Arts & Entertainment
Fall means Artscape, John Waters, The Wiz, and more in Baltimore
Major concerts, opening of M&T Bank Exchange among highlights
Can Baltimore walk and chew gum at the same time?
The question came up this summer when leaders of several local arts organizations voiced concerns that the fall arts calendar is so full of events that they feared the city wouldn’t be able to handle them all.
The biggest change is that Baltimore’s popular three-day Artscape festival, one of the largest free arts gatherings in the country, is shifting from its usual mid-July date to mid-September for the first time. In the past, it has drawn upwards of 350,000 people over three days.
The dates selected for Artscape this year, Sept. 22-24, coincide with the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s Sept. 23 fall gala at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall, where new music director Jonathon Heyward will begin his tenure, and four comedy shows by Nate Bargatze at Lyric Baltimore – all within the relatively compact Mount Royal Cultural District.
How will the city control all the traffic, the doubters asked. Where will everyone park? And what about the Ravens-Colts football game at Camden Yards the same weekend?
Baltimore Mayor Brandon Scott promised that the city can put on more than one big event at a time.
“We are a major city,” he said last month. “Major cities are going to have multiple events at the same time…Walk and chew gum, as my grandmother would say.”
The concerns about Artscape weekend are a sign of how much Baltimore has rebounded from the lockdowns of the COVID-19 pandemic, which caused festivals and other public gatherings to be cancelled for public health reasons. This month’s event will be the first time Artscape has been held since 2019.
But it’s not just one weekend that has so much going on. Artscape is one of many big festivals, shows, and exhibits that are coming to Baltimore this fall, including the launch of a new national touring production of “The Wiz,” Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks appearing at the M&T Bank Stadium; and another packed lineup at the recently refurbished CFG Bank Arena, including Queen + Adam Lambert; the Jonas Brothers; Kiss and Pentatonix. Just about every weekend this fall has multiple big events scheduled, even without factoring in how the Orioles do in the playoffs.
Here are some of the highlights:
Artscape 2023: Artscape celebrates the visual arts, dance, fashion, music, the culinary arts and other creative endeavors. This year’s musical headliners will be: DJ Pee.Wee (the persona of Anderson .Paak) on Friday night; composer, producer, arranger and guitarist Nile Rodgers & Chic on Saturday afternoon; Angelo Moore of Fishbone performing with his band Dr. Madd Vibe on Saturday night; and the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra on Sunday afternoon.
The festival’s footprint has expanded from the Mount Royal cultural district to include part of the Station North Arts and Entertainment District farther north. A complete list of events is available at Artscape.org.
Fell’s Point Fun Festival: Two weeks after Artscape, from Oct. 6-8, the Fell’s Point Fun Festival will draw crowds to Baltimore’s waterfront (fellspointfest.com) This annual showcase for Baltimore’s art, crafts, food and music typically draws 50,000 visitors, while helping raise funds to support the programs and activities of the Preservation Society of Federal Hill and Fell’s Point, a non-profit that works to protect two of the city’s most historic neighborhoods.
Baltimore native and country music star Brittney Spencer will be the headliner Friday night. The eclectic lineup for the three-day event includes: Better Off Dead, a band that celebrates The Grateful Dead; ilyAIMY (i love you And I Miss You); Shelby Blondell; the Baltimore Symphony Orchestra’s OrchKids; Orquestra Nfuzion from Washington, D. C.; The Cover Up; Old Eastern; DJ Allure; Annapolis’s 8 Ohms Band, Rufus Roundtree & Da B’more Brass Factory; The Trinidad & Tobago Steel Drum Band; Baltimore All-Stars; DJ G-Money, and, in honor of Indigenous People’s Day on October 9, Mark Tayac and the Piscataway Nation Singers and Dancers, a group that educates audiences about Native American history and culture as part of their performances.
Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks concert: On Saturday, Oct. 7, Billy Joel and Stevie Nicks will perform at M&T Bank Stadium, 1101 Russell St., starting at 7 p.m. It will be one of the only times that the Camden Yards sport complex is used for a major concert this year, after Bruce Springsteen and The E Street Band cancelled a Sept. 9 performance at Oriole Park.
