Arts & Entertainment
D.C. arts briefs: July 27
Best of Gay D.C. voting up now, ‘Lay of the Land’ and ‘Thomas is Titanic’ at the Fringe
Ba’Naka with her trophies at last year’s Best of Gay D.C. awards. (Blade photo by Pete Exis)
Nominate your faves for Best of Gay D.C.
The opportunity to nominate local businesses, restaurants or people in the Blade’s 11th annual Best of Gay D.C. awards ends Wednesday.
The Blade has added a new step this year to the Best of Gay D.C. Awards by allowing readers to nominate their favorites before official voting starts Aug. 10. Readers can nominate businesses, venues and people in categories such as best new restaurant, best wine bar, best dance club, hottest stripper, best place of worship, best yoga studio, best realtor, best drag queen, best amateur athlete and many more.
The purpose of the awards is to bring reader’s attentions to establishments that they may not have known about prior to the contest.
To nominate a business or a person, or to see where to vote starting Aug. 10, go to bestofgaydc.com.
Running in Rehoboth
CAMP Rehoboth and Seashore Striders are planning the third annual “Sundance 5K: Run, Walk or Sashay!” event for Aug. 26 at 7:30 a.m. The race starts in front of the CAMP Rehoboth Community Center on Baltimore Avenue.
The 5K serves as the kick-off to “Sundance Week,” an annual benefit for Rehoboth’s gay community center. There’s also a one-mile “Fun Walk” and participants are encouraged to come in costume.
Prizes will be awarded to top finishers. Pre-registration runs through Aug. 14 and costs $25 (T-shirt guaranteed); register online by Aug. 24 for $30 or in person on race weekend also for $30 (T-shirts while supplies last). Visit seashorestriders.com to register. The Blade is an official media sponsor.
One man depicts the epic sinking of Titanic
Thomas Choinacky performs “Thomas is Titanic” with the Capital Fringe Festival tonight at 10:30 p.m. and on Sunday at 2:45 p.m. at Mount Vernon United Methodist Church (7th St. Mt. Vernon Square).
Choinacky is a gay performer whose obsession with Kate Winslet led him to play all the parts of the movie, including the iceberg.
General admission is $17. For more information, visit capitalfringe.org.
Laughs and controversy in the Capitol
Award-winning and controversial actor Tim Miller performs his piece “Lay of the Land” as part of the Association for Theater in Higher Education Conference on Aug. 3 at 10 p.m. The conference will take at the Hyatt Regency Washington on Capitol Hill (400 New Jersey Ave., NW).
Miller’s pieces have always explored his identity as a gay man and the civil rights of those in the LGBT community. Several of his pieces have caused controversies. Miller was one of the NEA 4, which were four artists who had their National Endowment of the Arts vetoed based on the content of their work.
“Lay of the Land” is no different, as it takes place during a “No on Prop. 8” protest in downtown L.A. In an interview with gay author William Mann, Miller said, “’Lay of the Land’ is a ‘lay’ in all kinds of ways: a sex-assignation, a queer citizenship map, and of course a narrative ballad with a recurrent refrain.”
Attendees don’t have to be registered for the conference in order to attend the performance. Individual registration costs range from $215-$435, but tickets for Miller’s performance are available for $10 at the door of the Hyatt ballroom just prior to the performance. For more information, visit athe.org or timmillerperformer.com.
Celebrity News
My evening with Madonna
Gay icon headlined the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Editor’s note: International News Editor Michael K. Lavers and Photo Editor Michael Key will be on assignment in the Netherlands through Aug. 10. They will be covering World Pride in Amsterdam.
AMSTERDAM — Madonna and 6,000 of her closest friends celebrated World Pride at Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall early Sunday morning. I was fortunate enough to be one of them.
Madonna last Wednesday nearly broke the internet when she said on social media in Dutch that “I got somethin’ I wanna talk about,” referring to an opening line in “Danceteria,” one of the tracks on her “Confessions II” album that has received rave reviews since its July 2 release. The track has been on near constant replay on my playlist since I first heard it.
— Madonna (@Madonna) July 28, 2026
MISTR — a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term care that has organized Madonna’s Club Confessions shows in the U.S. and the U.K. — later confirmed the rampant speculation. I woke up on July 30 to an email in my inbox from MISTR and the World Pride Music Festival PR team that said I was on the press list.
Madonna was indeed going to headline the World Pride Music Festival that Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced, and I was going to be there. OMFG!!!!
The gay icon had one more surprise in store.
The Dutch internet on Saturday once again broke over speculation that Kylie Minogue was going to appear alongside Madonna. I was getting ready to leave our hotel in Amsterdam on Saturday night when I saw a video of the two of them together.
“Madonna is now teasing Kylie Minogue on her social media … she may be one of her ‘special guests’ tonight,” I wrote in a text to Washington Blade Editor Kevin Naff at 8:46 p.m.
