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Calendar: events through Nov. 18

Art, concerts, music, movies and more slated for coming week

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Friday, Nov. 12

The Richard Montgomery High School Black Maskers Drama Club presents Moisés Kaufman’s “The Laramie Project,” a play based on interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyo., after the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, tonight at 7 p.m. in the Richard Montgomery Auditorium (250 Richard Montgomery Drive) in Rockville. Tickets may be purchased in advance at richardmontgomerydrama.ticketleap.net or at the door, and are $5 for students and $13 for adults.

Bethesda’s monthly art walk is tonight from 6 to 9 p.m. Ten local galleries will be staying open. Attendees are invited to view the artwork, enjoy free refreshments and to shop. The participating galleries and studios are the Blue House (7770 Woodmont Ave.), Fraser Gallery (7700E. Wisconsin Ave.),

Gallery 360 (4836 Rugby Ave.), Gallery Frame Avenue (4919 Cordell Ave.), Gallery St. Elmo (4938 St. Elmo Ave.), Orchard Gallery (7917 Norfolk Ave.), St. Elmo’s Fire Gallery (4828 St. Elmo Ave.), Upstairs Art Studios (4948 St. Elmo Ave.), Washington School of Photography (4850 Rugby Ave.) and Waverly Street Gallery (4600 East-West Highway.).

Towson University Dance Company presents “Grace and Flow,” an evening of dance tonight at 8 p.m. The program includes the second act of “Swan Lake,” the classical ballet restaged by Runqiao Du, the work of Tim Veach and the choreographed works of the Towson University dance faculty including Jaye Knutson, Nancy Romita, Nicole A. Martinell and Sandra Perez. Tickets are $20 for general admission, $15 for seniors and $10 for students.

Bookmen D.C., an informal group of men interested in gay literature, meets tonight at 7:30 p.m. at the Charles Sumner School and Archives (1201 17th St., N.W.) to discuss selections from “Persistent Voices: Poetry by Writers Lost to AIDS” edited by David Groff and Philip Clark. All are welcome.

The Baltimore Museum of Art (10 Art Museum Drive) is hosting “Warhol: the Last Decade,” an exhibit featuring over 50 large-scale works that marked Andy Warhol’s last decade. This is the last stop of a national tour. Some of the works shown include fright wig self-portraits and three variations on Da Vinci’s “The Last Supper.” The museum is open from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m. and admission ranges from free for children 5 and younger to $15 for adults. For more information, visit warhol.artbma.org.

Saturday, Nov. 13

Shi-Queeta-Lee will be celebrating her 46th birthday today with Cirque Du Soleil’s “Red Party” at Town featuring the release of her 2011 calendar from 6 to 10 p.m. There will be a $10 cover.

The Richard Montgomery High School Black Maskers Drama Club presents Moisés Kaufman’s “The Laramie Project,” a play based on interviews with residents of Laramie, Wyo., after the 1998 murder of Matthew Shepard, a gay college student, tonight at 7 p.m. in the Richard Montgomery Auditorium (250 Richard Montgomery Drive) in Rockville. Tickets may be purchased in advance at richardmontgomerydrama.ticketleap.net or at the door, and are $5 for students and $13 for adults.

The Birchmere and AM Productions present Straight No Chase, a male a cappella group, performing at the Meyerhoff Symphony Hall (1212 Cathedral St.) in Baltimore tonight at 8 p.m. For more information on the group, visit sncmusic.com. To purchase tickets, visit ticketmaster.com.

The D.C. Strokes Rowing Club will celebrate 20 years of rowing tonight at Casa Italiana Language School (595 1/2 3rd St., N.W.) from 7 to 10 p.m. Tickets are $55 and can be purchased by registering at dcstrokes.org.

Folding/Unfolding: Collider, a 3D modeling and interactive exhibit and workshop opens tonight at Artispehere (1101 Wilson Blvd.) in Arlington with an opening reception at 8 p.m. featuring burlesque figure drawing with Velvet Kensington and Private Tails and an after party at 11 p.m. with queer band Rad Pony, who has played at Phasefest the past two years, and DJs Natty Boom and Matt Bailer.