More performing arts events:
CFG Bank Arena, 201 West Baltimore St. (cfgbankarena.com): Concerts include: 50 Cent: The Final Lap Tour, September 19; Jonas Brothers: Five Albums. One Night. September 22; SZA – SOS Tour with special guest D4VD, September 28; Queen + Adam Lambert – The Rhapsody Tour, October 4 and 5; Carin Leon – Colmillo De Leche Tour, October 7; Disney on Ice presents Magic in the Stars, October 12-15; John Mayer – Solo, October 20; Lauren Daigle – The Kaleidoscope Tour, Oct 21; Katt Williams, October 27; Baltimore R&B Music Experience: Xscape, Bell Biv DeVoe, 112, October London, Silk, Next, October 28, and Romeo Santos – Formula Vol. 3 Tour, November 2.
Also, The 1975 Still…at their very best, November 8; Bronco – En Vivo y A Todo Color!, November 17; Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey presents The Greatest Show On Earth, November 24 to 26; Kiss – The End of the Road Tour, November 29; Old Dominion – No Bad Vibes Tour, December 2; Pentatonix The Most Wonderful Tour of the Year, December 3; Travis Scott Utopia Tour Presents Circus Maximus, December 6; Billy Strings, December 8 and 9, and Andrea Bocelli, December 10.
Baltimore Symphony Orchestra: The Baltimore Symphony marks the arrival of Jonathon Heyward as its new music director with a gala celebration at Strathmore in North Bethesda on September 22; a gala celebration at the Joseph Meyerhoff Symphony Hall in Baltimore on September 23 and a free public concert at the Meyerhoff during Artscape on September 24. More information about the symphony’s fall schedule at the Meyerhoff, including speakers such as Sonia Sotomayor (September 27); David Sedaris (October 5); Fran Lebowitz (October 6) and Jane Fonda (October 12) is on its website at bsomusic.org.
Hippodrome Theatre, 12 S. Eutaw St., Baltimore.Broadway.com: The fall season starts with an all-new revival of The Wiz, a musical that debuted in Baltimore in 1974, with shows from September 23 to 30. Other shows include: Heilung, October 19; The Rocky Horror Picture Show 48th Anniversary Spectacular Tour with Patricia Quinn, the original Magenta, on October 21; Chris Tucker: The Legend Tour 2023, October 22; Funny Girl, October 24 to 29; the State Ballet Theatre of Ukraine Presents Snow White, November 4; ‘Twas the night before…by Cirque du Soleil, November 24 to December 3; Moulin Rouge! The Musical, December 5 to 17, and Nutcracker! Magical Christmas Ballet, December 18 and 19. A new performing and events venue next to the Hippodrome, called the M&T Bank Exchange, will have its grand opening on October 11.
Lyric Baltimore, 140 West Mount Royal Avenue, lyricbaltimore.com: Justin Willman: Magic for Humans in Person Tour, September 16; Wild Kratt Live 2.0 Activate Creature Power! Starring the Kratt Brothers, September 22; Nate Bargatze — The Be Funny Tour, September 23 and 24; Raphael Saadiq Revisits Tony! Toni! Tone! Just Me and You Tour, September 26; Trey Kennedy Grow Up Comedy Tour, September 28; Buddy Guy — Damn Right Farewell, September 29; Ms. Pat: Ya Girl Done Made It Tour, September 30; Casting Crowns: 20th Anniversary Tour, October 1; Anthony Jeselnik: Bones and All, October 5; Charm City Blues Festival, October 6; Blippi: The Wonderful World tour, Oct 7, and Stavros Halkias: The Fat Rascal Tour, October 12-14;
Also, Nick Offerman: Live! October 26; Steve Martin & Martin Short, October 28; Encanto: the Sing-Along Film Concert, October 29; Maverick City Music, November 2; The Fab Four: The Ultimate Tribute, November 3; Nikki Glaser: The Good Girl Tour, November 4; One Night of Queen, November 9; Shane Gillis Live, November 10; The Princess Bride, November 17; Chris D’Elia: Don’t Push Me, November 18; Brian Culbertson: The Trilogy Tour: November 19; Joe Bonamassa, November 25; A Drag Queen Christmas, November 26; Peppa Pig’s Sing-Along Party1, November 30; David Spade: Catch Me Inside, December 1; The Nutcracker, December 14; A Charlie Brown Christmas: Live On Stage, December 15, and Mark Normand: Ya Don’t Say Tour!, December 16.
