"Theatre is so gay!" That's an advertising slogan once used by About Face Theatre, Chicago's preeminent company devoted to LGBTQ theater. It not only played on the politically incorrect put-down used by so many teenagers, but accurately touched on the fact that there is a large lavender contingent of people working in the theater community. This week's column focuses on the plethora of LGBTQ news and productions around town:
A new head for About Face
About Face Theatre Company announced that Andrew Volkoff is the troupe's new artistic director. Volkoff, an associate artistic director of Barrington Stage Company in Massachusetts and Genesius Theatre Group in New York City, is set to succeed outgoing artistic director Bonnie Metzgar this spring.
"In About Face, I saw an organization founded in strong LGBTQA tradition by Eric Rosen and Kyle Hall, strengthened under the leadership of Bonnie Metzgar and currently positioned for expansion and change," Volkoff said in a statement. "I look forward to collaborating with AFT's talented group of artistic associates as well as other local and national artists to support and amplify AFT's mission of creating innovative works that tell our numerous, diverse stories."
Volkoff will be publicly introduced at About Face Theatre's gala Wonka Ball 2013: Circus Maximus, at 7 p.m. Friday, April 26, at Architectural Artifacts, 4325 N. Ravenswood Ave. Visit www.aboutfacetheatre.com .
Next Fall finally in Chicago
It has taken an unconscionable long time for the Tony Award-nominated play Next Fall to make it to Chicago. Geoffrey Nauffts' drama premiered off-Broadway to critical acclaim in 2009, and then transferred to Broadway in 2010 with Elton John and his husband David Furnish as leading producers, no less.
"I was surprised that no other Chicago theaters picked it up and that it fell under the radar," said Derek Bertelsen, who is directing the Windy City debut of Next Fall for AstonRep Theatre Company. "But it's been a blessing and I'm so grateful to be finally able to do this play that I feel so strongly about."
Playwright Nauffts, who is artistic director of the New York-based theater company Naked Angels and a former writer on the TV series Brothers and Sisters, drew from his fascination with religion and from his personal experiences to write Next Fall.
"The inspiration really was about having met someone and fallen in love and the person was a Christian and that was the last thing I expected," said Nauffts, who adds that he wasn't really raised in a religious home. "That was a jumping off point and about three years into our relationship I started to think what would happen in our situation if, God forbid, something terrible would happen and be a wake-up call."
Over time, Nauffts crafted Next Fall into a memory play. It involves a gay couple named Adam and Luke with stark religious differencesLuke is a devout Christian and Adam is an atheist.
Things come to a head in Next Fall when Luke suffers an accident and becomes comatose. Adam then has to confront Luke's divorced and estranged parents in the hospital waiting room.
"There's a quality to the play as it goes back and forth in time," Nauffts said, drawing from his experience of writing screenplays to give a cinematic quality for his first full-length play. With all the attention on gay marriage, Nauffts reveals that he's also in the process of adapting Next Fall for the screen.
"My hope is that the story will continue and reach a wider audience, both gay and straight to take a look at some of the issues the play deals with," Nauffts said, happy to hear that Next Fall is finally making it to Chicago. "Part of the reason I got into this business was to provoke and to make people think and feel. And it wasn't always warm and fuzzy. There were a lot of people for whom the play was controversialand a lot of gay people were pissed off because it gave voice to a gay Christian struggling to reconcile his faith with his sexuality."
Next Fall plays from Thursday, April 25, through Saturday, May 25, at The BoHo Theatre at Heartland Studio, 7016 N. Glenwood Ave. Tickets are $20 and $15 for students and seniors; call 773-828-9129 or visit www.astonrep.com .
It's Honey!
Fans of Chicago cabaret favorite Honey West won't want to miss her in her new musical, Genderella, which opens the Chicago Writers' Bloc 2013 Festival at Next Theatre in Evanston at 7 p.m. on Monday, April 29. The festival of twelve new plays kicks off with Genderella, which features a script by Joanne Koch and West, and a score by Ilya Levinson. West stars with actor John Cardone in this staged reading benefit that also features food, drinks, raffle prizes and a silent auction. Admission is $20. Subsequent staged readings of other plays are $10, with $25 for an 11-play festival pass (excluding Genderella). Visit www.writersblocfest.org for more information.
Romeo and Juliet as lesbians
Shakespeare's romantic tragedy Romeo and Juliet has already received a male same-sex treatment in the hit 1998 off-Broadway adaptation R & J. But now Romeo and Juliet become lesbians in a new adaptation called Just Another Love Story. This collaboration with Earth Pearl Collective and Realize Theatre Group takes a specific look at youth bullying and youth suicide, and continues at 8 p.m. Fridays and Saturdays through May 26 at the Prop Thtr, 3502 N. Elston Ave. Tickets are $20. Visit justanotherlovestory.bpt.me for more information.
Beautiful Thing in Batavia
If you missed Pride Films and Plays recent production of the British gay teenage love story Beautiful Thing, you have another chance to catch it. The Albright Theatre Company presents its production of Beautiful Thing from April 26 through May 11 at the Batavia Government Building, 100 N. Island Ave., Batavia. Tickets are $13 and $10 for students and seniors, with $1 from each ticket being donated to The Trevor Projectan organization dedicated to providing support and resources to LGBTQ youth. Call 630-406-8838 or visit www.albrighttheatre.com .