The Purple Circuit promotes GLQBT
and feminist theater and performance.

HIR poster: ?

Written by Taylor Mac
Directed by Bart DeLorenzo
Produced by Odyssey Theatre

Somewhere in the suburbs, Isaac has returned from Afghanistan with a dishonorable discharge, only to discover a household in revolt. The insurgents are his mother, Paige, and his newly-out transgender sibling, Max. Liberated from an oppressive marriage to Isaac’s father — via his debilitating stroke — Paige and Max are on a crusade to dismantle the patriarchy.

A darkly funny, shockingly absurd, and endlessly surprising vision of a world in transition.

Cast includes: Ron Bottitta, Zack Gearing, Cynthia Kania, Puppett

Top Ten Best Theater of 2015. “Perhaps no play this year inspired a greater sense of awe than Taylor Mac’s audacious dive into the dysfunctional-family playpen of American theater.” - New York Times

January 19, 2019
Odyssey Theatre, Los Angeles, California
Wheelchair accessible
Information/Reservation: 310-477-2055

Adam Kashmiry image: Andy Bell

Written by Frances Poet
Directed by Jay Wegman
Music score by Jocelyn Pook
Produced by NYU Skirball

Adam Kashmiry was born in 1992 in Alexandria, Egypt, into a girl’s body, and always sensed he was really a boy. At 14, he re-named himself to Adam, but only in secret. LGBT people are frequently convicted under Egypt’s debauchery laws. Hundreds of LGBT people have been arrested; trans people are frequently harassed, and physically abused. In the face of harassment and social pressure, Adam eventually turned to drink and drugs, and was forced to leave home at 19, becoming homeless.

At one point, searching online, he typed: “Can the soul of a boy be trapped in the body of a girl?” He found a wealth of supportive voices; a world of explanation for what he might be. It was the catalyst to an epic journey for the right to change his body to the boy he knew himself to be.

“Adam” is the remarkable, true story of a young trans man, and his journey to reconciliation with himself, those closest to him, and to the world. It is performed by the real-life Adam Kashmiry with Rehanna MacDonald.

Cast includes: Adam Kashmiry, Rehanna MacDonald.

“Adam” is both a bold exploration of the experience of a young transgender person, and an ambitious experiment with theatrical form, blending storytelling, classical composition and digital elements from participants from around the globe.

The play features a virtual choir of trans, and non-binary, singers from across the world, who are projected onto the stage.

“Adam” was first produced by the National Theatre of Scotland. This is the north American premiere.

February 14, 2019
NYU Skirball, New York City, New York
Information/Reservation: 212-998-4941; boxoffice@nyu.edu

Too Much Sun poster poster: Indie Chi Productions

Written by Nicky Silver
Directed by Bart DeLorenzo
Produced by Andrew Carlberg

Theater diva Audrey Langham reaches her breaking point while rehearsing Medea in Chicago. She walks off the stage, out of the production, and into the Cape Cod summer house of her married daughter, Kitty, and her husband, Dennis. Audrey’s unexpected, and unwelcome arrival, sets off a chain of events alternately hilarious and harrowing.

Other characters include Lucas, their young, gay, dope-dealing neighbor; Lucas’s father, Winston, whom Audrey just might have in her sights for husband number six; and Gil, the young assistant of Audrey’s powerful Broadway agent, who'd rather become a rabbi.

Cast includes: Diane Cary, Bailey Edwards, Joe Gillette, Clint Jordan, Bryan Langlitz, Autumn Reeser.

“Critic’s Pick … An unconditional treat … Mr. Silver is a dramatist with an original and thoroughly sustained tragicomic worldview.” — Ben Brantley, The New York Times

This is the west coast premiere.

February 28, 2019
Odyssey Theatre, Los Angeles, California
Wheelchair accessible
Information/Reservation: 310-477-2055

I Loved Lucy image: John Carter Wolfe

Written by Lee Tannen
Directed by Carl Andress
Produced by: Bridge Street Theatre

Charles Busch (as Lucille Ball) and Lee Tannen (as himself) star in a gala benefit concert staging of Tannen’s play about his relationship with Lucille Ball during the last ten years of her life.

