Arts & Entertainment

This studly two-Dad family is storming America

Direct from Austria – and with a German TV crew in tow – these lovable daddy influencers are our hottest new imports

Published

3 years ago

February 16, 2023

Photo courtesy of Mike and Sebastian Hilscher

Just a year and a half ago, handsome Vienna-based couple Mike and Sebastian Hilscher posted their first video to YouTube, a touching highlight reel of their recent Bora Bora wedding featuring their adorable young daughter Mia. Originally just meant for family and friends, the video’s picture-perfect beach backdrop, the guys’ own movie star good looks, and their powerful and palpable love for each other and their daughter helped the clip go viral – and a pair of daddy influencers was born.

That wedding video has now been viewed nearly a quarter of a million times, and it spawned a collection of some 60 Mike and Sebastian videos and counting on YouTube alone – not to mention their rapidly growing Instagram presence – in which the guys’ sparkling personalities and frank honesty about themselves, their relationship, and the trials and triumphs of double-dad parenthood are helping them take social media by storm.

Now the guys and Mia are set to launch their next chapter as the latest residents of Southern California, settling in the gay-friendly enclave of Palm Desert. Following them along for the journey will be a German film crew from the popular German TV show Goodbye Deutschland!, which for 15 seasons has told the real-life stories of expats from German-speaking countries to all points around the globe.

So why California? “It was always clear to us that it had to be California,” says Mike, the taller of the hunky two papas, unless you count Sebastian’s voluminous hair. “We just love this state. Coming from Austria, where two-dad families are viewed skeptically and gay acceptance is questionable, it’s just relaxing for us to live in an environment where we’re not the oddballs.”

Their original plan was actually to become Angelenos. “We had even already chosen an apartment, but then we noticed that Los Angeles might not be so family-friendly,” Mike shares. “When we happened upon the Palm Springs area and looked it over, we fell in love immediately. There is no better place for us. We are absolute fans.”

While the guys are naturally excited about the prospect of growing their social media presence from their new U.S. home base, there’s much more behind their emigration story – including first and foremost, hopefully a new sibling for Mia. “The main reason we are coming to America is that we’re planning our second baby by surrogacy and want to be part of the pregnancy,” explains Mike. “Our surrogate lives in Florida, so we’ll commute regularly to visit her. We know stories of parents who couldn’t pick up their baby due to travel restrictions during COVID and we didn’t want to take that risk either, which is why we’re coming to the USA. What began with this thought has matured into an emigration plan.”

Fittingly enough on several fronts, Mike and Sebastian met at a pre-party for Vienna’s famous Love Ball in 2015. It was just before Mia’s birth (also through surrogacy), and Mike had long planned on being a single father to her. As he shared in one of the couple’s videos, Mike went into the Love Ball thinking it would be his last big party night before fatherhood. ” I was so looking forward to being a dad, but this one last time I wanted to go crazy, he says.” Instead, he wound up meeting Sebastian that night, and by the time Mia was born three or for weeks later, they were a couple. They’ve been a two-dad family ever since.

Photo courtesy of Mike and Sebastian Hilscher

“We have a very strong vision that got us into social media in the first place,” Mike explains. “Our vision is to normalize two-dad families, and we believe this is only possible through visibility. In the last few months, our social media channels have grown so much that it’s now a full-time job to look after them.”

Mike especially likes that he’s been able to utilize his experience as a psychological consultant with some of their followers. “I bring my expertise to individual consultations, especially in the area of family planning for LGBT couples, and also advice for LGBT young people in dealing with their sexuality and finding their identity. I have at least two to three consultations a week, free of charge of course.”

Consulting is just one of Mike’s many successful and varied career chapters. In the early 2000s, when he was in his early 20s, Mike sang in a popular Austrian pop band called Sugar Free, and even won an Amadeus Award, the country’s top music prize. He later went on to pass the bar exam and run a successful facility management company, and he also wrote a best-selling children’s book.

For his part, Sebastian is hardly a slacker. At just 24, he won a major national competition with his innovative concept for transforming democracy into the digital age. He pumped the $150,000 prize money into the highly successful construction business that he still runs – he’ll return to Austria periodically to that company flowing, and he’ll meanwhile be introducing its products to the American market.

