Arts & Entertainment
‘You’re so Square, Baby I Don’t Care’
D.C. Lambda Squares celebrating 30th anniversary this weekend
The Lambda Squares in 1988. (Washington Blade archive photo by Doug Hinckle)
On any given Thursday night, a group of about 65 people from the LGBT community gather in the music suite of National City Christian Church to square dance with their friends.
But don’t expect to see cowboy hats, prairie skirts or couples doing the “Dosey Doe.” These square dancers dress casually, have no couple requirements, allow all-positioning dancing and the caller is using a Lady Gaga song.
One thing’s for sure: This is not your grandparents’ square dancing.
Since 1982, the D.C. Lambda Squares have been bringing a level of excitement and energy to the dance floor that was once unheard of in the square dance community.
“It was founded by a group of gay men and lesbians who wanted to square dance but at the time, straight clubs were non-accepting of same-sex couples square dancing, or people dancing other than in their traditional position,” says Joe Harr, president of the D.C. Lambda Squares. “They formed this club so they could dance the way they wanted to.”
Today, the club is open to young and old, singles or couples and beginners or advanced dancers. Anyone interested can visit the group online.
“My favorite part is the people involved are very welcoming and open and it’s just a relaxed atmosphere,” Harr says. “There are various gay square dance clubs throughout the U.S., and an international association and many people take part in other weekend dances.”
In addition to D.C. Lambda Squares’ regular Thursday-night get-together, which meets from 7:30 to 9:30 p.m. in D.C. at National City Christian Church (5 Thomas Circle, NW), eight times a year, the club holds a community dance at Francis Scott Key Middle School (910 Schindler Dr.) in Silver Spring, Md.
In honor of the organization’s 30th anniversary, the Lambda Squares are holding a party Saturday at Francis Scott Key Middle School with Doren McBroom set to call.
“A 30th anniversary is the pearl anniversary, so we are telling everyone to wear pearls for this event,” Harr says. “Our last community dance was a beach theme so people came in their bathing suits. We expect everyone to have a great time.”
Other regular callers are Dayle Hodge and club members Kent Forester and Brian Jarvis.
John Burlison, a former club president who has been a member since 2000, has watched the club’s membership ebb and flow over the last dozen years and is happy that interest is on the upswing.
“The people I learned with was the largest class for many years but we went through a time when it was very difficult to find new members,” Burlison says. “That appears to be slowly changing, as in recent years people have rediscovered square dancing as a fun activity and a great way to meet people.”
Membership coordinator Joe Branch learned of the group from seeing them perform at a Pride festival three years ago and has helped spearhead bringing the group to other events around the area, such as Gay Day at the Hillwood Museum this past year.
“What we try to do is perform at Pride and try to find other venues to do demos, hold open houses and try to perform at different community events to get people interested in square dancing,” Branch says. “Square dancing is a delightful activity full of wonderful people. I think the D.C. Lambda Squares is the friendliest group of people I have ever met.”
Many of the members have been with the group for at least 10 years, and this is designated with a special bar that they put on their membership badge. This past year, the group had to order some 20-year bars to commemorate those that have been involved since the early ’90s.
“Those who were here at the beginning did wear traditional western wear, and that has been the biggest change, since we wear what we are comfortable in,” Harr says. “For us, it’s not about living up to a certain square dancing cliché, we are all about having fun.”
Cindy Scharf has been going to Lambda Squares since 1997, learning about the group from a friend.
“I got involved initially to get some exercise and to meet some women in the LGBT community, and I ended up meeting a lot of good friends,” she says. “After a hard day of work, to come in and see so many smiling faces is really uplifting.”
Not only did Scharf make lots of new friends, but her going had a monumental impact on her life.
“I met my wife Olivia there,” she says. “It’s an organization that is open to singles and you don’t need a partner to dance. People are willing to dance with you. It’s not partnered up in the way the straight dancing is. A lot of people have met the people they are with through square dancing.”
One of her favorite things about the club is that the music isn’t what you would normally think of when you hear the term “square dancing.” That’s another of the positive changes through the years.