Creative Alliance, 3134 Eastern Ave., (creativealliance.org): In the main gallery through September 30 is “God Couldn’t be Everywhere…That’s Why He Made Momma,” an exhibit by Salome Sykes and Lendl Tellington. In the Amalie Rothschild Gallery through October 21 “Taking Space,” an exhibit featuring work by Baltimore based Latino artists, including Tito Rosa; Christina Delgado; Jessy DeSantis; Jaz Erenberg and Edgar Reyes. Other events: Tianquiztli, a Latin American Artisan Market and Festival on September 16; the Alejandro Brittes Quartet, September 23; Walters Art Museum he Charm City Burlesque & Variety Festival September 29 to October 1; and Kavita Shah & The Cape Verdean Blues Project, October 4.
Baltimore Center Stage, 700 North Calvert St. (centerstage.org): In partnership with the Baltimore American Indian Center, the theater recently opened an Indigenous Art Gallery that is free and open during box office hours. Shows include: Lady Day at Emerson’s Bar and Grill, September 14 to October 8; Imprint: Jazz’s Timeless Legacy, September 30; Locally Grown Festival, October 21 to 22; The Rocky Horror Picture Show Interactive Movie Night, featuring Chocolate-Covered Rocky Horror in Partnership with Creative Alliance; October 27-28; Baltimore Butterfly Sessions, part of a civic dialogue series, November 10, and Cinderella (Enchanted Edition, co-produced with Artscentric), November 25 to December 23.
Robert C. Marshall Recreation Center, 1201 Pennsylvania Ave.: Amal Walks Across America, September 16, 4:30 p.m. Little Amal, an internationally celebrated 12-foot-tall puppet of a 10-year-old Syrian refugee girl, will arrive in Baltimore as part of a 6,000-mile journey across the United States.
Everyman Theatre, 315 West Fayette Street (everymantheatre.org): The current production, running through September 29, is A Doll’s House. It will be followed by The Chinese Lady, a Baltimore premiere, October 22 to November 19; and Dial M for Murder, December 3 to 31.
Arena Players, 801 McCulloh Street (arenaplayersinc.com): Celebration A Musical Revue, with shows September 15, 16, 17, 22, 23, 24 and 29 and October 1.
Baltimore Soundstage, 124 Market Place: Writer and filmmaker John Waters returns with: “A John Waters Christmas: Let’s Blow It Up,” on December 21. The complete fall lineup is at Baltimoresoundstage.com.
Visual arts events:
Baltimore Museum of Art, 10 Art Museum Drive, (artbma.org): “Making Her Mark: A History of Women Artists in Europe, 1400-1800,” opens October 1 and runs through January 7, 2024. This blockbuster exhibit will feature more than 200 paintings, sculptures, textiles, works on paper, pieces of furniture and decorative arts that show how women contributed to the visual arts of Europe from the 15th to 18th centuries. Other exhibits opening this fall include: “Tiona Nekkia McClodden: Play Me Home,” September 13, 2023, to May 12, 2024; “Art/Work: Women Printmakers of the WPA,” November 5, 2023, to June 30, 2024; “Eyewinkers, Tumbleturds and Candlebugs: The Art of Elizabeth Talford Scott,” November 12, 2023, to April 28, 2024, and “Raul Nieves: And imagine you are here,” November 19, 2023, to May 1, 2025. Current exhibits closing this fall include: “Recasting Colonialism: Michelle Erickson Ceramics,” and “The Matter of Bark Cloth,” which will end October 1, “Matsumi Kanemitsu: Figure and Fantasy,” which ends October 8, and “Wild Forms: Fauve Woodcuts,” which ends October 15.
American Visionary Art Museum, 800 Key Highway, (avam.org): The next “mega exhibit” at the American Visionary Art Museum is “If You Build It, They Will Come,” a look at visionary artists and their handcrafted environments, from October 7, 2023, to September 1, 2024. Featured artists include: Zebedee Armstrong; Gayleen Aiken; Ruby C. Williams; Leslie Payne; DeVon Smnitha nd Loring Cornish.
Walters Art Museum, 600 North Charles Street, (thewaltersorg.) Opening on December 3 and continuing until March 3, 2024, is “Ethiopia at the Crossroads,” celebrating the artistic traditions of Ethiopia from their origins to the present day. “New on the Bookshelf: Expanded Narratives,” a look at recent additions to the museum’s Rare Books and Manuscripts collection, runs through December 7, 2023.
