Arts & Entertainment
Calendar: July 29
Parties, events, meetings and more through Aug. 4
TODAY
Ziegfeld’s/Secrets (1824 Half St., S.W.) presents Badlands/Apex Appreciation Night tonight hosted by Kristina Kelly with Apex’s own DJ Joey O. Doors open at 9 p.m. There is a $5 cover until 10:30 and a $10 afterward.
Busboys & Poets will be having an American Sign Language open mic night tonight at 11 p.m. in the Langston room at its 14th and V streets location (2021 14th St., N.W.). Anyone with sign language knowledge may sign up by e-mailing [email protected]. There is a $5 admission at the door.
This week’s Bear Happy Hour at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) will feature Johnny Scruff, the creator of the Scruff app. For more information on the app, visit scruffapp.com. Happy hour begins at 6 p.m.
The Blackberry Belles are having a record release party at Black Cat (1811 14th St., N.W.) tonight to benefit Girls Rock! D.C., an organization aimed to create a space for girls to develop self-confidence and more. Ugly and Spoonboy and the Papas will be performing. Doors open at 9 p.m. and tickets are $10.
D.C. Lambda Squares, an LGBT square dancing group, will be dancing at Thoreau Middle School (2505 State Route 698) in Vienna, tonight from 8 to 10 p.m. Ett McAtee will be calling.
The Lodge (21614 National Pike) in Boonsboro presents Araya Sparxx’s All American Drag Off with specials guests Monica Moore and India Ferrah. Seven contestants will be competing for a prize package worth more than $1,000 including six guaranteed bookings at The Lodge, promo photo shoot by RAB2 Imaging and $500 cash prize. For more information, visit thelodgeMD.com/dragoff.
Saturday, July 30
The Black Eyed Peas will be performing at Merriweather Post Pavilion (10475 Little Patuxent Parkway) in Columbia, Md., tonight. Tickets range from $45 to $125 and can be purchased online at merriweathermusic.com. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Wolf Trap (1645 Trap Rd.) in Vienna, presents “Casablanca” tonight at 8:30 at the Filene Center with the National Symphony Orchestra playing the score live as the movie plays on large screens. Tickets range from $20 to $52 and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.
This season’s “RuPaul’s Drag Race” winner Raga will be performing live at Town (2009 8th St., N.W.) tonight at 10:30 p.m. There is an $8 cover from 10 to 11 p.m. which then goes up to $12. All attendees must be 21 or older.
Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) presents “Venus in Fur” a play by David Ives which tells the story of an actress who arrives unscheduled for an audition and ends up in a battle for power, today at 2 and 8 p.m. Tickets range from $46 to $57 and can be purchased online. The play’s run has been extended through July 31. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit studiotheatre.org.
“Shear Madness,” a comedy whodunit, will be performed twice tonight at the Kennedy Center Theater Lab (2700 F St., N.W.) at 3 and 7 p.m. “Madness” takes place in present-day Georgetown, in the Shear Madness Hair Styling Salon. Tickets are $42. Visit kennedy-center.org for more information and to purchase tickets.
Sunday, July 31
Britney Spears brings her “Femme Fatale North American Summer Tour” to D.C. at tonight at the Verizon Center (601 F St., N.W.) with special guests Nicki Minaj and opening acts Jesse and the Toy Boys and Nervo. Tickets range from $29.50 to $350 and can be purchased online at ticketmaster.com. Doors open at 6 p.m.
Grammy-winning singer/songwriter Dolly Parton brings her “Better Days World Tour” to Wolf Trap tonight at 8 p.m. at the Filene Center (1645 Trap Rd.) in Vienna, Va. Tickets are $35 for the lawn, $60 for in-house and can be purchased online at wolftrap.org.
Red Palace (1212 H St., N.E.) presents Tall Tales, a series of cocktail classes that delve into the stories behind the cocktails, tonight at 8 p.m. This week’s featured cocktail is the martini. Tickets are $25 and include three cocktails. All attendees must be 21 or older. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit redpalacedc.com.
Monday, Aug. 1
Bears do Yoga at Green Lantern (1335 Green Court N.W.) tonight at 6:30 p.m. Class lasts for an hour and serves as an introduction to yoga for people of all different body types and physical abilities. It’s taught by Michael Brazell. For more information, visit dccenter.org.
Tuesday, Aug. 2
The musical “Wicked” will be performed at the Kennedy Center (2700 F St., N.W.) tonight at 7:30 p.m. “Wicked” tells the story of the Wicked Witch of the West and Glinda the Good Witch, before Dorothy landed in Oz. Tickets range from $37 to $250 and can be purchased online at kennedy-center.org.
Join Burgundy Crescent Volunteers to help pack safer sex kits from 7 to 9 p.m. tonight at Green Lantern (1335 Green Ct., N.W.).
Wednesday, Aug. 3
Citizen Effect is having its second annual Yoga Challenge’s free yoga in the park today at Meridian Hill Park (2500 16th St., N.W.) from 6 to 7:30 p.m. The organization has partner with yoga studios around the city to give deals to anyone who signs up to raise $250 for Becky’s Fund, a nonprofit organization addressing domestic violence in the District. For more information, visit citizeneffect.org.
“From the Back of the Room,” a documentary that chronicles the last 30 years of female involvement in DIY punk, will have its D.C. premiere at the E Street Cinema (555 11th St., N.W.) at 8 p.m. Tickets are $10 and can be purchased online. For more information, visit fromthebackoftheroom.com.
Thursday, Aug. 4
Nellie’s (900 U St., N.W.) is hosting a happy hour tonight at 6 p.m. for Team Red Bowl, an organization created to help feed children in Africa. For more information, visit teamredbowl.com.
Studio Theatre (1501 14th St., N.W.) presents “Pop!” a musical murder-mystery by Maggie-Kate Coleman and Anna K. Jacobs which peeks inside the artistic revelry of Andy Warhol’s infamous Factory, today at 8:30 p.m. Tickets range from $35 to $50 and can be purchased online. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit studiotheatre.org.
Celebrity News
More than 1 million people attend Madonna concert in Rio
Free event took place on Copacabana Beach on Saturday
An estimated 1.6 million people on Saturday attended Madonna’s free concert on Rio de Janeiro’s Copacabana Beach.
The concert, which was the last one as part of Madonna’s Celebration Tour, included a tribute to people lost to AIDS.
Bob the Drag Queen introduced Madonna before the concert began. Pabllo Vittar, a Brazilian drag queen and singer, and Anitta, a bisexual pop star who was born in Rio’s Honório Gurgel neighborhood, also joined Madonna on stage.
Congresswoman Erika Hilton, a Black travesti and former sex worker, and Rio Municipal Councilwoman Mônica Benício, the widow of Marielle Franco, a bisexual Rio Municipal Councilwoman who was assassinated in 2018, are among those who attended the concert.
“Madonna showed that we fight important fights for the human rights of Black (people), young (people), women and LGBTQIA+ people, and against all injustice, discrimination, and violence,” said Associaçao Nacional de Travestis e Transexuais (National Association of Travestis and Transsexuals), a Brazilian trans rights group known by the acronym ANTRA, on its X account. “What they call identitarianism’ is our subversion to the retrograde and conservative tackiness that plagues the country.”
The Associated Press reported the concert was Madonna’s biggest ever.
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 observed 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)