best Television Actor – Musical/Comedy Series
Don Cheadle, Black Monday
Nicholas Hoult, The Great
Eugene Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Jason Sudeikis, Ted Lasso
Ramy Youssef, Ramy
Best Supporting Actress – Television
Gillian Anderson, The Crown
Helena Bonham Carter, The Crown
Julia Garner, Ozark
Annie Murphy, Schitt’s Creek
Cynthia Nixon, Ratched
Best Supporting Actor – Television
John Boyega, Small Axe
Brendan Gleeson, The Comey Rule
Daniel Levy, Schitt’s Creek
Jim Parsons, Hollywood
Donald Sutherland, The Undoing
Cecil B. deMille Award
2021 Winner: Jane Fonda
Carol Burnett Award
2021 Winner: Norman Lear
Theater
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
42nd annual celebration of excellence in local theater set for May 18
Helen Hayes Awards 2026
May 18, 2026
For tickets go to theatrewashington.org
Last year, when out director Tom Story took on the daunting task of directing Round House Theatre’s production of “The Inheritance, Parts One and Two,” he knew that casting would be important, maybe even paramount, to the endeavor’s success. So, Story didn’t mess around.
Penned by queer playwright Matthew López, “The Inheritance” (inspired by E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel “Howards End”) is based on gay culture in the wake of the AIDS crisis.
Story looked at actors he knew, and some he didn’t. He wanted low drama and maybe players who could relate to the LGBTQ experience. In the end, the production’s 13-person cast was entirely queer except for brilliant local favorite Nancy Robinette as Margaret, the wise housekeeper.
Clearly, Story’s vision resonated with audiences. Round House’s production of “The Inheritance” is the most-nominated work of this year’s Helen Hayes Awards, earning 14 nominations. It’s also one of Round House’s highest grossing popular successes ever.
The queer cast members whose ages ranged from about 22 to 60, worked hard and enjoyed the process, and along the way garnered an Outstanding Ensemble in a Play (Hayes) nomination for their efforts.
The ensemble included Jamar Jones as Tristan, a brilliant doctor who leaves New York for Canada after deciding there’s no place for a gay, HIV-positive Black man in America. For the experienced actor, being part of “The Inheritance” was profound: “I think it was a divinely orchestrated production.”
He adds “I really feel that it’s so rare that you get to work on a show of that magnitude…size, time, where virtual strangers genuinely fell into rhythm. We became a cohort. I never felt a sense of unease, or reluctance to try things. I could be as big or bold as I wanted to be; or I could be small. Fail, mess up, try again. I didn’t feel judged.”
Jones considers Richmond his home, but says “I’m based where the work is.” Currently, he’s back at Round House rehearsing “Sally & Tom” (May 27-June28), a play within a play/meta exploration of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings by Suzan-Lori Parks.
Jones plays both a contemporary violinist and an enslaved fiddler, parts that have required him to learn to “air fiddle.” He’s all over it: “I want to represent the art and to be as precise as possible. Taught by an instructor, I’ve made strides with movement of the bow; next up is finger placement.”
Will he leave the play a violinist? “I’ll report back on closing night. Maybe I will have added something to the special skills list on my resume.”
For about a decade, Jones worked in living history, interpreting, performing, and writing pieces about the enslaved people of Colonial Virginia. Among the many historical characters he portrayed was Jupiter (Thomas Jefferson’s longtime enslaved manservant), an experience that’s proved a connection and preparation for his current role.
The 42nd Helen Hayes Awards celebration recognizing excellence in professional theater in the DMV will be held on Monday, May 18, 2026 at The Anthem on the District Wharf in Washington, D.C. Named for Helen Hayes, the legendary first lady of Broadway, the program consists of the awards presentation hosted by Felicia Curry, Awa Sal Secka, and Derrick Truby, followed by an after-party at nearby Whitlow’s.
With works selected from 149 eligible productions presented in the 2025 calendar year, nominations were made in 41 categories and grouped as either “Helen” (non-Equity/small Equity presence) or “Hayes” (Equity-heavy).
