Theater
Rorschach play follows boozy journey of bisexual singer Angel
‘Angel Number Nine’ to premiere July 7 in unlikely locale
‘Angel Number Nine’
July 7 – July 30
Rorschach Theatre
1020 Connecticut Ave., N.W.
$30-$45
Rorschachtheatre.org
D.C.’s pioneering Rorschach Theatre doesn’t shy away from seemingly impossible projects. In fact, that’s what the nearly 25-year-old company finds most appealing.
Continuing in that tradition, Rorschach’s latest offering, “Angel Number Nine,” is poised to make its world premiere on July 7 in the former home of Rochester Big & Tall, a sprawling two-level downtown retail space close to Farragut North.
Adapted from the same-named novel by James L. Rogers III, “Angel Number Nine” follows the boozy, late-night journey of Angel, a young bisexual singer as she tours with her fledgling rock group through the clubs of the ’90s East Coast music scene. Along the way, Angel meets Cupid (literally), prompting her to unpack a lot of emotional, un-dealt with stuff. Angel’s processing and pursuing of relationships is a through line. Each scene of the play is from Angel’s POV. There are some filmed flashbacks and dream sequences, and live rock music (volume decreasing ear plugs are provided on request).
Jenny McConnell Frederick, Rorschach’s intrepid co-artistic director who’s directing the production, explains, “When I first read the novel, I knew that I wanted to live in this world and wanted to share that world with audiences. I’ve been kicking around the idea for a while.”
Creating that world as a two-act immersive play/rock experience (the ground floor is a 360-degree exhibit on highlights and hidden histories of D.C. music history and downstairs is a ‘90s-era bar and rock club for where “Angel Number Nine” is performed) has been a challenge admits McConnell Frederick, but not one she hasn’t relished.
“With found spaces, things happen that wouldn’t happen with blank slate black box,” she says. “I love working with remnants from the store. Things just manifest. For instance, what was once a huge display for neck ties now makes the perfect back wall for the bar.”
Is there anything that she’d like to wave away with a magic wand? “There is one column I’d tear down if it didn’t mean the building would come down with it. Yes, I’d like to get rid of that. That column is my nemesis.”
While Shawn Northrop’s original music is intrinsic to the piece, “Angel Number Nine” isn’t a musical per se. The songs aren’t about plot points, but more a gateway into Angel’s psychology and relationships.
The cast is comprised of 11 actors, a few of whom are nonbinary. There are also queer characters, but that’s not the focus, says McConnell Frederick. “We’ve created an environment where some characters are gay or bisexual and no one blinks an eye.”
Nonbinary actor Kate Kenworthy stars as the titular Angel.
New to Washington, Kenworthy graduated from Sarah Lawrence College in New York last year and moved to D.C. in October. Playing Angel is a bit of a departure from past roles, which include Romeo in “Romeo and Juliet” as well as a departure musically. “My background is folk and blues. I play acoustic guitar. It’s been fun getting familiar with the ‘90s grunge rock scene…definitely a new space aesthetically.”
And as far as familiarity with bar scenes? “Not so much. I’m a homebody if truth be told.”
Still, Kenworthy, 24, relates to Angel as a person from what seems their distant past. “She’s similar to how I was in and first year of college when I figuring out my sexuality and entrenched in depression and less healthy relationships. I’m different now.”
Rorschach’s mailing address is Atlas Center for the Performing Arts, but its venues are varied. They include a 100-year-old church, the Parks at Walter Reed (an outdoor response to the pandemic), and numerous other nontraditional spaces explored extensively in Rorschach “Chemical Exile,” an immersive story set in eight disparate locations throughout the District.
For “Angel Number Nine,” the Golden Triangle, a group dedicated to enhancing D.C.’s central business district, connected Rorschach with Lerner Enterprises who donated the vacant space for June and July.
Still, the arrangement isn’t entirely without costs, McConnell Frederick notes. Beyond usual production expenses, there’s the pricey punk signage, lighting equipment, and the utilities for an over 6,000-square-foot space. It adds up quickly. But again, it’s all about making the seemingly impossible possible.