“Have fun! This is turning into the gayest concert ever,” he responded.
I arrived at AFAS Live shortly before 11 p.m. My press contact walked me and two other Dutch journalists into the venue’s cavernous main room known as the Black Box. We made small talk for a few minutes before I started to walk around and listen to Josh Harrison who was on the decks.
Madonna was scheduled to take the stage at 1:30 a.m., but she is known for being late — she is Madonna and she does what she wants. Hayla, a British singer, and Bebe Rexha are among those who performed ahead of Madonna. Thousands of sweaty men — including a group of Australians next to me who were eagerly awaiting Kylie’s anticipated appearance — packed the Black Box and were dancing, anticipating what was to come.
MISTR CEO Tristan Schukraft at one point came on stage and declared Madonna was indeed in the building. The moment for which we were all eagerly waiting finally came shortly before 2:30 a.m.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage.
Stuart Price, who produced her “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album in 2005, manned the decks during Madonna’s set.
She opened it with “I Feel So Free” from “Confessions II.” Madonna then sang “Bring Your Love” and “Danceteria” to which this reporter — and everyone else — sang along.
Madonna then teased a surprise before she began to perform “Love Sensation.” Kylie soon appeared on stage. It was nearly too much for my fellow partygoers from Australia. It was indeed the gayest concert ever!
Madonna and Kylie performed “Love Sensation” together. They then sang “Hung Up” and “Sorry” from “Confessions on a Dance Floor” to round out the set that ended shortly after 3 a.m.
Madonna and I share the same birthday — Aug. 16 — and I would like to think she and Kylie gave me an early birthday present. In all seriousness though, it was an amazing night for me and for everyone else who was fortunate enough to be there.
“On the dance floor I feel so free,” says Madonna in the opening of “I Feel So Free.”
For those few precious hours at AFAS Live I did not think about the Trump-Vance administration and the myriad ways it is destroying the U.S. I did not think about the National Guard troops deployed to D.C. I did not think about the pointless wars that continue to ravage Ukraine and other countries around the world. I simply lost myself on the dance floor and celebrated an icon who has always stood with my community.
Thank you, Madonna.
The Petal Release Party and Drag Show was held at Spark Social on Friday, July 31. Performers included Tiara-Missou, Labianna and Darcy de la Cuadra.
(Washington Blade photos by Landon Shackelford)
Celebrity News
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Kylie Minogue made surprise appearance alongside gay icon
AMSTERDAM — Madonna on Sunday headlined the final night of the World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam.
The gay icon took the stage shortly before 2:30 a.m. local time (8:30 p.m. ET on Saturday) during Club Confessions, a set that MISTR, a telehealth platform that offers free access to PrEP, Doxy PEP, STI testing, and long-term HIV care, organized.
“Mother is here and this is gay heaven,” said Madonna when she took the stage inside Amsterdam’s AFAS Live concert hall that can hold up to 6,000 people.
Stuart Price, who produced Madonna’s 2005 “Confessions on a Dance Floor” album and “Confessions II,” which debuted on July 2, DJed the set.
Kylie Minogue made a surprise appearance. She and Madonna performed a new remix of “Love Sensation” from “Confessions II.”
(Washington Blade video by Michael K. Lavers)
“Throughout my career, I’ve always supported efforts to fight HIV and AIDS, and that fight begins with education and access,” said Madonna in a MISTR press release. “With MISTR, (CEO) Tristan (Schukraft) is expanding access to HIV prevention and sexual healthcare for everyone. Through this work, he’s helping preserve and strengthen LGBTQ+ spaces while investing in the communities and culture that have long sustained us.”
Minogue in an Instagram post thanked Madonna, Price, Schukraft, and MISTR.
Madonna appeared at The Abbey in West Hollywood, Calif., in April. Madonna in June celebrated Pride month with a pop-up performance in New York’s Times Square.
Jake Resnicow and Insomniac produced the World Pride Music Festival that also featured Bebe Rexha and Paris Hilton, among others.
“Pride has always been about bringing our community together,” said Resnicow. “At a moment when too many people are being told to hide or make themselves smaller, gathering openly, joyfully, and without apology matters more than ever. I couldn’t be prouder of what this festival brought to life in Amsterdam — one dance floor, completely free.”
Remembering Elliot Leonard, generous visionary who helped LGBTQ communities thrive
My evening with Madonna
PHOTOS: Petal Release Party
Madonna headlines World Pride Music Festival in Amsterdam
Reggie White relishing first season as artistic director of Woolly Mammoth
PHOTOS: Lambda Legal in the Pines
Calendar: July 31-August 6
Taiwan’s government has failed to update process to change gender markers on ID documents
Come showcase your singing, poetry talent