The Peale, 225 Holliday Street, (thepealeorg.) Exhibits include “The Guardians of Baltimore,” a documentary and storytelling project that celebrates the unrecognized community work of Black female leaders from city neighborhoods, through October 1; “Dark Beauty,” featuring artist Daisy Brown’s portraits, stills and filmed interviews of Baltimore women with dark skin completions, through October 1, and “Soul of a Butterfly,” a look at Chicory, a poetry magazine published by the Enoch Pratt Free Library from 1966 to 1983, through October 8.
Maryland Center for History and Culture: 610 Park Avenue, (mdhistory.org.): “The Jim Henson Exhibition: Imagination Unlimited,” a multi-media tribute to the creator of the Muppets, continues through December 30.
Doors Open Baltimore, citywide, (doorsopenbaltimore.org): A popular annual program that allows participants to tour places that aren’t usually open to the public returns on October 7 and 8, with approximately 50 sites open this year.
Books
Love or fear flying you’ll devour ‘Why Fly’
New book chronicles a lifetime obsession with aircraft
‘Why Fly’
By Caroline Paul
c. 2026, Bloomsbury
$27.99/256 pages
Tray table folded up.
Check. Your seat is in the upright position, the airflow above your head is just the way you like it, and you’re ready to go. The flight crew is making final preparations. The lights are off and the plane is backing up. All you need now is “Why Fly” by Caroline Paul, and buckle up.
When she was very young, Paul was “obsessed” with tales of adventure, devouring accounts written by men of their derring-do. The only female adventure-seeker she knew about then was Amelia Earhart; later, she learned of other adventuresome women, including aviatrix Bessie Coleman, and Paul was transfixed.
Time passed; Paul grew up to create a life of adventure all her own.
Then, the year her marriage started to fracture, she switched her obsession from general exploits to flight.
Specifically, Paul loves experimental aircraft, some of which, like her “trike,” can be made from a kit at home. Others, like Woodstock, her beloved yellow gyrocopter, are major purchases that operate under different FAA rules. All flying has rules, she says, even if it seems like it should be as freewheeling as the birds it mimics.
She loves the pre-flight checklist, which is pure anticipation as well as a series of safety measures; if only a relationship had the same ritual. Paul loves her hangar, as a place of comfort and for flight in all senses of the word. She enjoys thinking about historic tales of flying, going back before the Wright Brothers, and including a man who went aloft on a lawn chair via helium-filled weather balloons.
The mere idea that she can fly any time is like a gift to Paul.
She knows a lot of people are terrified of flying, but it’s near totally safe: generally, there’s a one in almost 14 million chance of perishing in a commercial airline disaster – although, to Paul’s embarrassment and her dismay, it’s possible that both the smallest planes and the grandest loves might crash.
If you’re a fan of flying, you know what to do here. If you fear it, pry your fingernails off the armrests, take a deep breath, and head to the shelves. “Why Fly” might help you change your mind.
It’s not just that author Caroline Paul enjoys being airborne, and she tells you. It’s not that she’s honest in her explanations of being in love and being aloft. It’s the meditative aura you’ll get as you’re reading this book that makes it so appealing, despite the sometimes technical information that may flummox you between the Zen-ness. It’s not overwhelming; it mixes well with the history Paul includes, biographies, the science, heartbreak, and exciting tales of adventure and risk, but it’s there. Readers and romantics who love the outdoors, can’t resist a good mountain, and crave activity won’t mind it, though, not at all.
If you own a plane – or want to – you’ll want this book, too. It’s a great waiting-at-the-airport tale, or a tuck-in-your-suitcase-for-later read. Find “Why Fly” and you’ll see that it’s an upright kind of book.
The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.
Theater
Out actor Kevin Cahoon on starring role in ‘Chez Joey’
Arena production adapted from Broadway classic ‘Pal Joey’
‘Chez Joey’
Through March 15
Arena Stage
1101 Sixth St., S.W.
Tickets start at $93
Arenastage.org
As Melvin Snyder in the new musical “Chez Joey,” out actor Kevin Cahoon plays a showbiz society columnist who goes by the name Mrs. Knickerbocker. He functions as a sort of liaison between café society and Chicago’s Black jazz scene circa 1940s. It’s a fun part replete with varied insights, music, and dance.
