Bars & Parties

The antics of outrage

Published

16 years ago

December 18, 2009

Judy Gold is in unfamiliar surroundings.

“Where the fuck is the remote?” she says with her trademark semi-mock outrage. “Why can’t I find the fucking remote?”

The 47-year-old stand-up comedian is in a Washington hotel room and just back from a Whole Foods run before heading off to a tech rehearsal at Theater J for her new one-woman show, “Judy Gold is Mommy Queerest!” And she can’t find a thing.

After answering a few questions about the show, her answers liberally sprinkled with f-bombs, the frustration returns.

“I have no utensils,” she says mid-sentence. “There are no fucking utensils in this room. Oh here they are.” But the joy of finding them disappears in less than a second. “There’s like a fork and a spoon and that’s it,” she growls.

The negativity might be unbearable were it not tempered by Gold’s wit. Somehow one senses, even in her pissiest moments, she’s not really that annoyed. Some of it’s her shtick and, in a way, her charm. Feigned indignant behavior, after all, is a hallmark of many a standup.

Gold calls “Queerest,” “pretty much the story of my life, of how I became a comic and my addiction to family sitcoms.” It’s been in previews this week but officially debuts Saturday with Sunday’s 7:30 p.m. performance featuring an opening night reception. The Theater J production, its second, runs through Jan. 3 at the D.C. JCC.

“The Brady Bunch,” Gold says, is her “favorite of all time,” but also mentions “The Partridge Family,” “All in the Family,” “Maude” and “Room 222.” She briefly considers naming “Mary Tyler Moore” her “all-time favorite,” but quickly realizes it’s too tough a call to make.

“I can’t even say,” she says. “Basically any family that wasn’t mine was my favorite. … They’re like members of your family. So there I am laying on the carpeting in a dream world watching and this show kind of tells the story of that.”

But “Mommy” has other dreams, too. Gold says though she loves live theater, she remains dumbfounded that she hasn’t landed her own sitcom.

“Here I am 47 years old and I don’t have my own show. Why the fuck don’t I have my own show? I have no fucking idea.”

With two Emmys she won for writing and producing “The Rosie O’Donnell Show,” on the bookshelf of the New York apartment she shares with her two sons (8 and 13), Gold has no trouble setting pitch meetings with network execs. And they always go well, she says.

“Once I’m in the meeting and they’re cracking up and you believe they’re thinking how could they not, but then they don’t. I have them cracking up for a half hour, but of course it’s always the same shit. America’s not ready for a gay family.”

Gold insists the show would be autobiographical. Citing her two kids, her ex who lives in the same building, her annoying mother and her therapist girlfriend, her life, she says, is perfect sitcom fodder. She also thinks it could break down barriers for gays in a Norman Lear kind of way.

If America could watch a family in which they could see themselves except for the fact that it was gay, Gold says, the marriage issue would be solved in a few years by a cultural attitude shift. Gold remembers how much she was shaped by the sitcom families she watched as a kid and dreams of having that kind of influence.

So does stand up and theater satisfy some of that itch? She says yes, calling live theater “the greatest thing in the world.” But the simple fact is it never reaches as many people as TV can.

But for now, Gold is making do with what she has and it’s going well. “Mommy,” which debuted in Montreal in July, has garnered mixed reviews but nearly all critics have confessed it’s undeniably funny. Substantial tweaking and re-writing has preceded its D.C. premiere to the point that Gold now calls it a “completely different show,” even in the last month. One big change was the addition of Kate Moira Ryan, who co-wrote Gold’s last show, “25 Questions for a Jewish Mother,” which had a 2008 D.C. run. When Gold started writing “Mommy,” Ryan was busy with other projects but as the project gestated, Ryan became an essential collaborator again.

Gold takes Fridays off for Shabbat. She says being Jewish is part of who is she though she doesn’t “believe every detail of it.”
“I try to take all the good things from it,” she says.