Blowoff, a dance party featuring gay DJs, will be at 9:30 Club (815 V St., N.W.) tonight. Doors opens at 11:30 p.m. Attendees must be 21 or older. Tickets are $12 and can be purchased at 930.com.

Allie Wilson and Jacob Nathaniel Pring present Cotton Candy at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court, N.W.) tonight at 10 p.m. upstairs featuring DJs David Merrill and Bryan Yamasaki. Attendees must be 18 or older to attend. There’s a $5 cover.

Sunday, Nov. 14

D.C. native actress and playwright Ellen McLaughlin, who originated the role of the angel in gay playwright Tony Kushner’s “Angels in America” on Broadway in the early ’90s, will perform her play “Penelope” at the Writer’s Center (4508 Walsh St.) in Bethesda, tonight at 7 p.m. Tickets are $5 for members and $10 for guests. For more information, call 301-654-8664 or visit writer.org.

GayParazzi will tour the National Arboretum (3501 New York Ave., N.E.) today meeting outside the visitor’s center at 10 a.m. There’s free admission and parking. Sign up at GayParazzi.com.

LAMBDA SCI-FI will have its monthly meeting and social of LGBT science fiction, fantasy and horror fans today at 1:30 p.m. at 1414 17th St., N.W. Call James at 202-232-3141 or e-mail to [email protected] to RSVP. For more information, visit the group’s website lambdascifi.org.

The Pocket Gays will be hosting “Spanksgiving” today on the enclosed and heated roof deck of Local 16 (1602 U St., N.W.) from 3 to 9 p.m. DJ vANNIEty KILLS will be providing the music. This is a free event.

Monday, Nov. 15

The 2010 WTT Smash Hits is tonight at Bender Arena at American University at 7 p.m. Billie Jean King and Sir Elton John will captain teams composed of Andre Agassi, James Blake, Stefanie Graf, Anna Kournikova, Martina Navratilova and more. This event will raise money for the Elton John AIDS Foundation and local D.C. area AIDS charities. Tickets range from $40 to $120. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit wtt.com.

The National Portrait Gallery is showing an exhibit that focuses on sexual differences in the making of modern American portraiture. “Hide/Seek: Difference and Desire in American Portraiture” is the first major museum exhibit of its kind. The museum is open from 11:30 a.m. to 7 p.m. and admission is free.

Tuesday, Nov. 16

Rainbow History Project will celebrate its 10th anniversary tonight at the Charles Sumner School Museum & Archives (1201 17th St., N.W.) from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. The reception will feature a one-night-only exhibit of items from RHP’s archives including T-shirts from the collection of the late lesbian archivist Cheryl Spector. This event is free and open to the public. For more information, visit rainbowhistory.org.

Burgundy Crescent Volunteers needs help packing safer sex kits for FUK!T from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Green Lantern, 1335 Green Ct., N.W.

Wednesday, Nov. 17

Women’s Wednesday will be at Mixology tonight from 6:30 to 8 p.m. Mixology is D.C. premier matchmaking service for gays and lesbians. Register at caglcc.org.

The Zenith Gallery (1111 Pennsylvania Ave., N.W.) opens “Universe” featuring artwork by Anne Marchand and Craig Schaffer tonight. Both artists deal with the abstract, Marchand through paintings and Schaffer through sculpture. The gallery is open from 8 a.m. to 7 p.m.

Food & Friends Slice of Life and Nellie’s will be hosting a pie-eating contest and bake sale tonight at 7 p.m. The contest is limited to 16 participants and is first come, first entered. For more information, including the rules of the contest, and to register for the event, visit nelliesdc.com.

Thursday, Nov. 18

The Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) will be hosting a “theater look-in” for “Hair” today from 5 to 6 p.m. Attendees will get an insider’s look at the production and have the opportunity to ask the artists questions. This event will be in the Terrace Gallery and tickets are $12. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit kennedy-center.org.

