This coming March, Theatrical Tendencies will be staging the Milwaukee premiere of a 2009 drama by John Marans. The play sounds fascinating . . . shedding light on a corner of history that hasn't garnered a whole lot of attention and adding to the overall understanding of the human condition over the course of the 20th century.
The story focussed on the Mattachine Society. Founded in 1950, the society was on of the earliest gay rights organizations. Harry Hay and Rudi Gernreich founded the society with a group of friends in Los Angeles. The history of the organization is interesting as Hay was also a Commnist. As communism was becoming increasingly vilified in the mid-20th century, Hay was concerned that his gay activism would negatively effect the party and recommended that he be expelled. They Communist Party refused to expel him as a homosexual, instead citing him as a "security risk." They evidently made a point of announcing him to be a "Lifelong Friend of the People."
So the background on the group is interesting. The drama in question is called The Tempramentals --an early 20th century slang term for gays.
Theatrical Tendencies' staging of The Temperamentals makes it to the stage this coming March. More specific information should be forthcoming from Theatrical Tendencies in the near future. For more information, visit them online.