Rorschach wouldn’t do it any other way.
Theater
Signature’s fresh take on classic ‘Forum’
Actor Mike Millan says ‘it’s like a new work in many ways’
‘A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum’
Through Jan. 12
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Ave.
Arlington, Va.
$40-$126
sigtheatre.org
For out actor Mike Millan, Signature Theatre’s production of “A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum,” couldn’t feel fresher.
Set in ancient Rome, the 62-year-old Tony-winning hit (music with lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by Burt Shevelove and Larry Gelbart) borrows from Roman comedy, farce, and a dash of bawdy vaudeville to the tales of slaves, soldiers, courtesans, and a lovesick young man.
Millan plays Hysterium, a nervous slave in the House of Senex, whose tagline reads “I live to grovel.”
“I’ve never done ‘Forum,’ so to me it’s like a new work in many ways,” he says. “And because it’s older and has a classic musical point of view and we’re doing it now, it’s as if we’ve been given a lovely opportunity to make it our own.”
And indeed, they are doing just that. Directed and choreographed by Matthew Gardiner, the Signature production is introducing new bits and playing with gender: the central character Pseudolus, a sly slave role created by Zero Mostel, is played by Erin Weaver; Erronius is played by Sherri Edelen in drag; and two male actors and one nonbinary actor play courtesans.
Though Millan, 35, is based with his partner in Los Angeles, he regularly travels to New York and is pleased to make Signature in Shirlington an additional destination on his bicoastal work journey. Recently, the affable actor took time to talk about Signature and “Forum.”
WASHINGTON BLADE: A little about the brilliantly named Hysterium, please.
MIKE MILLAN: As a gay actor, I can say that Hysterium is one of the gayer characters I’ve ever played. He’s a sort of fop and he’s in drag most of the second act. How can you not see him as a queer character?”
When the part was written it was sort of gay coded and now it’s just abundantly clear, you don’t think twice about it.
BLADE: “Forum” is unapologetically fun. Is now the right time for a romp?
MILLAN: The show comes with a level of escapism that is really infectious. During these tense times, it feels great to be doing a silly musical. We’re doing fart jokes in tunics, and the material and jokes really hold up. You’ll feel better leaving than when you came in.
BLADE: All that and a Sondheim score too?
MILLAN: He’s the reason I’m here. In high school, I discovered his “Into the Woods” and remember locking myself in my room until I knew every word to “Giants in the Sky.”
“Passion,” “Follies,” I love it all. He’s so singular because he writes from a perspective of acting and storytelling; Sondheim touches me in a way that feels quasi-religious.
When I think about the number of times I sang “Last Midnight” alone in my car, it fills me with a joy that I’ve never gotten from any other composer or jukebox musical.
BLADE: In 2022, you played Idina Menzel super fan Jeff in “Which Way to the Stage” at Signature. Are you glad to be back?
MILLAN: Yes, I’m happy to be employed. It’s a tough business. Not only are we asked to be great singers, dancers, actors, and performers but we’re asked to have a social media presence and to be the most popular kid in school.
Signature provides a safe environment to try something new and different, to experiment with a community that respects doing that. Also at Signature, it never feels like any audience members are being dragged by their partners to see a show. It’s a supportive community.
BLADE: Speaking of partners, do you miss being away from home?
MILLAN: Sometime it’s nice to have that time away from each other; it builds a little mystery.
BLADE: Will your performance change between now and January?
MILLAN: In recent years, I’ve changed my acting approach from cracking the code on how to play a character to inviting the audience on a journey and making them part of the process.
I was raised in musical theater, but by doing comedy, standup, and improv, I’ve come to find the joy of failure freeing. And I like being part of a changing show. I like the idea of somebody being able to say “I was there the night Patti LuPone yelled at the guy who took a picture.”
BLADE: An unexpected moment.
MILLAN: Of course, I go in with certain things I have planned out, but I like the element of excitement that anything might happen. And I think the audience should feel that way too.
