It’s taken long enough. Milwaukee’s theater scene has finally grasped the fact that, beyond its in-house stable of gay directors, actors and technical staff, there’s a large audience of LGBT theatergoers to be courted. As people shake off their recession reluctance to spend, the gay folks with money, loyal arts supporters anyway, are the logical target to help revive lagging ticket sales.
Of course, there has always been plenty of gay theater in town. It would be impossible to mount a season without something gay about it. Be it the playwright (Tennessee Williams, William Shakespeare, Oscar Wilde, etc.), cast, production crew or subject matter, inevitably Milwaukee theater (or that of Western civilization, for that matter) has always been well imbued with a lavender hue. But it was Milwaukee Gay Arts Center (it opened in 2005) and, later, Theatrical Tendencies, to first call gay theater “gay theater” and reach out directly to the LGBT community.
Now, supported by LGBT organizations, venerable houses like the Milwaukee Rep, Skylight Music Theatre and the Milwaukee Chamber Theatre have introduced “Out” events, usually in the form of a pre-show reception. It may all have started with the Florentine Opera’s LGBT affinity group “Camerata.” Since 2009, its gay devotees have convened at a city gay bar a week before the opening night overture. To whet their operatic appetite, the Florentine indulges them with the perfect combination of cocktails, nibbly things and an aria or two.
Last season, the Skylight introduced its “Be Out” series. That inspired me to call the Rep to ask when it was holding an LGBT event for End of the Rainbow, a play about Judy Garland. After all, Garland’s gay icon status warranted at least one fabulous LGBT bash. After all, queers as far back as the 1930s identified themselves as “Friends of Dorothy.” (I should mention a story I heard at one of these very events. It seems the mother of an acquaintance, while chatting at a party with a—unbeknownst to her—closeted Catholic priest, inadvertently used the phrase when referring to a mutual friend named Dorothy. The priest apparently thought he was being outed when she innocently, but loudly, asked “But aren’t you a friend of Dorothy?”) Anyway, not surprisingly, the idea hadn’t occurred to anyone at the Rep. They hastily organized “Pride Night.” It was a success, of course.
As tentatively as the trend evolved, Milwaukee has finally entered the era of embracing acceptance even in that discrete milieu where we always were anyway. In the past, perhaps, there was a fear of offending straight audiences and sponsors. They may have tolerated those of the swishy coterie but certainly would never have called attention to them, let alone celebrate them. Now, as wealthy subscribers age away, and sponsoring banks and corporations tout their LGBT affinity groups, the red carpet has been laid to welcome the gays. Better late than never, I suppose.
