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  • 1.  Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-11-2014 08:47
    I am looking for a play that will cater to a large cast AND 
    is gay themed or at least has gay characters in it.  
    I am not looking for a victim play - but rather, something uplifting, even funny, would work best.  Something dramatic is OK, too.  Again, the cast should be large and the subject matter should be appropriate for middle school/high school.

    Can you suggest anything?

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    Susan Sterman-Jones
    Drama Teacher/ Director

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  • 2.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-11-2014 11:46
    Off the top of my head, I would suggest The Wrestling Season by Laurie Brooks. It is appropriate for HS/MS kids, and deals with gay themes, among other things. It's also easy to stage. However, the cast isn't what I'd call large. It has a cast of nine, if I'm not mistaken.

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    Jeremy Williams

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  • 3.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-12-2014 11:49
    Almost Maine

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    Tara Sullivan
    Theatre Arts Teacher

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  • 4.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-12-2014 12:00
    Almost Maine has a scene that has two male characters where one reveals he is in love with the other.  The show can be cast with 4 people and up to 19 if I remember right.  The entire show's theme is love.  There are 9 scenes and each scene revolves around two people dealing with the ups and/or downs of a relationship.

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    Tara Sullivan
    Theatre Arts Teacher

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  • 5.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-12-2014 12:05
    Let me open by saying how glad I am that you're interested in LGBTQ theatre- not enough of these works are produced anywhere, let alone in educational settings. What follows is a brief sampling of my favorite 'gay' plays.

    There's always something to be said about the works of Tennessee Williams. Though not "gay" in the post-"Will and Grace" understanding of the word, his plays allow high school students interesting access points to conversations about sex and gender.

    Larry Kramer's "The Normal Heart" aptly chronicles the AIDS crisis through humour and pain. It just so happens to be one of my favorite works, right up there with "Angels in America"- another show worth taking a look at. Both present deep acting challenges.

    Martin Sherman's play "Bent" is a critically important look at the treatment of homosexuals in Nazi Germany. Sherman's writing of the play is what started historical research on the plight of gay men in Nazi Germany. Though not "uplifting" or "funny," it presents IMMENSE acting material for students to conquer. Probably not appropriate for middle school students.

    The play "The Boys in the Band" by Mart Crowley might be worth exploring- especially if you have a large group of male actors that you wish to put on stage. Again, probably not appropriate for middle school students.

    And there are lots of other plays:"Laramie Project" (very 'gay', very heavy), "Almost, Maine" (one 'gay' scene, very light), Harvey Fierstein's "Torch Song Trilogy", "Good Boys and True" etc., etc.

    One major downside to a lot of these powerful works is that they are probably not appropriate for young actors/ audiences. If you want a show that is 'gay' and 'appropriate,' why not queer one of Shakespeare's pieces? He wrote all sorts of strange sexualities and genders, why not pursue them even farther with a male Juliet or a female Bottom or a genderqueer Puck?

    Sidenote:
    Being inclined to theory myself, I think it is worth asking "Why aren't there more 'uplifting' gay plays?" The history of LGBTQ drama seems marked by one tragedy after another, perhaps there is something to be said about examining this history of pain and oppression. Or perhaps the next phase in queer theatre is a Perestroika of sorts, a time for more life and more hope- a time marked by increasingly positive messages. I don't know. I do, however, hope that whatever show you choose, there will be meaningful conversations among your students in regards to LGBTQ identity.

    More Life. The Great Work Begins.
    John

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    John Stark

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  • 6.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-12-2014 12:58
    Leading Ladies is fun and delightful. Jimmy the Antichrist is sinfully irreverent but short. ------------------------------------------- Stacie McKiernan -------------------------------------------


  • 7.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-13-2014 08:34
    Almost, Maine has a great male gay scene. The play explores love from various perspectives and can be both funny and poignant . However, it is for a max of 19 actors. Alternatively, why not adapt a play by switching the gender so that a same-sex relationship works? It's an interesting request to search for a play specifically with a gay scene. Is it for competition? Are you trying to educate your audience? (Just curious :) ) ------------------------------------------- Natasha Hart -------------------------------------------


  • 8.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-14-2014 10:34
    I don't know about other publishers, but the search engine for Playscripts, Inc.'s online catalog has a function that allows you to search by theme, and one of the themes in the drop-down menu is "gay and lesbian."  That might pull up a lot of titles for you to survey quickly.

    I hope that it's not inappropriate to "toot my own horn" here by mentioning that I co-authored a couple of plays on that list.  You might want to have a look at "Ray and Milo," which is very loosely based on the so-called "gay penguins" who nested together at the Central Park Zoo about ten years ago.  I don't know if you would consider eight actors a "large" cast (that depends on the troupe, I guess), but we tried to make the piece cute, humorous, and uplifting.  At least Playscripts lets you read 95% of the script free of charge, so you can at least look at it without having to pay anything for perusal.

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    Jeff Grove
    Theatre Teacher and Aesthetics Department Chair
    Stanton College Preparatory School
    Jacksonville, FL


  • 9.  RE:Seeking Gay Themed Plays

    Posted 03-21-2014 10:15
    "All of Us" by Laurie Brooks is fantastic.  We are wrapping it up tonight with my advanced acting class.  The show looks into the lives of LGBT youth across the U.S.  It taps into a wide range of emotions.  You can easily expand the cast to as many as you can accommodate on stage!  This is truly an ensemble piece where there are no leads.  We are holding talkbacks with the audience afterward with our school's GSA.

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    Lindsay Shields
    Drama Specialist
    Flushing High School


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