Theater
Sexy, spooky werewolf tale comes to Congressional Cemetery
‘Lýkos Ánthrōpos’ explores story of men who live double lives
Lýkos Ánthrōpos
Oct. 31-Nov. 24
Thursday through Sunday at 8 p.m., 75 minutes without intermission
Congressional Cemetery
1801 E St., S.E.
Tickets: bob-bartlett.com
Just in time for Halloween, Bob Bartlett is reprising “Lýkos Ánthrōpos.” With his sexy, spooky werewolf tale, the gay playwright brings his passion for horror and site-specific productions to historic Congressional Cemetery on Capitol Hill.
“Vampires are great and I love ghosts and kind of believe in the spirit world, but werewolves are my favorite,” he says.
Bartlett is interested in the duality of men who turn into wolves and consequently live double lives. The character he’s written is on the queer spectrum but not particularly discriminating. However, one night a month when the moon is full, he reliably leaves his wife and kids and hooks up with a guy. The play’s conceit starts off with two men cruising in the dark outdoors.
Before penning “Lýkos Ánthrōpos,” Bartlett believed “there isn’t a lot of horror theater, and what there is, isn’t particularly sophisticated. It’s kind of grand guignol, or tongue in cheek,” and he was — and remains — eager to expand on that.
So, he spent a month in the summer of 2022 in Rhodes, Greece, immersed in lycanthropy. Based in an Airbnb far from any touristy hubbub, he explored the countryside and wrote his werewolf-themed play.
“It was sunny, dry summertime, and I wrote a good deal of the play in ruins and ancient amphitheaters; I looked at classical texts, including Ovid’s ‘Metamorphoses,’ and included much of what I learned in my play.”
His characters talk about rocky landscape, the heavens, and the effect of the moon on the Earth ranging from tides to our moods and, of course, its impact on werewolves. It’s all a bit more nuanced than the classic Hollywood take, i.e. Lon Chaney Jr’s 1941 horror hit “The Wolf Man.”
In keeping with the playwright’s love for site specific locales, “Lýkos Ánthrōpos” premiered around Halloween in 2022 in a clearing in the woods on a farm near Bartlett’s home in Davidsonville, Md.
The team that opened the two-hander in the woods, director Alex Levy and cast members Patrick Kilpatrick and Nicholas Gerwitz, remain on board for the Congressional Cemetery version.
Moving the story from the farm to an urban cemetery in the Nation’s Capital presented some amusing challenges: “I definitely did some tweaking; rewrites include references to the city and all the dog walkers found in the cemetery. It’s been fun.”
A horror fanatic since childhood, Bartlett cut his teeth on George A. Romero’s “Night of the Living Dead,” when his aunt let him stay up past his bedtime and watch the scary classic on TV, and though he only made it through the first five minutes, and didn’t didn’t sleep for a week, he was hooked.
Growing up in Accokeek, Md., Bartlett was introduced to theater through his high school pit band. Later he acted, and did some directing at the community theater level. After returning to school for a second master’s in playwrighting, he took up writing.
With his current production, he says “The gods had my back. We open on Halloween and its first weekend will be performed under a full moon,” says Bartlett. “People (about 30 per performance) are asked to bring a fold up chair, blanket and lantern or flashlight. They will meet as a group and walk together, with a guide, to the performance site at the cemetery where the actors will be in place surrounded by a circle of eerie light. Death metal will be pounding from the woods.
“Sometimes it’s more terrifying if the violence is offstage. I believe in the mantra don’t show the monster, so there are moments when the characters turn off the lights.”
Also, a longtime professor of theater at Bowie State University, Bartlett is a semester from retiring after which he intends on becoming “a full-time creepy writer.”
Upcoming projects include a play about the controversial and closeted FBI Director J. Edgar Hoover and his longtime romantic partner Clyde Tolson, who not incidentally are buried just a few yards apart in Congressional Cemetery. Largely fictional, the play won’t be site specific, but, says Bartlett, will have its own monster in Hoover.