“Sebastian will continue to do his company, but I will concentrate full-time on our work in the social media area,” says Mike. “We’ve been fully committed to driving the success of our social media. It’s our declared goal to become one of the big players in this area in order to be able to change something for the better.”

After the craziness of packing up their lives in Austria, the young family won’t be slowing down any time soon – the first weeks of their California schedule are already jampacked. “We will first be busy shooting the TV show, then our own cameraman will come with us to produce some episodes for our YouTube,” says Mike. “Of course we have Mia’s first day of school, moving into the house, buying a car, moving into the new office, etc. We’re also looking for our infrastructure, meaning gym, a dance center for Mia, and so on. Then we also have the jet lag, and Mia has to study English as well learn the German curriculum. So we certainly won’t get bored.”

Theater

‘Inherit the Wind’ isn’t about science vs. religion, but the right to think

Holly Twyford on new role and importance of listening to different opinions

Published

4 hours ago

March 22, 2026

Patrick Folliard

Holly Twyford

‘Inherit the Wind’
Through April 5
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $73
Arenastage.org

When “Inherit the Wind” premiered on Broadway in 1955 with a cast of 50, its fictional setting of Hillsboro, an obscure country town described as the buckle on the Bible Belt, was filled with townspeople. And now at Arena Stage, director Ryan Guzzo Purcell has somehow crowded Arena’s large Fichandler space with just 10 actors, five principals and a delightful ensemble of five playing multiple roles.

Inspired by the real-life Scopes Monkey Trial of 1925, Jerome Lawrence and Robert E. Lee’s fictionalized work pits intellectual freedom against McCarthyism via the imagined trial of Bertram Cates (Noah Plomgren), a Tennessee educator charged with teaching evolution. Drawn into the fracas are big shot lawyers, defense attorney Henry Drummond (Billy Eugene Jones), and conservative prosecutor, Matthew Harrison Brady (Dakin Matthew). On hand to cover the closely watched story is wisecracking city slicker and Baltimore reporter E.K. Horneck (played by nonbinary actor Alyssa Keegan).

Out actor Holly Twyford, a four-time Helen Hayes Award winner who has appeared in more than 80 Washington area plays, is part of the ensemble. In jeans and boots, she memorably plays Meeker, the bailiff at the Hillsboro courthouse and the jailer responsible for holding Cates in the days leading to his trial.

Twyford also plays Sillers, a slack jawed earnest employee at the local feed store who’s called to serve on the jury. And more importantly she plays Brady’s quietly strong wife Sarah whom he affectionately calls “Mother.”

When Twyford makes her memorable first entrance as Meeker, she’s wiping shaving cream from her face with a hand towel. With shades of Mayberry R.F.D., the jail is run casually. Meeker says Cates isn’t the criminal type, and he’s not.

“There’s a joke among actors,” says Twyford. “When an actor gets his shoes, they know who their character is. And it’s sort of true. When you put on boots, heels, or flip flops, there’s a different feeling, and you walk differently.”

Similarly, shares Twyford, it goes for clothes too: “When Mother slips a pink coat dress over her cowboy boots, dons a little hat and ties her scarf, or Meeker puts on his work shirt, I know where I am. And all of that is thanks to a remarkable wardrobe crew.

“Additionally, some of the ensemble characters are played broadly which is helpful to the actors and super identifying for the audience too.”

During intermission, an audience member loudly described the production as “a proper play” filled with beautifully written passages. And it’s true. Twyford agrees, adding “That’s all true, and it’s also been was fun for us to be a part of the Arena legacy as well. Arena took ‘Inherit the Wind’ to the Soviet Union in the early ‘70s when the respective governments did a cultural exchange. At the time, the iron curtain was very much in place, and they traveled with a play about a man with his own thoughts.”

When the ensemble was cast, actors didn’t know which tracts exactly they were going to play. “What came together was a cast, diverse in different ways. Some directors, including myself when I direct, are interested in assembling a cast that’s a good group. No time for egos. It’s more about who will make the best group to help me tell this story.”

At one point during rehearsal, ensemble members began to help one another with minor onstage costume changes, like jackets and hats: “We just started doing it and Ryan [Guzzo Purcell] picked up on it, saying things really began to come alive when we helped each other, so we went with that.”

