Claybourne Elr: gay Broadway star plays two Bay Area shows :: Bay Area Reporter

Contents:

• THE 10 BT GAY MILS OF ALL TIME
• OPN: ARE MILS ONLY FOR GAY MEN?
• GAY REPRENTATN: RISG ON TV, NOT MIL THEATER?
• CLAYBOURNE ELR: GAY BROADWAY STAR PLAYS TWO BAY AREA SHOWS

THE 10 BT GAY MILS OF ALL TIME

The Tony awards have always been a gay affair, plete wh out hosts like Neil Patrick Harris and wners like David Hy Pierce famoly thankg their partners at the podium.

The story revolv around a group of gay iends g together for a iend's birthday party Manhattan, and ends wh stori about long-lost lovers, and one character g out to his wife. Created by out playwright John Cameron Mchell, Hedwig spired a feature film and a Broadway revival, wh gay actors like Neil Patrick Harris and Andrew Rannells takg on the role.Fun Home This crilly-acclaimed Broadway mil was adapted by Lisa Kron and Jeane Tori om Alison Bechl's 2006 graphic memoir of the same name. The story follows the life of Alison, cludg a g-out that's plited by her father's own secret gay life.

Each act foc on a different time Arnold's life, om his relatnship wh a bisexual man, to adoptg a child wh his partner, to beg a sgle dad raisg a gay son.

OPN: ARE MILS ONLY FOR GAY MEN?

The storyle was a darg productn for the time -- even though alt wh a lbian romance, was weled by the public and beme a huge succs.Safe Sex Another award-wng play by Harvey Fierste, Safe Sex premiered on Broadway 1987 and took dienc to the life of a gay man rg for his lover as he succumbs to AIDS-related illns. After his partner's ath, the protagonist mt meet his lover's wife and son.The Pri Set both the 1950s and 2008, The Pri, wrten by Alexi Kaye Campbell, parallels two gay love stori two very different eras. The play foc on gay uple Ge and Alb, and the adventur that ensue when Ge's son brgs home his fiancee's ultra-nservative parents for the first time.

As most know, the stage productns were adapted for numero French films and a very famo Amerin remake, starrg Rob Williams and Nathan Lane.Bent This 1979 play, wrten by Mart Sherman, revolv around the persecutn of gays Nazi Germany, and tak place durg and after the Night of the Long Kniv, the vlent 1934 uprisg that brought Hilter to power.

GAY REPRENTATN: RISG ON TV, NOT MIL THEATER?

Bent was dark and horrifyg, featurg performanc by Ian McKellen and Richard Gere as the gay protagonist. In this chronologil list of semal events and selected theatril landmarks, you’ll fd a wi variety of gay, lbian and transgenr characters and stori – om gay men New York stgglg wh self-loathg The Boys the Band to a young lbian North Carola proudly facg her fay The Cake. Subsequently ma to a feature film wh the origal st, The Boys the Band was sthg and unapologetic s ank portrayal of gay men New York.

1969, June 28-July 3: Stonewall Uprisg – Transgenr, gay and lbian patrons of the Stonewall Inn Greenwich Village, NYC, fight back when police raid the tablishment. The nflict and ensug protts are wily regnized as the begng of the Gay Liberatn movement.

CLAYBOURNE ELR: GAY BROADWAY STAR PLAYS TWO BAY AREA SHOWS

1973, December 15: Homosexualy is removed om the Amerin Psychiatric Associatn’s list of mental illns. 1975: The Rz by Terrence McNally(Full-Length Play, Comedy / 3f, 14m) Terrence McNally managed to be both a tradnalist and a pneer wh this uproar 1975 Broadway h; he set his tradnal door-slammg farce a gay bathhoe.

Post-Stonewall but pre-AIDS, The Rz celebrated the ee spir of early “Gay Lib” wh joy and high-speed hilary. 1978: Torch Song Trilogy by Harvey Fierste(Full-Length Play, Dramatic Comedy / 2f, 4m)In 1978, gay “clone culture” was on the rise; many gay Amerins tried to assiate by appearg more “straight, ” and Amerins beme more faiar wh imag of butch gay men. ) “At the height of the post-Stonewall clone era, ” wrote playwright Charl Bch a 2002 article for The Advote, “Harvey [Fierste] challenged both gay and straight dienc to champn an effemate gay man’s longgs for love and fay.