Gearing up for its upcoming 20th season, Virginia’s Creative Cauldron offers “a summer celebrating all things musical theater.”
The August and September lineup includes the company’s annual Summer Cabaret Series featuring “some of the best talent the DMV theater scene has to offer” as selected by curator Matt Conner, the local gay composer and Helen Hayes Award-winning director.
All shows take place in the company’s intimate theater space, but are also available to watch this year as livestreams for those who can’t make it out to the theater at the particular showtimes. Highlights below:
“Sondheim Reunion Cabaret” featuring performers from Cauldron’s recent production of Into the Woods, including Rachel Lockett, Holly Kelly, Brett Klock, Brooke Bloomquist, and Bobby Libby. (8/13)
“Love is the Key” with DeCarlo Raspberry, an evening full of “love in all aspects” drawn from jazz, soul, gospel, classical, R&B, and musical theater. (8/19)
Chris “JChris” Urquiaga, paying tribute to inspiring and empowering Latin divas including Selena, Shakira, and Rocio Durcal, all backed by an energetic band, “Que vivan las divas!” (8/20)
“Double Date” featuring Sarah Anne Sillers with her husband, pianist Andrew Kullberg, and Joshua Simon with his husband Brandon Scott Heishman, billed as a “one-night-only” evening celebrating music, marriage, and friendship with beloved tunes from Broadway and beyond. (9/9)
Susan Derry, the Cauldron star and veteran stage performer whose debut album is titled I Wish It So. (9/10)
“Sous le Ciel de Paris” with Wesley Diener, fresh from a series of performances in southwest France for an evening of opera, musical theater, and standards. (9/16)
“Songs I Stole From My Kids!” with Kanysha Williams offering a peek into her life as a voice teacher, from “the songs that I can’t seem to get out of my head” to “ridiculous stories about hanging out with teenagers multiple times a week.” (9/17)
Creative Caudron performs at ArtSpace Falls Church, 410 South Maple Ave., Retail 116. Tickets are $25 to $35 for each live show, or $90 to $180 for a two-top or four-top table plus wine; $15 for each live stream.
The D.C. area is on track to be graced by two visits from the Indigo Girls this year, including a stint with the Fairfax Symphony at Capital One Hall and a remarkable double-bill pairing with fellow lesbian vanguard Melissa Etheridge at Wolf Trap. Wolf Trap is also the place to go for a second edition of the venue's Out & About Festival, this year offering a new cohort of LGBTQ musical acts.
Queer artists are really, truly just about everywhere, coming to nearly every music venue in the region this season. A quick scan of the listings bears this out: There's Donna Missal at The Atlantis, BOOMscat at Blues Alley, CMAT at DC9, XOMG Pop! at the Fillmore, Billy Gilman at Jammin Java, Mary Gauthier at Rams Head on Stage, and Mx Mundy at Songbyrd. And that's just a quick and easy seven, with several times that number waiting in the wings for your discovery.
Kesha has been through hell, but she’s not giving up. The pop singer is gearing up for the next chapter in her career, and this time, she seems happier — and certainly freer — than ever before.
In an Instagram post, the Grammy-nominated artist began teasing that new music was on the way. She posted several photos of herself (looking gorgeous as always) in a natural setting. The “TikTok” musician captioned the upload with nothing more than a website, keshaiswaitingforyou.com.
Those who visited the site were greeted by something they probably didn’t expect: a nude image of Kesha.
The Virginia Department of Health has reported a recent increase in mpox infections in the state.
According to Health Department data, there have been 14 reported cases of mpox since January 1. Four of these required patients to be hospitalized.
The number of cases of mpox in 2024 has already surpassed the total number of cases reported last year. Of the 2024 cases, six occurred in individuals co-infected with HIV, and all cases occurred among individuals that were not vaccinated against mpox.
The cases are spread over four separate health regions: the Northern region, which includes the D.C. suburbs; the Northwest region, including the far-out exurbs of D.C. and the Northern Shenandoah Valley; the Central region, including Greater Richmond and Southside Virginia; and Eastern Virginia, including the Northern Neck, Hampton Roads, and the Eastern Shore regions.
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