Arts & Entertainment
Local news in brief
Gay Catholics honor Catania, Whitman-Walker in the black and more
Dignity Washington honored D.C. Council members David Catania (I-At-Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) for their efforts at passing a marriage equality bill. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)
Gay Catholics honor Catania, Mendelson
The local LGBT Catholic group Dignity Washington presented its annual community service award Sunday night to D.C. Council members David Catania (I-At-Large) and Phil Mendelson (D-At-Large) in recognition of their role in securing passage of the city’s same-sex marriage law.
Several same-sex couples whose marriages became possible when the law took effect last March joined Dignity Washington President Allen Rose in presenting the group’s Veronica & Gerald Golfer Award to the two Council members at St. Margaret’s Church near Dupont Circle, where Dignity holds its weekly Sunday Mass.
Catania wrote and introduced the marriage measure and Mendelson, as chair of the committee with jurisdiction over the bill, managed its progress through the Council’s legislative process. Catania said he was pleased that polling data showed that D.C.-area Roman Catholics supported marriage equality in greater percentages than members of all other Christian denominations, despite the strong opposition to same-sex marriage by the Catholic hierarchy.
LOU CHIBBARO JR.
Whitman-Walker Clinic posts first operating gain in 10 years
The Whitman-Walker Clinic announced this week that it posted a four percent operating gain for 2010, its first such positive result in nearly 10 years.
“This is a tremendous accomplishment for our entire Whitman-Walker family especially in light of the many challenges the Clinic has faced in recent years,” said executive director Don Blanchon. “With our 2010 results, we have answered longstanding questions in the community about the Clinic’s financial viability. But more important than that, we have demonstrated that the Clinic offers high quality care to our patients.”
The Clinic’s management drew the ire of City Council member David Catania after posting consecutive years of multi-million dollar losses. Blanchon responded with layoffs and a restructuring plan. The Clinic posted operating losses of more than $4 million in 2007 and 2008. Losses were cut to about $750,000 in 2009 and for 2010 the Clinic posted an operating gain of about $890,000 on more than $20 million in revenue.
“To have such a dramatic turnaround in such a relatively short period of time, particularly given the state of the economy, is incredible,” Blanchon said.
STAFF REPORTS
Rehoboth’s outdoor bars can stay open until 1 a.m. — for now
REHOBOTH BEACH, Del. — The Rehoboth Beach Board of Commissioners placed a one-year moratorium on enforcing a law governing the hours a restaurant patio may stay open, and agreed to hire and train noise enforcement officers on how to use noise meters to measure noise levels.
The moratorium will allow restaurants with patios to serve food and drinks until 1 a.m., instead of 10 p.m. this summer.
The decisions followed a series of arrests in September of several business owners, including at establishments popular with LGBT patrons like Purple Parrot and Aqua, because of late night noise violations on their patios. The moves come after several months of discussions within the commission with business and community leaders, as well as a meeting with police officials from Newark, Del.
At the meeting last month, Commissioner Bill Sargent suggested that the noise ordinance should be based on noise being plainly audible, with distances of hearing the sounds being closer at night, but gay Commissioner Dennis Barbour suggested that would be a subjective way of determining noise levels.
Commissioner Stan Mills, who Barbour cited as the instigator of the police raids last year, said, “complaints of noise came from all over the place including from a residence known as the Arc, which is directly across Rehoboth Avenue from Rigby’s.” Rigby’s is another gay-owned establishment.
Lesbian Commissioner Pat Coluzzi introduced the resolution to keep the same noise ordinance and hire officials to monitor levels.
Because the moratorium requires a change in code, hearings must be held before the commission makes it official, but Mills expects that it could be implemented by mid-March.
PETER SCHOTT
D.C. family group elects officers
The Campaign for All DC Families, which helped lead the fight for marriage equality in the city, has elected its 2011 officers.
The organization will be led by: president Peter Rosenstein, vice president Aisha Mills, treasurer Reggie Stanley and secretary Joanne Savage.
“We will be vigilant as we fight spurious efforts by some members of Congress to interfere with the right of the people of the District to govern themselves. We will work with other supportive groups and the mayor’s office to ensure that marriage equality remains in place in D.C.,” Rosenstein said.