Cast includes: Charles Busch, Lee Tannen, Tom Judson

March 22, 2019
Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill, New York
Wheelchair accessible
Information: 518-943-3894;

Christopher Joel Onken, Alexis Cofield, Sara Parcesepe, Shivantha Singer image: John Sowle

Written by David Zellnik
Directed by John Sowle
Produced by: Bridge Street Theatre

Bisexual artist Rajiv and straight Rachel, who studies living languages, live in New York City. Their long engagement is fraying; everything is coming apart. Twelve years ago, the couple lived together in a Berlin squat, with Henry, who is gay and studies dead languages. They were all 22, and enmeshed in a post-collegiate tangle of friendship, love, and sex. The world was full of possibilities, and they wanted everything.

Now, a fourth person enters their lives. In a single day, these achingly human people wrestle with the past, and try to chart a future for themselves, in a language they have yet to create.

Cast includes: Alexis Cofield, Christopher Joel Onken, Sara Parcesepe, Shivantha Singer

World premiere of “The Letters.”

April 25, 2019
Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill, New York
Wheelchair accessible
Information: 518-943-3818; contact@bridgest.org

Bill Brochtrup and Tim Cummings image: Ed Krieger

Written by Michael McKeever
Directed by Simon Levy
Produced by: The Fountain Theatre

Daniel and Mitchell are the perfect couple. Except that Daniel desperately longs to be married, but Mitchell doesn’t believe in it. When a life-altering event throws the couple into crisis, Mitchell must use the laws of his own heart to fight the rules of law.

Michael McKeever’s funny, passionate and poignant play takes an unflinching look at how we choose to tie the knot; or not.

Cast includes: Bill Brochtrup, Tim Cummings, Jose Fernando, Ed Martin, Jenny O’Hara.

“An absorbing play on same-sex marriage … perhaps most moving in those moments it expands our understanding of family. The play, gaining strength from the intimacy of the Fountain Theatre and the general excellence of the production, begins in laughter, culminates in tears … The actors, under the direction of Simon Levy, are wonderful.” - Charles McNulty, Los Angeles Times

May 1, 2019
The Fountain Theatre, Los Angeles, California
Information/Reservation: 323-663-1525

Max Carpenter, Isabel Ellison, Russell Peck photo: Rosie Soko

Written by Tennessee Williams
Directed by Kevin Hourigan
Produced by: Lisa Backwell, Ryan Guiterman, Joey Merlo, Brian Pollock.

Set in the sultry, sweltering 1940’s French Quarter of New Orleans, this production invites audiences into the Kowalski apartment, where young couple Stanley and Stella are joined for the summer by Stella’s damaged, fading debutante sister, Blanche. In a play that famously pits the working class, “alpha male” Stanley Kowalski, against the soft, privileged beauty, Blanche DuBois, this production speaks to the divided state of the world today.

This Streetcar features the first gender-queer actor in the iconic role of Blanche DuBois.

Cast includes: Julian Alexander, Max Carpenter, David J. Cork, Isabel Ellison, Tony Macht, Yvonna Pearson, Russell Peck.

May 7-25, 2019 - Tuesday-Saturdays at 8pm, one Sunday matinee on May 19 at 2pm
Mister Rogers, 231 Rogers Ave, Brooklyn, New York
$30 - $35
Information: altonprandproduction@gmail.com
Tickets: Event Brite

Kyle Frattini Fatima El-Bashir, Amanda Leigh Jerry, Benai Boyd photo: Ed Krieger

Written by Dennis Hackin
Music and Lyrics by Chip Rosenbloom and John Torres
Additional lyrics by Michele Brourman
Directed by Hunter Bird
Musical direction by Anthony Lucca
Arrangements and orchestration by David O.
Produced by: Skylight Theatre Company

The country’s going crazy; partisan politics, civil rights threatened, and technology exploding. It’s 1979, somewhere in America’s heartland, when feminism and activism for gay and lesbian rights were just beginning. In this environment, Bronco Billy struggles to keep his traveling Wild West show alive. But when Billy and his ragtag troupe of misfits meet Antoinette, a Manhattan heiress on-the-run, the ride gets even wilder.