Equally factoring into her persona, of course, is her out-and-proud lesbianism. She’s been out professionally for well over a decade and says she can’t believe America is still having a debate about same-sex marriage.

“I can’t imagine telling anyone they cannot love another person and their relationship is not equal,” she says.

‘Judy Gold is Mommy Queerest!’
Saturday at 8, Sunday at 3 and 7:30 p.m. and additional performances through Jan. 3
$30 to $55 (half-price tickets available for 35 and younger)
D.C. JCC’s Goldman Theater
1529 16th Street, N.W.
800-494-TIXS
theaterj.org

Related Topics:Goldman Theater Judy Gold Theater J

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Bars & Parties

Halloween weekend is here

Local events abound for a spooky good time

Published

4 weeks ago

October 30, 2025

Tinashe Chingarande

The annual High Heel Race is the kickoff to D.C.’s Halloween festivities. (Washington Blade photo by Michael Key)

Halloween weekend is here, and here’s a list of just some of the local events if you’re looking to have a spooky good time.

Go Gay DC will host “LGBTQ+ Halloween Party” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. at Freddie’s Beach Bar and Restaurant. This is an opportunity to mingle with LGBTQ folk and allies. Halloween costumes are encouraged or casual beach attire is fine. Attendance is free and more details are available on Eventbrite.

Mixtape Sapphics will host “Bad Witch, Good Butch: A Sapphic Halloween Dream” on Saturday, Nov. 1 at 4 p.m. at Revolt DC. This is a halloween party for sapphics from the ages of 35 and above. There will be costumes, connection and dancing. Tickets are $13.26 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Taste Takeover will host “Abuela Halloween Party” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 8 p.m. at 639 Florida Ave., N.W. DJ Yani will play music and there will be a costume contest with prizes to be won. Tickets cost $17.85 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Metro Cabaret Club will host “Spookshow Spectacular: Dance Place After Dark Halloween Party” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. at Dance Place. This is D.C.’s Halloween nightlife and draglesque showcase, featuring live performances, creative marketplace, and costumed revelry. For more details and to purchase tickets, visit Eventbrite.

Punch Bowl Social will host “Halloween Bash” on Friday. Oct 31 at 9 p.m. at Punch Bowl Social Arlington. This will be a night of hauntingly good times with a killer DJ, vendors, and a costume contest. Tickets cost $12.09 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.

Thrust Lounge will host “Nightmare on 14th St.” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 5 p.m. DJ Tryfe will play music, and there’ll also be a costume contest with prizes. For more details, visit Thurst’s Instagram.

Nellie’s Sports Bar will host “Halloween Scariest Costume Contest” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. Guests are encouraged to bring their scariest, creepiest, most haunting look for a Halloween night they won’t forget — fueled by Casamigos and Nellie’s signature spooky fun. For more details, visit Nellie’s website.

Kiki DC will host “Kiki’s Halloween Costume Contest” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 10 p.m. This event will be hosted by Pirouette and there’ll be prizes for the top three costumes. For more details, visit Kiki’s Instagram.

Sinners and Saints will host “Heaven’s On Fire (Queer Pop Dance Party)” on Friday, Oct. 31 at 9 p.m. There will be two floors and music by Sonali Dawar, DJ Noons and Aria McIntosh. There will also be drink specials all night.

Crush Dance Bar will host a Halloween costume contest on Friday, Oct. 31 at 11 p.m. Drag queens Empress Lena and Sasha Adams will host the event. For more details, visit Crush’s Instagram.

Arts & Entertainment

D.C. bars step up to offer discounts for fed’l employees

Deals, freebies, events, and happy hours galore

Published

2 months ago

October 1, 2025

Evan Caplan

Bunker is offering free entry for anyone with government, contractor, military IDs this weekend. (Washington Blade file photo by Michael Key)

(Editor’s note: This list was compiled on Wednesday afternoon and is not meant to be comprehensive. If you would like to add your bar’s specials, please email [email protected].)

