Arts & Entertainment
Billy Porter brings national tour to D.C. ‘on his own terms’
‘Pose,’ Broadway, and musical star to perform at Warner Theater June 2
Actor, musician, writer, and director Billy Porter is embarking on his first-ever music tour this spring.
Porter, 53, will visit 25 cities across the United States. “The Black Mona Lisa Tour: Volume 1,” tells Porter’s life story through song.
The show will feature songs from his new album due this fall, “Black Mona Lisa,” and his well-loved hits like “Love Is on the Way” and “Love Yourself.” It also nods to his long Broadway career and role in “Pose.”
The tour kicked off in Seattle in late April and will end in Mashantucket, Conn., in early June. As part of the tour, Porter will visit his hometown of Pittsburgh and perform at the Warner Theater in Washington, D.C.
The process of crafting his new album was a collaborative one, Porter said. He had a clear vision for the project — to inspire, encourage, and motivate. Porter wants to bring people healing, joy, and peace through the show, and “give the world a big bear hug.”
“We’ve been in the middle of a very, very intense collective trauma, still in it,” Porter said in an interview with the Washington Blade. “And I believe that it’s inside of the gathering, that’s where the healing lies.”
For example, in the latest song released from his new album, “Fashion,” the idea of fashion is aligned with kindness, love and joy. It’s also about being Porter’s authentic self.
Porter has defied the rules of fashion in bold and theatrical ways on red carpets, at fashion weeks, and parties. Donning stylish sashaying skirts and sparkly suits, Porter has utilized fashion as a tool for change. Porter wasn’t always at the forefront of this movement, he said. As a kid and in his early career, he refrained from experimentation in fashion because of how much queerness was seen as an impediment.
But around 2017, the fashion designer Rick Owens, who is known for his gender-fluid designs, inspired Porter.
“It wasn’t until I became part of this revolution of the de-gendering of fashion that I realized it was a thing,” Porter said. “People could be so triggered by what other people chose to wear. I didn’t realize that the gendering of fashion had created such a fracture in our culture.”
There’s no question Porter inspires many in his way of unapologetically being himself. His own inspiration, he said, is his mother. She’s lived with a degenerative condition for her whole life and now resides in a nursing home. He’s watched her get up every day and be present, despite all of the curveballs life threw at her.
“She’s my hero. She is the one. If she can show up every day for her life, I don’t have no excuse,” Porter said.
A changing industry
Porter tried to go on a music tour before, he said, but the industry wasn’t ready for him.
“The music business was very homophobic and they kicked my Black gay ass out,” Porter said. “Now, it’s on my own terms.”
A lot has stayed the same in the music business, but the industry has shifted since Porter’s first album, “Untitled,” came out in 1997. He said he can exist to the fullest extent of who he is and being queer is no longer a full-on liability.
Career paths in show business aren’t linear, he said. If he could tell his younger self anything after all these years, it’s to keep going, stay in it, and focus on the work.
“I knew I had talent,” Porter said.
To purchase tickets, visit theebillyporter.com/#tour.
Theater
‘Octet’ explores the depths of digital addiction
Habits not easily shaken in Studio Theatre chamber musical
‘Octet’
Through Feb. 26
Studio Theatre
1501 14th Street, N.W.
Tickets start at $55
Studiotheatre.org
David Malloy’s “Octet” delves deep into the depths of digital addiction.
Featuring a person ensemble, this extraordinary a capella chamber musical explores the lives of recovering internet addicts whose lives have been devastated by digital dependency; sharing what’s happened and how things have changed.
Dressed in casual street clothes, the “Friends of Saul” trickle into a church all-purpose room, check their cell phones in a basket, put away the bingo tables, and arrange folding chairs into a circle. Some may stop by a side table offering cookies, tea, and coffee before taking a seat.
The show opens with “The Forest,” a haunting hymn harking back to the good old days of an analog existence before glowing screens, incessant pings and texts.
“The forest was beautiful/ My head was clean and clear/Alone without fear/ The forest was safe/ I danced like a beautiful fool / One time some time.”
Mimicking an actual step meeting, there’s a preamble. And then the honest sharing begins, complete with accounts of sober time and slips.
Eager to share, Jessica (Chelsea Williams) painfully recalls being cancelled after the video of her public meltdown went viral. Henry (Angelo Harrington II) is a gay gamer with a Candy Crush problem. Toby (Adrian Joyce) a nihilist who needs to stay off the internet sings “So anyway/ I’m doing good/ Mostly/ Limiting my time/ Mostly.”
The group’s unseen founder Saul is absent, per usual.
In his stead Paula, a welcoming woman played with quiet compassion by Tracy Lynn Olivera, leads. She and her husband no longer connect. They bring screens to bed. In a love-lost ballad, she explains: “We don’t sleep well/ My husband I/ Our circadian rhythms corrupted/ By the sallow blue glow of a screen/ Sucking souls and melatonin/ All of my dreams have been stolen.”