This upbeat new musical is about identity. Rather than accepting the roles we’re given, we have the ability to create our own realities, create our own family, our own identities, and to follow our dreams, regardless of obstacles.

Cast includes: Eric B. Anthony, Amanda Leigh Jerry, Michelle Azar, Benai Boyd, Marc Cardiff, Randy Charleville, Fatima El-Bashir, Kyle Frattini, Bella Hicks, Chris M. Kauffmann, Anthony Marciona, Jamie Mills, Pat Towne, Michael Uribes.

Recommended for those 10 and older. Children under 6 not admitted.

May 10, 2019
Skylight Theatre, Los Angeles, California
Information: 213-761-7061

Charles Busch photo: Joshua Arvizo

Written by Charles Busch
Directed by Carl Andress
Produced by: L.A. Theatre Works

Ex-pop singer Angela wants to be free of her suffocating marriage to sleazy film producer Sol Sussman. What better way than poison?

Distraught by their father’s death and convinced of Angela’s guilt, her kids plot to get the truth out of their mother using any means necessary.

Charles Busch stars as Angela Arden, a role he created on both stage and screen, when L.A. Theatre Works records his camp send-up of ‘60s melodramas.

Cast includes: Charles Busch, Mark Capri, Willie Garson, Jeffery Self, Ruth Williamson.

Each of the four performances will be recorded before a live audience, for future radio broadcast, distribution on CD, digital download, and online streaming.

L.A. Theatre Works’ syndicated radio theater series broadcasts weekly on public radio stations across the U.S. (in Southern California on KPFK 90.7 FM). It can be heard daily around the world on the Radio Beijing Network, and downloaded as a podcast via iTunes and Wondery. It’s also streamed on demand at L.A. Theatre Works.

May 17-19, 2019 - Friday 8 pm, Saturday 3 and 8 pm; Sunday. 4 pm
UCLA James Bridges Theatre, Los Angeles, California
Wheelchair accessible
Information/Reservation: 310-827-0889

photo: Jerri Shaffer, JAMS Photography.

Written by Mark A. Ridge
Directed by David Harewood
Produced by: Evolution Theatre

At the Westmount Estate, on the 20th anniversary of the death of publishing magnate Simon West, his six remaining relatives gather for the reading of his will. The androgynous, mysterious housekeeper declares, “The relatives are swooping in like a wake of vultures ready to pick the carcass clean.”

Who will ultimately inherit the fortune? Will it be the charming realtor, the handsome male model, the dimwitted nail technician, the bitter old woman, the hairdresser, or the mild mannered accountant? Throw in a priceless pocket watch, an escaped mental patient, a pair of reunited gay lovers, and the result is murder! With a hefty dose of laughs.

“The Vultures” puts a modern, comedic, gay spin on the haunted house / mystery genre.

Cast includes: Mark Phillips Schwamberger*, Tom Holliday*, Leland Leger*, Sonda Staley, Carolyn Demanelis, William Darby IV, Davion T. Brown, Scott Risner, Mike Gwydion Ream, David Johnson. (*= Equity)

Winner, New Play Competition 2018, Jewel Box Theatre, Oklahoma City, OK.

May 22, 2019
Shedd Theatre, Columbus, Ohio
Information: 614-233-1124; info@evolutiontheatre.org

image: Melissa Vogt

Written by Paul Kruse
Directed by Alice Stanley
Produced by: The Vortex

In Pittsburgh, four chickens give us a bird’s-eye view, of three days in the life of a family, who grow, stumble, and fall into their futures.

One couple in this family explores what gay identity means for them, as they journey from their birth families, to the family they choose to create together.

Through innovative storytelling, and poetic staging, the lines are blurred between choreography and theater, as the play delves into memory, identity, queerness, and what it means to make a home.

Cast includes: Mindy Rast-Keenan, Mary Catherine Rochford, Judith Sloan, Cat Palacios.

“Chickens in the Yard” is funded and supported, in part, by VORTEX Repertory Company, Bloomberg Philanthropies, and by the Cultural Arts Division of the City of Austin Economic Development Department.