The many nominations are the result of 49 vetted judges considering 1,997 pieces of work, such as design, direction, choreography, performances, and more. The productions under consideration included 42 musicals, 107 plays, and 33 world premieres.
The following are more of this year’s queer nominees.
A past Helen Hayes Award recipient and nominee, Fran Tapia is competing against herself this year in the Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical (Helen) category. Nominated for her memorable turn as the diva barkeep in GALA Theatre’s “Columbia Heights Bolero Bar,” an immersive musical centered on songs of longing and immigration set in a diverse neighborhood on the eve of a divisive presidential election
“It was a challenging time, because a lot of what was happening in the show was happening in the neighborhood,” says Tapia who lives in Columbia Heights just eight minutes from GALA.
Based in D.C. since 2019, Tapia says “Being recognized in a country that is not my homeland but where I’m building my artistic home, is deeply meaningful. And the variety of roles I have been able to play speaks to the richness of DC theater and the collaborators who trusted me with these roles.”
Her other individual nomination is for the title role in Spooky Action Theater’s “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show,” a passionately comedic political satire. She approached the mysterious central character as nonbinary.
Tapia (“Chilean, Latina, queer and proud immigrant”) says while very different, both performances involved particularly strong characters. She’s grateful audiences responded positively to her work.
Stanley Bahorek, who moved to D.C. with his husband four years ago, is best known as an accomplished actor with a long list of Broadway and regional credits (including playing Carl, the gay son in Studio Theatre’s recent production of “The Mother Play”). Now, he is nominated for Outstanding Music Direction (Helen) for his work on “A Strange Loop,” a production of D.C.’s Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA) in collaboration with Deaf Austin Theatre. He shares this nomination with Walter “Bobby” McCoy.
Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer wining play “A Strange Loop,” is the story of Usher, a Black, queer theater usher trying to write a musical. VOCA’s take on the work is seen through a deaf BIPOC lens with a deaf Usher played by a deaf actor (out actor Gabriel Silva). Invited by director and longtime friend Alexandria Wailes (who is deaf), Bahorek (who is hearing) joined the creative team as a sort of hybrid associate director/ music supervisor.
“I’m fluent in conversational American Sign Language (ASL),” he says. “I sort of functioned as a sherpa between the hearing and deaf and hard-of-hearing creatives. It’s been a great thrill to be a part of VOCA’s biggest production to date.”
If he and McCoy take home the prize, who makes the acceptance speech? Bahorek takes a beat before replying “That’s something we still need to talk about. And soon.”
A full list of award recipients will be available at theatrewashington.org on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Anthony Oakes will host “DC Black Pride Comedy Show” on Thursday, May 21 at 7 p.m.
Oakes will workshop his new hour about addiction, incarceration, recovery, and redemption with special guests.
This event will be hosted by the hilarious Apple Brown Betty with TJ So Silly, Howl Cooper, and featuring Patrice Deveaux. DJ Art.is will be spinning on the 1’s & 2’s. Libations will be provided by Drink Alchy. Images by RGF ENT. Tickets are $28.52 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Out & About
United Night Out set for Saturday
Team DC hosts evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag and community
On Saturday, May 16, Team DC is taking over Audi Field for United Night OUT as D.C. United faces St. Louis SC.
Come out for an evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag, and community. The night kicks off with pre-game fun featuring DC Different Drummers, DJ Heat, and a Pride Night OUT Party at the Heineken Rooftop. Then get ready for a 7:30 p.m. match, including the National Anthem sung by Dana Nearing and a halftime drag performance.
After the match, the celebration continues at the Post-Game Rooftop Party with DJ Heat and the After Party at Dacha Navy Yard. Game tickets and after party tickets are available now through Zeffy. After party tickets are $20 and include one drink.
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
DC Black Pride is around the corner
United Night Out set for Saturday
Calendar: May 15-21
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