GAY PEOPLE'S CHRONICLE

SECTION B

JUNE 10, 1994

Evenings Out

There's a riot in the streets:

Street Theatre looks at the Stonewall riots

OUT VIET

by Charlton Harper

Street Theatre, Doric Wilson's comedy set on the morning of the Stonewall Riots, is not the definitive last word on the riots, nor is it a retelling of actual events. Rather, it's a "what-mighthave-been" imagining of that momentous night when a downtrodden bunch of queens had enough of police raids and public denial of their lives. Wilson's script injects a strong amount of humor into broadly drawn gay archetypes that are still as relevant today as they were in 1969. In the hands of Columbus' Reality Theatre it's a sugar-coated history lesson that's easy to swallow and leaves you asking for a larger dose.

Though the characters almost verge on the stereotypical, their recognizable faces (the drag queen, the leatherman, the mechanic dyke, the self-loathing Boys in the Band), allow Wilson to present a forum on the variety of queer sexual expression and the extremes that people will go to when this expression is censored or banned by law. When the characters finally erupt and riot, chaos and fragmentation give way to community and family.

The plot is very simple and direct. All action takes place in Greenwich Village on Christopher Street in front of the Stonewall Inn. Murfino (Rick Redfern), owner of the bar, is tipped-off by Seymour (Tom McCauley), a despicable, closeted undercover cop, that the Stonewall will be raided again that evening. As the day wears on we meet an array of queers, flower children, cops and green-eyed kids new to the city, all looking for depravity and a piece of action. The play ends with the rioting motley crew uniting against the cops and chanting "Join Us, Join Us." A new gay conciousness is born.

Even though the characters seem two-dimensional, they show us where lesbians and gays have come from and how much further there is to go. Jordan (Chris Lane) and Gordon (Alex Libby), two psuedo-Beats, spout sex as revolution and political act, a bit removed from today's monogamy-centered gay audience. Michael (Frank A. Barnhart) and Donald (Michael Dutcher) prance across the street in a jumbled whirl of self-hate, shrinks and the latest bargains from Bloomingdale's. At the riot's peak they worry about being seen as troublemakers. Though it's no longer 1969, their self-centered denial still rings familiar today.

Timothy (Michael Renner) is every small-town kid that wanted to make it in New York, and eventually does. Heather (Kellyanne Pearman) is a dreamy flower child who is struggling to escape her narrow-minded father. Ceil (Randy Paugh) and BoomBoom (R. Scott Whitaker) are two hard-living queens working the streets with a swish and a laugh. Jack (Vance Barnes) is the typical leatherman-lots of empty attitude that leaves him dependant on C.B. (Dee Shepherd), the big-hearted dyke who knows how to fix his Harley. And then there's Sidney, a schlemiel who has sex with men but says he isn't gay.

Wilson's script is a whirlwind of great one-liners balanced with real insight about the complexity of sexual identity. Where the play fails is in its abrupt ending. It's like sailing along and suddenly smashing into the breakwall you didn't see.

The first act sets the stage effectively. We meet all the characters in a nice orderly fashion and the bad guys who lurk beneath the surface. Though it's pretty clear from the start that the riot itself will be the play's climax, squeezing the range of potential drama and comedy into two acts leaves the audience breathless. In this age of the overly-extended mini-series, Street Theatre seems more a teaser for the coming attractions.

But director Dee Shepherd and her large ensemble cast take delight in the morsels they have to work with. It's unfair to single out too many individuals when such a large cast is so evenly strong. Standouts are Paugh and Whitaker as Ciel and BoomBoom, resourceful drag queens who can make an evening gown from a chenille bedspread. I hope Columbus clubs are booking appearances by these two soon. McCarty is particularly (and effectively) repugnant as the squeamish, trench-coated Sidney who shows his resilience and strength by the play's end. Shepherd has left the play to unfold on its own with little directorial interference. The simple stage allows the action to roll across without the distraction of too many props and sets. Though you may wander in and find things bare, the script and dead-on delivery will have you forgetting all wishes for an elaborate costume drama. One complaint: I hope that the opening night adrenaline eases a bit as the show runs. Things go by too quickly and often the tastiest lines are swallowed in delivery. Slowing things down just a little will fix the garbled lines. The Reality Theatre is a gem that non-Columbus residents should take the effort to find. Their 1994-1995 season features a nice mix of gay-themed works that will interest many. Upcoming productions include Lisbon Traviata, Larry Kramer's Destiny of Me, Romulus Linney's Childe Byron, an examination of the complex life of the poet, and Reverse Psychology, the typical Charles Ludlam comedy of manners.

If you aren't much of a theater-goer, take some time during this month of Pride revelry and reflect upon the past. Street Theatre will show you that the past is just as relevant today, just a little less tie-dyed.

Street Theatre runs June 9-11, and 16-18. For ticket information and show times, contact the Reality Theatre at 614-294-7541.