May 24-une 2, 2019 - 8:30 pm
Saturday, June 1 live-streaming on howlround.tv 8:30 pm CST
The Vortex (on the outdoor stage in the Butterfly Garden), 2307 Manor Rd., Austin, Texas
Wheelchair accessible
ASL Interpreted
$15-$35
Information: melissa@vortexrep.org Information/Reservation: 512-478-5282

image: John Sowle & Demian

Written by Jen Silverman
Directed by Tracy Liz Miller
Produced by: Bridge Street Theatre

Two spinster sisters, their possibly schizophrenic maid, and a melancholy mastiff spend their days dreaming of love and power in a ruinous old estate on the desolate, fog-enshrouded English moors. Oddly, all of them, including the dog, speak with American accents.

When the arrival of a hapless governess (with no aparent children), and a crash-prone moorhen upset the already precarious balance of the household, romances bloom, alliances are formed, lies are unmasked, and loyalties shift. While Agatha is the only human character who self-identifies as a lesbian, a homoerotic atmosphere envelopes four of the women. Tension mounts until finally, someone reaches the breaking point.

A mysterious, menacing, and savagely funny, postmodern mash-up of the Bronte Sisters and Samuel Beckett.

Cast includes: April Armstrong, Bonnie Black, Lori Evans, Kate McMorran, Molly Parker Myers, and Shane Sczepankowski.

May 30, 2019
Bridge Street Theatre, Catskill, New York
Wheelchair accessible
Information: 518-943-3818; contact@bridgest.org

A New Brain poster: Iron Crow Theatre

Writer: William Finn
Composer: James Lapine
Director: Sean Elias
Producer: Iron Crow Theatre

Gordon, a composer for a children’s TV show that features a human frog named Mr. Bungee, dreams of quitting his “talent-killing” job, and writing Broadway’s next hit musical. At lunch, Gordon collapses into his meal and wakes up in the hospital, surrounded by his maritime-enthusiast boyfriend, his overbearing mother, a co-worker, and a team of medical professionals. Thought to have a brain tumor, Gordon finds the courage to confront not only his mortality, as he agrees to life-threatening surgery. He also confronts the specter of Mr. Bungee, and the music still left unwritten.

This energetic, sardonic, and surprisingly joyous and funny musical is about unforeseen life events, which remind us of who we are, what we’re made of, and who we hope to be.

Cast: To be determined.

“Jaunty moments of captivating eccentricity.” - The New York Times
“Apt and original … A fascinating story.” - The New York Post

“New Brain” is autobiographical. In 1992, shortly after the successful opening of Falsettos on Broadway, author Finn suffered a brain seizure and was hospitalized. During this painfully difficult time, the source of the seizure was unclear, and the doctors weren’t sure if he would survive. Finn also feared that, if he lived, he might lose his ability to write.

A New Brain explores mature themes and contains adult language. Recommended for those 13 and older.
From the Tony Award-winning authors of Falsettos, William Finn and James Lapine.
Vocal arrangements by Tony Award-winning Jason Robert Brown.

May 31, 2019
Iron Crow Theatre at Baltimore Theatre Project, Baltimore, Maryland
Cost: $20-35
Wheelchair accessible
Information: 443-637-2769

Gabriel Rodriguez photo: Nivia Hernandez / Demian

Written by Gabriel Rodriguez
Directed by Gabriel Rodriguez and Madeline Wall
Produced by: Experimental Bitch Presents

Many years from now, long after The Flood That Drowned the World, a stranger, queerer, more loving world has sprouted from the rubble and ruins. Once a year, the many communities of this new world become one, gathering on a barren island for the Remembrance Festival.

The producing company, Experimental Bitch Presents, is an assembly of femme, queer artists, dedicated to building community, and creating new and experimental work that disrupts, engages, and redefines the process of art-making.

Cast includes: Gabriel Rodriguez, Lukas Papenfusscline, Kayla Yee.