“Chez Joey” is adapted from the Broadway classic “Pal Joey” by Richard Rodgers and Lorenz Hart. It’s inspired by John O’Hara’s stories based on the exploits of a small-time nightclub singer published in The New Yorker.
A warm and humorous man, Cahoon loves his work. At just six, he began his career as a rodeo clown in Houston. He won the Star Search teen division at 13 singing songs like “Some People” from “Gypsy.” He studied theater at New York University and soon after graduating set to work playing sidekicks and comedic roles.
Over the years, Cahoon has played numerous queer parts in stage productions including “Hedwig and the Angry Inch,” “La Cage aux Folles,” “Rocky Horror” as well as Peanut in “Shucked,” and George the keyboardist in “The Wedding Singer,” “a sort of unicorn of its time,” says Cahoon.
Co-directed by Tony Goldwyn and the great Savion Glover, “Chez Joey” is a terrific and fun show filled with loads of talent. Its relevant new book is by Richard Lagravenese.
On a recent Monday off from work, Cahoon shared some thoughts on past and current happenings.
WASHINGTON BLADE: Is there a through line from Kevin, the six-year-old rodeo clown, to who we see now at Arena Stage?
KEVIN CAHOON: Anytime I want to land a joke in a theater piece it goes back to that rodeo clown. It doesn’t matter if it’s Arena’s intimate Kreeger Theatre or the big rodeo at the huge Houston Astrodome.
I was in the middle stadium and there was an announcer — a scene partner really. And we were doing a back and forth in hopes of getting laughs. At that young age I was trying to understand what it takes to get laughs. It’s all about timing. Every line.
BLADE: Originally, your part in “Chez Joey” Melvin was Melba who sings “Zip,” a clever woman reporter’s song. It was sort of a star feature, where they could just pop in a star in the run of “Pal Joey.”
CAHOON: That’s right. And in former versions it was played by Martha Plimpton and before her Elaine Stritch. For “Chez Joey,” we switched gender and storyline.
We attempted to do “Zip” up until two days before we had an audience at Arena. Unexpectedly they cut “Zip” and replaced it with a fun number called “I Like to Recognize the Tune,” a song more connected to the story.
BLADE: Wow. You must be a quick study.
CAHOON: Well, we’re working with a great band.
BLADE: You’ve played a lot of queer parts. Any thoughts on queer representation?
CAHOON: Oh yes, definitely. And I’ve been very lucky that I’ve had the chance to portray these characters and introduce them to the rest of the world. I feel honored.
After originating Edna, the hyena on Broadway in “The Lion King,” I left that to do “Hedwig and the Angry Inch” as standby for John Cameron Mitchell, doing one show a week for him.
Everyone thought I was crazy to leave the biggest musical of our time with a personal contract and getting paid more money that I’d ever made to get $400 a week at the downtown Jane Street Theatre in a dicey neighborhood.
At the time, I really felt like I was with cool kids. I guess I was. And I never regretted it.
BLADE: When you play new parts, do you create new backstories for the role?
CAHOON: Every single time! For Melvin, I suggested a line about chorus boys on Lakeshore Drive.
BLADE: What’s up next for Kevin Cahoon?
CAHOON: I’m about to do the New York Theatre Workshop Gala; I’ve been doing it for nine years in a row. It’s a huge job. I’ll also be producing the “Cats: The Jellicle Ball” opening on Broadway this spring; it’s a queer-centric uptown vogue ball with gay actor André de Shields reprising his role as “Old Deuteronomy.”
BLADE: There’s a huge amount of talent onstage in “Chez Joey.”
CAHOON: There is. I’m sharing a dressing room with Myles Frost who plays Joey. He won accolades for playing Michael Jackson on Broadway. We’ve become great friends. He’s a miracle to watch on stage. And Awa [Sal Secka], a D.C. local, is great. Every night the audience falls head over heels for her. When this show goes to New York, Awa will, no doubt, be a giant star.
BLADE: Do you think “Chez Joey” might be Broadway bound?
CAHOON: I have a good feeling it is. I’ve done shows out of town that have high hopes and pedigree, but don’t necessarily make it. “Chez Joey” is a small production, it’s funny, and audiences seem to love it.
The Capital Pride Alliance held the annual Pride Reveal event at The Schuyler at The Hamilton Hotel on Thursday, Feb. 26. The theme for this year’s Capital Pride was announced: “Exist. Resist. Have the audacity!”
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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