As the federal government comes to a standstill, the DMV restaurant and bar community has come to the aid of furloughed workers, who suddenly have plenty of time on their hands. More than a handful of spots are offering deals, discounts, freebies, events, and more. Many do require an identification to validate employment status. Plus, this shutdown looks like it’s here to stay for some time, so take advantage.

Franklin Hall: This sports bar on Florida Avenue is kicking off the shutdown hard: offering $6 Mixed Drinks, Canned Beers, and “furloughed Shooters” – as well as a free food buffet 4PM-6PM.

Carmine’s, located downtown, is offering steep discounts – $5 meatball sliders, and $8 cocktails: “Here We Go Again” and “The Essential Worker.” Carmine’s specifically noted that the specials are open to all, not just affected workers.

Compass Coffee is offering a free pastry with a drink purchase.

Cork Wine Bar and Market on 14th Street is offering a long happy hour – from 3 p.m. to close with wine specials, plus discounted fries and snacks.

Union Pub is providing steeply cheap beer ($3), alongside discounted hot dogs.

Two locations of Hank’s Oyster Bar are serving up all-day happy hour at the bar, along with $2.50 oysters and a percent off checks for federal workers.

Boqueria DC is giving federal workers with ID happy hour pricing all day long: meaning cheaper sangria, wine, beer, and lots of tapas.

Osteria Morini in D.C. is offering a “Federal Employee Appreciation Special” with $15 pastas for federal employees; Cucina Morini has $10 “primi pastas.”

Duke’s Grocery is offering a complimentary drink: A free shot of bourbon or a glass of house wine when you buy any burger or entrée. Plus, there are $5 select beers.

Thompson Restaurants is offering all government employees 20% off their bill by showing a valid government ID. The offer spans 11 of Thompson’s restaurant brands and more than 65 locations across the DMV, including Matchbox, Makers Union, Wiseguy Pizza, Big Buns, and more.

Shaw’s Tavern: $5 beers, $6 wine, $7 Deep Eddy, $10 burger and pizza, with ID.

LGBTQ BARS

Crush: This bar is offering a “Pouring it forward” event with a free vodka hour, 10-11 p.m. this Friday.

Number Nine is offering $9 cocktails all night after 9 p.m.

Bunker has free entry for anyone with government, contractor, military IDs this weekend.

District Eagle offers 30% off drinks for anyone with government, contractor, or military IDs this weekend.

Kiki has free Deep Eddy happy hour 8-9 p.m. Wednesday, Oct. 1.

Her Diner offers all-night drink specials with ID.

Bars & Parties

Blade’s 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party set for May 16

Rehoboth Beach event to feature politicos, journalists, special guests

Published

7 months ago

May 8, 2025

Staff reports

Washington Blade editor Kevin Naff (right) with Rep. Sarah McBride at the 2024 Summer Kickoff Party in Rehoboth Beach. (Blade photo by Daniel Truitt)

The Washington Blade’s 18th annual Summer Kickoff Party is scheduled for Friday, May 16 in Rehoboth Beach, Del.

The event, held at the Blue Moon (35 Rehoboth Ave.) from 5-7 p.m., is a fundraiser for the Blade Foundation’s Steve Elkins Memorial Fellowship in Journalism, which funds a summer position reporting on LGBTQ news in Delaware. This year’s recipient is Abigail Hatting, a rising senior at American University.

This year’s event will feature remarks from state Sen. Russ Huxtable, who recently introduced a state constitutional amendment to codify the right of same-sex couples to marry. CAMP Rehoboth Executive Director Kim Leisey and Blade editor Kevin Naff will also speak, in addition to surprise guests. The event is generously sponsored by Realtor Justin Noble, The Avenue Inn & Spa, and Blue Moon.

A suggested donation of $20 is partially tax deductible and includes drink tickets and light appetizers. Tickets are available in advance at bladefoundation.org/rehoboth or at the door.