May 31, 2019
The Flea Theater, New York, New York
Information: 212-226-0051

image: Demian

Written by Matthew Lopez
Directed and produced by Don Horn

In Florida, young Casey’s broke, rent is overdue, and his wife just told him they have a baby on the way. Even worse, Casey’s fired from his gig as an Elvis impersonator in a run-down, small-town bar. When the bar owner brings a B-level drag show to replace his act, Casey finds that he has a whole lot to learn about show business, and himself.

Cast includes: James Sharinghousen, T'Kara, Gary Wayne Cash, Colin Kane, Julet Lindo.

“Stich-in-your-side funny. … Full of sass and good spirits” - NY Times

“(A) stellar gift for amusing dialogue and farcical humor. … highly entertaining.” - Hollywood Reporter

June 6, 2019
Triangle Productions!, Sanctuary at Sandy Plaza, Portland, Oregon
Wheelchair accessible
Information: 503-239-5919

Mimi Kmet, Mara Wells photo: Deborah Pearl

Writers: Mimi Kmet and Mara Wells, with Deborah Pearl
Music: Mara Wells
Director: Deborah Pearl
Producer: Mimi Kmet, Good Girls Productions

Mara Wells, a trans woman, spent most of her life as male. Mimi Kmet, a straight ciswoman, was raised in a traditional Catholic family. They met, and fell in love, while Mara struggled with her gender identity,and Mimi struggled to dismiss old beliefs, which threatened to prevent her loving someone like Mara.

The play brings the audience the pain, joys and laughter, which makes up their trans couple relationship. The play is meant to be an empower for those who are different, by declaring that real love, available to all, transcends all differences.

This drama is based on a true story of gender transition, and the couple’s love and marriage.

Cast includes: Mimi Kmet, Mara Wells.

“My Trans Wife” is part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

June 9, 2019
The Complex - Flight Theatre, Hollywood, California
Information: info@mytranswife.com

Austin Musick photo: David Muller

Writer and producer: Austin Musick (austinmusick.com) [last known contact]
Director: T.M. Hayes
Choreography: Steffenee Copley

A true survival story of one woman’s journey after being brutally attacked by her newlywed husband, the man she loved.

A story of navigating from the dark corners of fear, shame, and depression, to fly towards a bright future. From nymph in the water, to dragon in the sky.

“As a woman with Native American heritage, I tattooed the symbol for the Dragonfly, as a totem upon my arm the day I began my voyage to find my true self. I not only survived, but did so still believing that I would continue to love, and would be loved again. It all just needed to start from within.” - Austin Musick

Dragonfly utilizes all original poetry and music.

Cast includes: Austin Musick.

June 9, 2019
Asylum @ Studio C, Los Angeles, California

John Fico photo: Ellis Gaskell

Written by Monica Bauer
Directed by John FitzGibbon
Produced by Monica Bauer

Vincent is desperate to have at least one good year before he falls into what could be Alzheimer’s. Should he tell Jerry about his condition before the wedding, and give him a chance to back out?

One actor plays four parts in this tour de force dramedy about a gay couple, the power of memory, and the need to tell the truth. “Made for Each Other,” may very well be the world’s first gay marriage play, with an Alzheimer’s twist.

This touching dramedy has been performed to rave reviews at the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, Orlando Fringe, Boulder Fringe, and Off Broadway at the United Solo Festival.

The award winning playwright Monica Bauer wrote the play specifically for accomplished actor John Fico.

Cast includes: John Fico.

“This is a frequently hilarious and thoroughly thoughtful analysis of a relationship. Both the writing and the acting could not have been better. Impressively performed by John Fico … A magnificent play.” - Jane Bristow, in Fringe Guru

“Made for Each Other” has mature themes and is part of the Hollywood Fringe Festival.

June 10, 2019
Asylum @ Studio C, Hollywood, California
Wheelie access with obstacles.
Information: playwrightmeb@aol.com

Andrew Boyask, Caleb J. Tracy photo: Kevin Broad

Written by Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde and Tom Wilson Weinberg
Directed by Andrew Boyask, Caleb J. Tracy
Produced by Cabaret Vérité, Whitman at 200, and Philly AIDS Thrift

On his lecture tour of the U.S., Oscar Wilde was 27, brilliant, needy, and full of himself. He was eager to meet Walt Whitman, who was 62, frail, feisty, and famous.