“For me, it was reminiscent of ‘The Laramie Project’ [Ford’s Theatre in 2013] when we played five different parts and we’d help each other with a vest or jacket in a similar way. It worked so well then too,” says Twyford.

“Inherit the Wind” isn’t about science versus religion. It’s about the right to think, playwright Jerome Lawrrence has been quoted as saying. And it’s a quote that makes the play that much more relevant today.

Twford remembers a chat in a hair salon: “I was getting my hair cut and the woman next to me shared that she was tired of message plays. Understandably there are theater makers who believe that message plays are the point, while others think it’s all about entertainment. I feel like ‘Inherit the Wind’ sits in a nice place in the middle.”

She adds “the work is a creative way of showing different opinions and that, I think, is what we should be paying attention to right now. Clearly, it’s not right or wrong to express what you think.”

Out & About

‘How We Survived’ panel set for March 25

‘Living History’ discussion to be held at Spark Social

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Local activist Earline Budd will serve on a panel discussion titled, ‘Part One, Living History: How We Survived.’ (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

Friends of Dorothy Cafe will host “Part One, Living History: How We Survived,” will take place on Wednesday, March 25 at 7:30 p.m. at Spark Social House.

This event will be moderated by Abby Stuckrath, host of the “Queering the District” podcast. Panelists include: Earline Budd, activist, trans rights advocate; TJ Flavell of Go Gay DC; DC LGBTQ+ Center Board Member David Bissette; and Alexa Rodriguez, founder and executive director, Trans-Latinx DMV.

This event is part of a four-part storytelling series called “Living History,” which centers LGBTQ elders, activists, artists, and icons sharing their lived experiences and reflections with younger generations. The conversations explore themes like resilience, community organizing, chosen family, and the lessons earlier generations hope today’s LGBTQ+ and ally communities will carry forward.

Calendar

Calendar: March 21-26

LGBTQ events in the days to come

Published

1 day ago

March 21, 2026

Tinashe Chingarande

Saturday, March 21

Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Community Brunch” at 11 a.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar & Restaurant. This fun weekly event brings the DMV area LGBTQ+ community, including allies, together for delicious food and conversation. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

The DC Center for the LGBT Community will host “Sunday Supper on Saturday” at 2 p.m. It’s more than just an event; it’s an opportunity to step away from the busyness of life and invest in something meaningful, and enjoy delicious food, genuine laughter, and conversations that spark connection and inspiration. For more details, visit the Center’s website.

Sunday, March 22

LGBTQ+ Community Coffee and Conversation will be at 12 p.m. at As You Are. This event is for people looking to make more friends and meaningful connections in the LGBTQ community. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Monday, March 23

Center Aging: Monday Coffee Klatch” will be at 10 a.m. on Zoom. This is a social hour for older LGBTQ+ adults. Guests are encouraged to bring a beverage of choice. For more information, contact Adam ([email protected]).

Queer Book Club will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. The Queer Book Club meets on the fourth Monday of the month to discuss queer books by queer authors. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.

Tuesday, March 24

Coming Out Discussion Group will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a safe space to share experiences about coming out and discuss topics as it relates to doing so — by sharing struggles and victories the group allows those newly coming out and who have been out for a while to learn from others. For more details, visit the group’s Facebook.

Genderqueer DC will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This is a support group for people who identify outside of the gender binary, whether you’re bigender, agender, genderfluid, or just know that you’re not 100% cis. For more details, visit www.genderqueerdc.org or Facebook.

Wednesday, March 25

Job Club will be at 6 p.m. on Zoom upon request. This is a weekly job support program to help job entrants and seekers, including the long-term unemployed, improve self-confidence, motivation, resilience and productivity for effective job searches and networking — allowing participants to move away from being merely “applicants” toward being “candidates.” For more information, email [email protected] or visit www.thedccenter.org/careers.

Thursday, March 26

The DC Center’s Fresh Produce Program will be held all day at the DC Center for the LGBT Community. People will be informed on Wednesday at 5 p.m. if they are picked to receive a produce box. No proof of residency or income is required. For more information, email [email protected] or call 202-682-2245.

Virtual Yoga Class will be at 7 p.m. on Zoom. This free weekly class is a combination of yoga, breath work and meditation that allows LGBTQ+ community members to continue their healing journey with somatic and mindfulness practices. For more details, visit the DC Center’s website.