There will be a special happy hour at Cobalt (1639 R St., N.W.) to benefit the Trevor Project tonight from 5 to 9 p.m. A $10 donation at the door will go directly to the Trevor Project and Cobalt will honor the donation with a free drink ticket.

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Photos

PHOTOS: Vitamin C at JR.’s

Live drag show follows ‘Drag Race All Stars’ viewing party

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Brooke N Hymen performs at JR.'s at the Vitamin C drag show on Friday. (Washington Blade photo by Landon Shackelford)

JR.’s Bar held a “RuPaul’s Drag Race: All Stars” watch party followed by a live drag show on Friday, July 17. The Vitamin C weekly drag show was hosted by Citrine with performers Brooke N Hyman and Rosie Beret.

(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)

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Photos

PHOTOS: Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival

LGBTQ celebration held at convention center

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A scene from the 2026 Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival. (Washington Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)

The 2026 Rehoboth Beach Pride Festival was held at the Rehoboth Beach Convention Center on Saturday, July 18.

(Washington Blade photos by Daniel Truitt)

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Books

Liza’s book a tale that’s better than most celebrity memoirs

‘Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!’ dishes on marriages, heartbreak

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(Book cover image courtesy of Grand Central)

‘Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! My Memoir’
By Liza Minnelli, as told to Michael Feinstein
c.2026, Grand Central
$36/ 421 pages

Twenty feet In front of you, and you can’t see a thing.

Even the closest faces are in shadow – lit, but not quite enough for you to see for sure what the people there are thinking. Still, you can hear them, their gasps, their laughter, and applause. Such is life, on-stage. Now read “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This! My Memoir” by Liza Minnelli, as told to Michael Feinstein, and read about it beyond the spotlight.

Almost from the moment she was born, Liza Minnelli was famous.

It was inevitable: her mother was Judy Garland. Her father was director Vincente Minnelli. Her godparents were Hollywood glitterati, her neighbors were famous, her playmates would be famous someday, too.

But her life wasn’t all starlight and happiness.

She made her stage debut as a toddler. She became her “mother’s caretaker” at age 13.

At 16, she had a growing career of her own – one that her mother tried to stop. But, she says, “In her own way, Mama was wonderful to me. Try understanding – she was my mother, not a movie star…. I knew her as the person who loved me and always would.”

At 19, Minnelli was working, happy, and madly in love with the man who’d become her first husband, and life was wonderful – until she came home one day to find him in their bed with another man. Before they were divorced, she lost her beloved mother, and became “engaged” to two other men simultaneously, neither of which made it to the altar with her.

She married her second husband, the son of one of her mother’s former co-stars, in 1974 but her love affairs and addictions led to a second divorce.

Her third husband was a stage manager.

She doesn’t have much good to say about her fourth, and last, husband.

Overall, she says, “You gotta play the comedy for all it’s worth and leave ‘em laughing. Even when your heart is breaking.”

Are you expecting bluntness, sass, or attitude here? Good, because that’s what you get inside “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” It’s strong on honesty and don’t-give-a-flip. It’s wonderfully edited, so it moves fast. It’s eye-opening and funny and a pleasant surprise for a first, and only (so far), memoir.

Even better, author Liza Minnelli (with best friend, Michael Feinstein) is really quite candid and nicely gossipy, starting from the beginning. There are some Hollywood folks, in fact, who are feeling edgy because of what’s inside this book and the secrets spilled. Minnelli and Feinstein seemed to have fun telling her story, and they comfortably lure readers in.

That’s not to say that it’s all a cabaret. Minnelli tells about her addictions and recoveries, her marriages and why she wed two gay men, and the losses she endured, including miscarriages, deaths, and broken relationships. The bad balances well with the good for a tale that’s several notches above most celebrity memoirs. “Kids, Wait Till You Hear This!” is, in fact, a real joy to read, a genuine bright spot.

The Blade may receive commissions from qualifying purchases made via this post.

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