While much has been written about the two men meeting, “Oscar visits Walt” reveals what transpired.

This musical play is anchored on the fact that Oscar Wilde paid two visits to Walt Whitman, at his home in Camden, New Jersey, in 1882.

Cast includes: Andrew Boyask, Caleb J. Tracy.

June 14, 2019
Giovanni’s Room, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
No wheelie access.
$40 - show includes a wine reception, and a copy of Leaves of Grass.
Information: cabaretverite@gmail.com
Information/Reservation: 215-923-2960

MJ Clifford, Romy Gerstenberger, Art Meneses, Cody Curtis, Jacob Coombs image: Lakewood Theatre

Written by Mark Ridge
Directed by Stephanie Irwin
Produced by Lakewood Theare

At the Westmount Estate, on the 20th anniversary of the death of publishing magnate Simon West, his six remaining relatives gather for the reading of his will. The androgynous, mysterious housekeeper declares, “The relatives are swooping in like a wake of vultures ready to pick the carcass clean.”

Who will ultimately inherit the fortune? Will it be the charming realtor, the handsome male model, the dimwitted nail technician, the bitter old woman, the hairdresser, or the mild mannered accountant? Throw in a priceless pocket watch, an escaped mental patient, a pair of reunited gay lovers, and the result is murder! With a hefty dose of laughs.

“The Vultures” puts a modern, comedic, gay spin on the haunted house / mystery genre.

Cast includes: Midge Pomelow, Art Meneses, MJ Clifford, Jacob Coombs, Cody Curtis, Jesse Bosdell, Romy Gerstenberger, Bill Merrill, Jakob Sutton,Earl Byd.

“The Vultures” was a Winner in the 2018 New Play Competition, at the Jewel Box Theatre, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma.

August 29, 2019
Lakewood Theatre, Madison, Maine
Information: 773-968-4915

Steven Culp, Stephen Guarino, Ryan Nealy photo: Darrett Sanders

Written by Erik Patterson
Directed by Chris Fields
Produced by Echo Theater Company

A gay writer hires a male “shirtless cleaner.” Homophobia, racism, and consent issues surface.

This outrageous comedy shocks, as it explores the deepest sensitivities in our culture.

Recommended for mature audiences. Graphic adult content, male nudity.

Cast includes: Steven Culp, Tamarra Graham, Stephen Guarino, Ryan Nealy, Michael Rishawn.

September 4, 2019
Atwater Village Theatre, Los Angeles, California
Wheelchair accessible
Information: 310-307-3753

Jennifer Joy Pawlitschek image: Al Foote III

Written and performed by Jennifer Joy Pawlitschek
Directed by Ashley Wren Collins
Produced by Theater for the New City

Revealing how America got to this point, and what’s next in our unsettled country. At the edge of chaos, lies either total ruin, or creative new beginnings. Which side will we end up on? Who will we become?

In this intelligent and entertaining solo performance, lesbian comedian, and science maven, Jennifer Joy Pawlitschek, uses science’s chaos theory to illuminate our uncertain times. Inspired in part by her own far-right Republican farm family, Jennifer portrays a diversity of wild characters, including a Trump-voting farm wife, a lesbian liberal rural politician, an Evangelical homeschooling mom, and a teen punk Antifa activist.

Jennifer Joy has performed her science-inspired repertoire at off-Broadway theaters, NASA conferences, and universities across the America. The Chaos Theory of Now was workshopped at Dixon Place.

September 8, 2019
Theater for the New City, New York, New York
Wheelchair accessible

Isaac Huerta, William Clayton image: George Simian    William Clayton, Shane Raiford, Adrian Hoffman Hyosun Choi Cody Brunelle-Potter, Jessica Dunn image: Joe Lambie

Alan Turing, the Brittish mathematical genius, and World War II codebreaker, gets tossed into the Technicolor and mythologized ideas of his favorite movie, Disney’s “Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs.” Turing was known for his sprightly wit, engaging sense of humor, and affable qualities.