Theater
A contemporary take on ‘Romeo and Juliet’ at Folger
Creating a world that appeals to young audiences
‘Romeo and Juliet’
Through November 10
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St. S.E., Washington, D.C.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
In out director Raymond O. Caldwell’s production of “Romeo and Juliet” currently playing at Folger Theatre, the Capulet family are Puerto Rican except for Lord Capulet (Todd Scoffield) who is white with a Southern accent.
Fran Tapia (Lady Capulet), Luz Nicolas (Nurse), and Caro Reyes Rivera (Juliet) all speak Spanish when they are together. Rosa Garay López (Translator and Interpreter) translated certain scenes into Spanish. The Montagues are played by a cast of multiracial and multiethnic actors.
Tapia, a Helen Hayes Award-winning actor, identifies as part of the LGBTQ community. She says, “I am Chilean, Latina, queer and a proud immigrant.”
After receiving her acting degree in Santiago de Chile, Catholic University, Tapia started working professionally as an actor and a dancer with contemporary dance companies.
The newly single actor has been living in D.C. since 2019 and plans to remain based here. Recently, she shared her experiences playing Juliet’s mother in Shakespeare’s story of the star-crossed lovers, a play she first read as a girl in Santiago.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Typically, Lady Capulet is portrayed as detached, a woman who can’t even remember her daughter’s age. What’s your spin on the Capulet matriarch?
FRAN TAPIA: From what I’ve read and seen, including productions and films, she’s a woman who has distanced herself from her daughter.
I see the part differently. I want to make it special, to get away from the hard mother. She does care about her husband and daughter. Her expectations are shaped by society more than anything, she has conservative goals, but that doesn’t mean that she doesn’t love her daughter.
BLADE: What else about your Lady Capulet is unique?
TAPIA: First of all, she’s Puerto Rican. She speaks in Spanish and English. She loves to sing. She’s a party girl. She’s a devoted wife and partner in crime with Lord Capulet, sharing both his ambition and devotion to family.
Lady Capulet wants to look pretty and she loves money. And she wants to be blonde, of course. I wear 26-inch blonde extensions for the part. I’m giving so much drama to it. It’s fun and dramatic and over the top.
She can share secrets with the Nurse played by Luz [Nicolas]. There are nuances with how she speaks to her. Lady Capulet speaks English when she wants to be formal. Luz brings the comedy. She’s also, a very good dramatic actress.
BLADE: It’s a contemporary take on the Bard’s masterpiece.
TAPIA: It’s super contemporary. Raymond [Caldwell] is looking to create a world that appeals to young audiences. He’s working with so many designers doing projection, lighting, and sound. There are so many surprises for you.
BLADE: Am I right in guessing it’s not set in Verona.
TAPIA: It’s set in a fictionalized Washington, D.C., inspired by the election year. The Capulets are a conservative political family based on nobody in particular. They’re struggling for power through the marriage of their daughter. Unlike the source material, they’re not trying to marry off a teenager. It’s more about preserving a legacy. That’s scary to lose when you’re used to having it.
BLADE: How is working with Raymond? I’ve heard so many good things about him.
TAPIA: Prior to joining the cast, I’d heard from friends that he was good, but I had no idea how good. When I got this part, I gave myself the opportunity to offer my resources like singing. And he’s been super receptive.
Raymond is very clear and bold. Lady Capulet has problems with addiction more intense than I imagined. I won’t specify but we’re diving into all of that. There are so many kinds of addiction including social media for instance. In real life, I’m addicted to Diet Coke as anyone in the cast can tell you.
BLADE: Is Lady Capulet a part you’ve longed to play?
TAPIA: Not really, but under the direction of Raymond I’m loving every second of it. His view of things has given me a lot of freedom that I didn’t expect.
-
Politics3 days ago
A message from organizations committed to advancing LGBTQ freedom beyond the 2024 elections
-
Politics3 days ago
Kamala Harris addresses country after Trump victory
-
Politics3 days ago
LGBTQ voters moved away from Trump as other Americans embraced him
-
Politics3 days ago
Aime Wichtendahl becomes Iowa’s first trans legislator