After too much time spent arguing with strangers on the internet, Marvin, a brainy young father played by David Toshiro Crane, encounters the voice of a God.
Ed (Jimmy Kieffer) deals with a porn addiction. Karly (Ana Marcu) avoids dating apps, a compulsion compared to her mother’s addiction to slot machines.
Malloy, who not only wrote the music but also the smart lyrics, book, and inventive vocal arrangements, brilliantly joins isolation with live harmony. It’s really something.
And helmed by David Muse, “Octet” is a precisely, quietly, yet powerfully staged production, featuring a topnotch cast who (when not taking their moment in the spotlight) use their voices to make sounds and act as a sort of Greek chorus. Mostly on stage throughout all of the 100-minute one act, they demonstrate impressive stamina and concentration.
An immersive production, “Octet” invites audience members to feel a part of the meeting. Studio’s Shargai Theatre is configured, for the first, in the round. And like the characters, patrons must also unplug. Everyone is required to have their phones locked in a small pouch (that only ushers are able to open and close), so be prepared for a wee bit of separation anxiety.
At the end of the meeting, the group surrenders somnambulantly. They know they are powerless against internet addiction. But group newbie Velma (Amelia Aguilar) isn’t entirely convinced. She remembers the good tech times.
In a bittersweet moment, she shares of an online friendship with “a girl in Sainte Marie / Just like me.”
Habits aren’t easily shaken.
Sports
Blade, Pride House LA announce 2028 Olympics partnership
Media sponsorship to amplify stories of LGBTQ athletes
The Los Angeles Blade and Washington Blade on Friday announced a media partnership with the Out Athlete Fund, which will produce Pride House LA for the 2028 Summer Olympics.
Pride House is the home for LGBTQ fans and athletes that will become a destination during the L.A. Summer Games in West Hollywood in partnership with the City of WeHo. This 17-day celebration for LGBTQ athletes and fans will include medal ceremonies for out athletes, interactive installations, speakers, concerts, and more.
The Los Angeles Blade will serve as the exclusive L.A.-area queer media sponsor for Pride House LA and the Washington Blade will support the efforts and amplify coverage of the 2028 Games.
The Blade will provide exclusive coverage of Pride House plans, including interviews with queer athletes and more. The parties will share content and social media posts raising awareness of the Blade and Out Athlete Fund. The Blade will have media credentials and VIP access for related events.
“We are excited to partner with the Washington Blade, the oldest LGBTQ newspaper in the United States and the Los Angeles Blade, already a strong supporter of Out Athlete Fund and Pride House LA/West Hollywood,” said Michael Ferrera, CEO of Pride House LA. “Our mission is about increasing the visibility of LGBTQ+ athletes and fans to challenge the historical hostility toward our community in the sports world. Visibility is what publications like the Washington and Los Angeles publications are all about. We know they will play a key part in our success.”
“LGBTQ visibility has never been more important and we are thrilled to work with Out Athlete Fund and Pride House LA to tell the stories of queer athletes and ensure the 2028 Summer Games are inclusive and affirming for everyone,” said Blade Editor Kevin Naff.
Out Athlete Fund is a 501(c)3 designed to raise money to offset the training cost of out LGBTQ athletes in need of funding for training. The Washington Blade is the nation’s oldest LGBTQ news outlet; the Los Angeles Blade is its sister publication founded nine years ago.
In honor of Black History Month, the DC LGBTQ+ Community Center will host a series of events uplifting the histories, artistry, and resilience of Black LGBTQ+ communities through dialogue, film, and intentional gathering.
The series begins with “Ballroom Culture: Rhythms of Resilience,” a panel discussion on Tuesday, Feb. 10, 2026 at 7 p.m. Artists, activists, and leaders from the ballroom community will explore ballroom’s historical, cultural, and political significance as a site of resistance, kinship, creative expression, and social justice within Black, Latinx, and LGBTQ+ communities.
On Friday, Feb. 13 at 12:30 p.m., the Center will host a screening of the groundbreaking documentary “Paris is Burning,” which chronicles New York City’s ballroom scene and house culture while examining themes of race, class, identity, and survival through the voices of legendary performers including Willi Ninja, Pepper LaBeija, and Dorian Corey.
The month will conclude with “Soul Centered: A Black LGBTQ+ Gathering” on Saturday, Feb. 21, 2026 at 3:30 p.m. This free, RSVP-required event invites Black LGBTQ+ community members into a space of rest, connection, and reflection centered on love in all its forms. The gathering will feature a panel conversation with Black LGBTQ+ creatives, healers, and community members, followed by intentional speed connections and a closing social mixer.
For more details and to RSVP, visit the Center’s website.
‘Octet’ explores the depths of digital addiction
Why trans suffering is more palatable than trans ambition
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