While Turing’s accomplishments as a code-breaker helped end World War II, he lived when homosexuality was persecuted. After the war, he was convicted of “gross indecency,” and in 1954, harassment led to his death, when he ate an apple laced with cyanide; an act eerily foreshadowed by “Snow White.”

Preview: “Formulae & FairyTales Trailer 2”

A dance theater piece, “Formulae” places the world of mathematics, artificial intelligence, and cryptography, onto a vivid, twisted fairy-tale palette. At times, the movement is a literal play on binary versus nuance, ones and zeros. The artists catapult through the shimmering surface of fairy-tale archetypes, entering into lifts, and partnering, in such inventive ways, that each encounter bleeds with sensuality and rawness.

Named as “one of the top six trendsetting companies to watch in Los Angeles” by Dance Spirit magazine, Invertigo Dance Theatre’s release-based technique draws on a hyper-kinetic, high-impact vocabulary, and floor-based movement. “Formulae & Fairy Tales” was selected in 2018, by the prestigious New England Foundation for the Arts, for a National Dance Project production grant.

September 13, 2019
The Eli & Edythe Broad Stage, Santa Monica, California
Wheelchair accessible

Keith Stevenson, Derek Chariton image: Teak Piegdon

Written by Vince Melocchi
Directed by Dana Jackson
Produced by Pacific Resident Theatre

In the summer of 1946, in Pittsburgh, an 18-year-old Andy Warhol knows he wants to come out. He finds himself in the basement of a working class bar, with a man who becomes an inspiration to him. Over the course of a summer, Andy gives, and gets, guidance, and friendship from a surprising source.

Pittsburgh folklore has it that there is a working class bar which was the place where a teenage Andy Warhol drew on napkins, in exchange for Coca-Cola. While drinking at that same bar, playwright Vince Melocchi, began to see it as a creative, mysterious place. He notes, “Andy allowed us to see, think, and feel about art in a completely new way. I wanted to find out who, and what, were his real influences. This play imagines a chance encounter between Andy and a Pittsburgh bar owner, as a first step on his extraordinary journey.”

Cast includes: Derek Chariton, Keith Stevenson.

“Critic’s Choice” - LA Times

“Playwright Melocchi has clearly done his homework with respect to historical accuracy. Nevertheless, the play offers more than a biographical sketch thanks to the reciprocal fleeting connection between Chariton’s Warhol and Stevenson’s equally complex performance as Bones, a sympathetic Everyman who harbors an unfulfilled dream of becoming a writer.” - Philip Brandes, LA Times

“The skill of Melocchi’s writing is matched by the remarkable acting work by Stevenson and Chariton. Together they breathe life into every line of Melocchi’s text, creating flesh-and-blood characters that hold you in thrall from start to finish.” - Total Theater

September 26, 2019
Pacific Resident Theatre, Venice, California
Wheelchair accessible
Information: prtboxoffice@earthlink.net
Information/reservation: 310-822-8392

Frank Schieloh, Caleb J. Tracy image: Kevin Broad

Written by Walt Whitman, Oscar Wilde, Tom Wilson Weinberg
Music by Tom Wilson Weinberg
Directed by the company
Produced by the LGBT Center at U. of Pennsylvania, Whitman at 200, and Cabaret Vérité

In 1882, Oscar Wilde paid two visits to Walt Whitman at his home in Camden. The unlikely duo differed dramatically in their priorities, politics and poetics.

This new musical reveals the awkward, volatile and loving truth of their visits.

“It is fascinating to see how Weinberg draws out these two men, who are not really each other’s ‘type,’ and then makes it believable that they are irresistibly drawn to one another so that a quick rendezvous in Walt’s bedroom is a cosmic ‘must do.’ … Of course, for the “dirt” on what Walt liked to do in bed all you have to do is read Edward Carpenter’s writing on the subject. … The two men emerge from Walt’s bedroom, Oscar first, then Walt, both of them tucking in or rearranging their shirts. Oscar has less to rearrange which to me indicated that Weinberg did his Carpenter homework.” - Thom Nickels, in Phindie, June 21, 2019

October 25, 2019
LBGT Center at University of Pennsylvania, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania
Wheelchair accessible
Information: cabaretverite@gmail.com