“I think there is a misconception that people who square dance tend to dance only to country-western music,” she says, “but the callers have a variety of music from different genres and some relatively modern things.”
Scharf and her wife also use their involvement in square dancing to help them decide on vacations.
“One of the things that we both enjoy about it is that we travel around a lot,” she says. “Every year there’s an annual convention and we use that as an excuse to travel to different places that we might not otherwise had in our sights to go to.”
Both Scharf and Burlison have fond memories of the 20th anniversary party and are looking forward to the fun night that the 30th promises, as well.
“We’re expecting to have some old friends and members who haven’t been here for a while come out for the night,” Harr says. “Remember, before the Internet, people had to actually go out of their houses to meet people and have fun. Square dancing is a great thing for people who love to dance to blow off steam, interact with other members and visit with their friends.”
Theater
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
42nd annual celebration of excellence in local theater set for May 18
Helen Hayes Awards 2026
May 18, 2026
For tickets go to theatrewashington.org
Last year, when out director Tom Story took on the daunting task of directing Round House Theatre’s production of “The Inheritance, Parts One and Two,” he knew that casting would be important, maybe even paramount, to the endeavor’s success. So, Story didn’t mess around.
Penned by queer playwright Matthew López, “The Inheritance” (inspired by E.M. Forster’s 1910 novel “Howards End”) is based on gay culture in the wake of the AIDS crisis.
Story looked at actors he knew, and some he didn’t. He wanted low drama and maybe players who could relate to the LGBTQ experience. In the end, the production’s 13-person cast was entirely queer except for brilliant local favorite Nancy Robinette as Margaret, the wise housekeeper.
Clearly, Story’s vision resonated with audiences. Round House’s production of “The Inheritance” is the most-nominated work of this year’s Helen Hayes Awards, earning 14 nominations. It’s also one of Round House’s highest grossing popular successes ever.
The queer cast members whose ages ranged from about 22 to 60, worked hard and enjoyed the process, and along the way garnered an Outstanding Ensemble in a Play (Hayes) nomination for their efforts.
The ensemble included Jamar Jones as Tristan, a brilliant doctor who leaves New York for Canada after deciding there’s no place for a gay, HIV-positive Black man in America. For the experienced actor, being part of “The Inheritance” was profound: “I think it was a divinely orchestrated production.”
He adds “I really feel that it’s so rare that you get to work on a show of that magnitude…size, time, where virtual strangers genuinely fell into rhythm. We became a cohort. I never felt a sense of unease, or reluctance to try things. I could be as big or bold as I wanted to be; or I could be small. Fail, mess up, try again. I didn’t feel judged.”
Jones considers Richmond his home, but says “I’m based where the work is.” Currently, he’s back at Round House rehearsing “Sally & Tom” (May 27-June28), a play within a play/meta exploration of the relationship between Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings by Suzan-Lori Parks.
Jones plays both a contemporary violinist and an enslaved fiddler, parts that have required him to learn to “air fiddle.” He’s all over it: “I want to represent the art and to be as precise as possible. Taught by an instructor, I’ve made strides with movement of the bow; next up is finger placement.”
Will he leave the play a violinist? “I’ll report back on closing night. Maybe I will have added something to the special skills list on my resume.”
For about a decade, Jones worked in living history, interpreting, performing, and writing pieces about the enslaved people of Colonial Virginia. Among the many historical characters he portrayed was Jupiter (Thomas Jefferson’s longtime enslaved manservant), an experience that’s proved a connection and preparation for his current role.
The 42nd Helen Hayes Awards celebration recognizing excellence in professional theater in the DMV will be held on Monday, May 18, 2026 at The Anthem on the District Wharf in Washington, D.C. Named for Helen Hayes, the legendary first lady of Broadway, the program consists of the awards presentation hosted by Felicia Curry, Awa Sal Secka, and Derrick Truby, followed by an after-party at nearby Whitlow’s.
With works selected from 149 eligible productions presented in the 2025 calendar year, nominations were made in 41 categories and grouped as either “Helen” (non-Equity/small Equity presence) or “Hayes” (Equity-heavy).
The many nominations are the result of 49 vetted judges considering 1,997 pieces of work, such as design, direction, choreography, performances, and more. The productions under consideration included 42 musicals, 107 plays, and 33 world premieres.