The DC Center for the LGBTQ Community, SMYAL and Rainbow Families sponsored Gay Day at the Zoo on Sunday at the Smithsonian National Zoo. The Smithsonian marked International Family Equality Day with special exhibits and an event space.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Covering Gay Day at the Zoo for @WashBlade . Here at @NationalZooDC pic.twitter.com/LqgGNOOAiM
— Michael Patrick Key (@MichaelKeyWB) May 5, 2024
Photos
PHOTOS: Taste of Point
Annual fundraiser held for LGBTQ youth scholarship, mentorship organization
The Point Foundation held its annual Taste of Point fundraiser at Room & Board on May 2.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
Theater
Miss Kitty tackles classical mythology in ‘Metamorphoses’
Folger production seen through the lens of the African diaspora
‘Metamorphoses’
May 7-June 16
Folger Theatre
201 East Capitol St., S.E.
$20-$84
Folger.edu
Miss Kitty’s words are thoughtful and measured, occasionally punctuated by flamboyant flourishes and uplifting proclamations. Her tried and tested tagline is “live in fierce not fear.”
She describes herself as “AMAB (assigned male at birth), nonbinary, genderqueer, transfemme” as well as “chanteuse, noble blacktress, and dancer.”
Currently, Miss Kitty is testing her talents in Mary Zimmerman’s “Metamorphoses” at Folger Theatre on Capitol Hill.
At 90 minutes, “Metamorphoses,” is made up of interwoven vignettes from classical mythology including the tales of Midas and his daughter, Alcyone and Ceyx, and Eros and Psyche.
“It’s all stories that relate to the human condition: the follies, the happiness, the love, the loss,” Miss Kitty explains. “And a thorough knowledge of mythology isn’t a requirement for enjoyment.”
The language is contemporary and with its 11-person ensemble cast – comprised exclusively of Black or indigenous people of color – they’re adding their own spin to its present-day feel, she adds.
In Zimmerman’s famously staged premiere production, the actors performed in and around a pool of water. At Folger, director Psalmayene 24 has ditched actual aquatics; instead, he suggests the element by introducing Water Nymph, a new character constructed around Miss Kitty.
Water Nymph doesn’t speak, but she’s very visible from the opening number and throughout the play on stage and popping up in unexpected places around the venue.
“It’s a lot of dancing; I haven’t danced the way Tony Thomas is choreographing me in a very long time. At 40, can she still make theater with just my body as her instrument?
The name “Miss Kitty” was born over a decade ago.
Miss Kitty recalls, “She was still presenting as male and going by her dead name. Someone commented that with the wig she was wearing for a part, she looked like Eartha Kitt whom she deeply admires.”
Her penchant for illeism (referring to oneself in third person) isn’t without good reason. She explains, “It’s to reiterate that however she might look, she’s always there; and if you misgender, she will let you know.”
Initially, the moniker was a drag persona at Capital Pride or the occasional fabulous cabaret performance at a nightclub.
But as time passed, she realized that Miss Kitty was something she couldn’t take off. She had always been a part of her.
“She’s helped me to grow and flourish; she’s given me the strength that I never would have had before. I’m so proud of myself for realizing that before it was too late.”
Bringing Miss Kitty into her theatrical career presented some concerns. Would theater folks be open to the new her, especially those she’d worked with before?
Not always, but she’s found new companies who’ve welcomed Miss Kitty with open arms including Avant Bard, Spooky Action Theater, and now Folger.
Last fall, Miss Kitty appeared in Spooky Action’s Agreste (Drylands), a stunning queer story penned by gay Brazilian playwright Newton Moreno.
After being invited to audition and reading the script, Miss Kitty was determined to be a part of the production.
A work dealing with love and being trans, and transphobia, and how people can turn on a dime once they learn the truth about someone, resonated deeply with the actor.
“The play speaks to the idea that if people just let people be who they are and love who they want to love we’d all be a lot happier,” she says.
For her sublime efforts, Miss Kitty nabbed a Helen Hayes Award nomination in the Outstanding Lead Performer category (winner to be determined on Monday, May 20 during a ceremony at The Anthem).
It’s her first time nominated and first time attending. She’s thrilled.
Miss Kitty grew up in Oxen Hill, Md., and now lives near Washington Harbor. Her entry into performance was through music followed by high school plays. She graduated from Catholic University with a degree in music/concentration in musical theater, and from there dove directly into showbiz.
Looking back, Miss Kitty says, “being a person of color AND queer can be a double whammy of difficulty. You have to live in light and do the things you’re afraid to do. That’s the game changer.”
Presenting “Metamorphoses” through the lens of the African diaspora (the cast also includes Jon Hudson Odom and Billie Krishawn, among others) helps us to realize that every story can be universal, especially for marginalized people — South Asian, Native American, or fully queer perspectives, she says.
“Having an all-Black ensemble opens all new worlds for everyone.”
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