Nick Hardcastle image: Tony Duran

Written and performed by Nick Hardcastle
Music direction by Anthony Zediker
Directed by Wayne Harrison
Produced by Gentleman George Productions (gentleman-george.com) [last known contact]

You’re invited to the funeral of three-time Oscar winner and Hollywood legend, costume designer Orry-Kelly. Don’t expect a little thing like death to stop the whip tongue, and quick wit of, the unapologetically gay, Australian rascal who dressed and heard the secrets of stars like Marilyn Monroe, Bette Davis, Olivia de Havilland, Merle Oberon, Ingrid Bergman, and Mae West, just to name a few.

Fearless, funny and outspoken, Orry-Kelly lived life to the fullest, from his childhood in Kiama, to reveling in Sydney’s underworld nightlife, to chasing his dreams of acting in New York, to Hollywood. Based on his memoir “Women I’ve Undressed,” which was discovered in a pillowcase in suburban Sydney, nearly 51 years after his death.

“Orry” incorporates music, dance, vaudeville routines, puppetry, digital art, special effects, and a taste of those incredible gowns to share his irresistible story. Anyone who loves classic movies, fashion, gossip, and Cary Grant will love “Orry.”

November 1, 2019
Lee Strasberg Theatre, West Hollywood, California
Wheelchair accessible - call ahead if wheelchair space desired
Information: 855-326-9945

Jeffrey Solomon image: Bree Michael Warner

Written and performed by Jeffrey Solomon
Directed by Joe Brancato
Produced by Houses on the Moon Theater Company

A little boy’s gender-atypical gift request to the North Pole is denied. He writes a series of heart-felt letters, which nudge Santa Claus out of the closet, and into the culture wars.

Mr. Solomon portrays all of the key players in the scandal that has come to be known as “Santa-Gate.” The Santa Closet was inspired by the national movement to speak honestly and openly to children about LGBT lives and issues, and the predictable, inevitable, conservative backlash.

“A Delightful Surprise! … This isn’t a clumsy parody, but a sensitive, imaginative tale that really is about a boy’s realization that he is different. Mr. Solomon portrays an amazing range of characters, all of them beautifully.” - The New York Times

December 3, 2019
Teatro Círculo, New York, New York
Wheelchair accessible
$35/$55
Information: info@housesonthemoon.org

The Village Playwrights was founded out of the need of lesbian and gay writers to have a venue in which they could present their works without fear of being harshly criticized, or dismissed because of their sexual orientation or gender identification.

“We take pride in critiquing works solely on their merit, and not on their sometimes sensitive subject matter.
This allows each writer to find his or her voice as a creative individual. To speak freely is to be empowered.”

“This is a place to speak from the heart. This is a place to find one’s voice. This is a place to take risks.”

Participation is open to all playwrights, screenwriters, directors and actors.
Beginners are encouraged and helped.

The Village Playwrights
Starting in September 2019: 2nd and 4th Mondays of every month; 7-9 pm
St. John’s Lutheran Church, 81 Christopher St., New York, New York.
Everyone is welcome. $5 suggested donation.
Information: 614-285-2515 - villageplaywrights@gmail.com

Web site for GLBT comedy listings in San Francisco, as well as worldwide.

QComedy Showcase
1st Monday of every month.
Mama Calizo’s, 1519 Mission St., San Francisco, California
Wheelchair accessible
Information and comedy bookings: Nick Leonard, 415-533-9133; nickdammit@gmail.com

Just about every month, Ian presents a show, by himself, or with others, and they all are about gay male culture.
He often includes several centuries of such culture all at the same time.

Ian MacKinnon is a GLAAD Award-nominated performance artist who has been working in Los Angeles since 2005.
His solo show series “The Gay Hist-Orgy” toured throughout California at theaters and universities.
He curates many “queer” performance events including the annual Adonis Project, as well as the monthly LGBT experimental performance event “Planet Queer.”
Ian has been leading his “Get More Gay Performance Workshops” in Los Angeles since 2012.

Ian MacKinnon, imackinn1@hotmail.com