The following are more of this year’s queer nominees.
A past Helen Hayes Award recipient and nominee, Fran Tapia is competing against herself this year in the Outstanding Lead Performer in a Musical (Helen) category. Nominated for her memorable turn as the diva barkeep in GALA Theatre’s “Columbia Heights Bolero Bar,” an immersive musical centered on songs of longing and immigration set in a diverse neighborhood on the eve of a divisive presidential election
“It was a challenging time, because a lot of what was happening in the show was happening in the neighborhood,” says Tapia who lives in Columbia Heights just eight minutes from GALA.
Based in D.C. since 2019, Tapia says “Being recognized in a country that is not my homeland but where I’m building my artistic home, is deeply meaningful. And the variety of roles I have been able to play speaks to the richness of DC theater and the collaborators who trusted me with these roles.”
Her other individual nomination is for the title role in Spooky Action Theater’s “Professor Woland’s Black Magic Rock Show,” a passionately comedic political satire. She approached the mysterious central character as nonbinary.
Tapia (“Chilean, Latina, queer and proud immigrant”) says while very different, both performances involved particularly strong characters. She’s grateful audiences responded positively to her work.
Stanley Bahorek, who moved to D.C. with his husband four years ago, is best known as an accomplished actor with a long list of Broadway and regional credits (including playing Carl, the gay son in Studio Theatre’s recent production of “The Mother Play”). Now, he is nominated for Outstanding Music Direction (Helen) for his work on “A Strange Loop,” a production of D.C.’s Visionaries of the Creative Arts (VOCA) in collaboration with Deaf Austin Theatre. He shares this nomination with Walter “Bobby” McCoy.
Michael R. Jackson’s Tony and Pulitzer wining play “A Strange Loop,” is the story of Usher, a Black, queer theater usher trying to write a musical. VOCA’s take on the work is seen through a deaf BIPOC lens with a deaf Usher played by a deaf actor (out actor Gabriel Silva). Invited by director and longtime friend Alexandria Wailes (who is deaf), Bahorek (who is hearing) joined the creative team as a sort of hybrid associate director/ music supervisor.
“I’m fluent in conversational American Sign Language (ASL),” he says. “I sort of functioned as a sherpa between the hearing and deaf and hard-of-hearing creatives. It’s been a great thrill to be a part of VOCA’s biggest production to date.”
If he and McCoy take home the prize, who makes the acceptance speech? Bahorek takes a beat before replying “That’s something we still need to talk about. And soon.”
A full list of award recipients will be available at theatrewashington.org on Tuesday, May 19, 2026.
Anthony Oakes will host “DC Black Pride Comedy Show” on Thursday, May 21 at 7 p.m.
Oakes will workshop his new hour about addiction, incarceration, recovery, and redemption with special guests.
This event will be hosted by the hilarious Apple Brown Betty with TJ So Silly, Howl Cooper, and featuring Patrice Deveaux. DJ Art.is will be spinning on the 1’s & 2’s. Libations will be provided by Drink Alchy. Images by RGF ENT. Tickets are $28.52 and can be purchased on Eventbrite.
Out & About
United Night Out set for Saturday
Team DC hosts evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag and community
On Saturday, May 16, Team DC is taking over Audi Field for United Night OUT as D.C. United faces St. Louis SC.
Come out for an evening of soccer, Pride, music, drag, and community. The night kicks off with pre-game fun featuring DC Different Drummers, DJ Heat, and a Pride Night OUT Party at the Heineken Rooftop. Then get ready for a 7:30 p.m. match, including the National Anthem sung by Dana Nearing and a halftime drag performance.
After the match, the celebration continues at the Post-Game Rooftop Party with DJ Heat and the After Party at Dacha Navy Yard. Game tickets and after party tickets are available now through Zeffy. After party tickets are $20 and include one drink.
‘The Inheritance’ is most-nominated at this year’s Helen Hayes Awards
HIV Vaccine Awareness Day set for May 18
DC Black Pride is around the corner
United Night Out set for Saturday
Calendar: May 15-21
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