PGLTF 2008 Season
'Six' in the City
Opens Festival!
Big Voice: God or Merman?
A musical by Jim Brochu & Steve Schalchlin | ORIGINAL CAST COMING TO PHILADELPHIA!
In Big Voice, Jim and Steve have musicalized their long term relationship and hilariously proved that theatre is as much a calling as the religion. This high energy, razzle-dazzle show chronicles the lives of a Baptist from Arkansas and a Catholic from Brooklyn who find eternal salvation in the temple of musical theatre. The show "traces the couple's meeting aboard a ship in the Atlantic Ocean, Steve's struggle with AIDS, the production of their hit Off-Broadway musical, The Last Session, their separation and their reconciliation. It's a comedy about a 'gay marriage' between two men created by the couple themselves and we've got the acclaimed original cast coming to Philadelphia! ONE WEEKEND ONLY!!
"Side-splitting! A hilarious and utterly enthralling evening of musical theater. Marvel at the romantic sweep of their songs. Here art is achieved with light hands, and the result is a triumphant and very touching song of praise to everyday love and the funky glories of the show business life." – The NY Times
Location & Dates: Plays & Players Theatre: 6/13 & 6/14 @ 8pm
'Q' A musical review by Dan Martin & Michael Biello
'Q' - The Songs of Martin & Biello - is a musical revue from the irrepressible writing team of Dan Martin (music) and Michael Biello (lyrics). Originally written to celebrate Martin & Biello’s 25th anniversary as songwriters and life-partners, Q is a loving, sexy, irreverent, and deeply joyous expression of life from an LGBT perspective. Performed by an energetic ensemble of five - 2 women, 2 men, and the fabulous Tipsy – a "transgoddess" who dispenses advice ("Q-tips") with attitude and humor - Q premiered in 2000 at the Bailiwick Rep in Chicago where it enjoyed a 2 month run. The 2002 Philly Fringe production was cited by Philadelphia Weekly for Best Original Music of the 2002/2003 Theatre Season. A powerful affirmation of queer life, Q transcends being just another show for the gay circuit because of its sheer joy. Q contains one scene of nudity that honors the human body and spirit.
'Q' is a masterfully woven tapestry of comedy, pathos, eroticism and spirituality...Martin and Biello’s memorable melodies and brilliant lyrics are the stuff that musical theater classics are made of." Windy City Times
'Q' is an hour of non-stop delight." Philadelphia Weekly
Location & Dates: Walnut Street Theatre Studio 5 : 6/18, 6/19, 6/20, 6/21, 6/24, 6/25, 6/26, 6/27, 6/28 @ 8pm; 6/22 @ 7pm
The Busy World is HushedA play by Keith Bunin
Hannah, a minister and Bible scholar, finds her faith at odds with that of Thomas, her estranged, wayward son. But when an inquisitive young writer hired to assist Hannah with her latest publication learns painful secrets from Hannah’s past, she spies a risky, unconventional opportunity for reconciliation.
"Five Stars…Searching, perceptive, and absorbing…a tightly written interrogation of pain and belief…One of New York’s essential playwrights, Bunin, has written wonderful roles for his actors…Rooting through the intricate tangle of motivations that undergird personal faith, Bunin offers an empathetic and fair-minded view of religion: not as some derisory opiate of the people but as morphine for someone in possibly mortal pain." —Time Out.
Location & Dates: Arcadia Stage @ the Arden: 6/20, 6/21, 6/24, 6/25, 6/26 & 6/27 @ 8pm; 6/22 @ 7pm
Facing EastA play by Carol Lynn Pearson
An open grave–a mother who is relieved her son is now free from his sin of homosexuality–a father who will not leave the cemetery until an honest funeral has been given for the son who took his own life in a flower bed beside the Salt Lake Mormon temple–a grieving partner who arrives at the grave unexpectedly and has his first encounter with the parents of the man he loved–and a story you will never forget. Facing East has been described by reviewers as "Poignant, disturbing and memorable...resonates far beyond its roots...hypnotically moving...bristles with authenticity...a vivid rumination on grief, regret and shame.
Location & Dates: Mum Puppettheatre: 6/17, 6/18, 6/19 @ 8pm
My Left Breast a one-woman play by Susan Miller
"I am a one-breasted, menopausal, Jewish, bisexual-lesbian Mom, and I'm coming soon to a theatre near you!" A woman's humorous and moving encounters with relationships, parenthood, cancer, and her ever-changing self are charted in this searingly honest solo piece.
"An elegant writer with a keen eye for description, she paints her experiences vividly in her wry, witty, warm and ultimately revealing script." --The Washington Post
Location & Dates: Mum Puppettheatre: 6/22 @ 7pm; 6/24, 6/25, 6/26, 6/27 @ 8pm
BaitA comedy by David Sisco |
ORIGINAL CAST COMING TO PHILADELPHIA!
In this hilarious two-actor tour-de-force, best friends Justin and Charlie attend a ‘Gay Bait’ singles event hoping to find their match. As the evening unfolds, they realize the dating pool is pretty shallow. Two actors play a broad range of ever-so-slightly desperate men in a series of hilarious encounters that puncture stereotypes and tip sacred cows. Bait swept the awards at the 2006 National Gay & Lesbian Theater Festival winning Best in Festival, Best Comedy, Best Director, Best Actor and Audience Favorite!
"Tom Gualtieri and David Sisco play roughly 14 characters apiece and do so with smarts, energy, and originality. They jump from character to character, manipulating their bodies, their voices, their faces, and their personalities without ever veering into the realm of cliché. Their character work ranges from the profanely obvious to the sweetly subtle and the duo works wonderfully together, nimble enough to allow the other's characters to take necessary focus and generous enough to let go of the spotlight to let the other performer shine."
- Robert Weinstein, nytheatre.com
"Gay stereotypes run rampant, or swish and strut rampantly, here in some "bait-and-swish" prancing. But many of these guys are all too real. The play won six awards in the Columbus National Gay & Lesbian Theater Festival, including Best of Festival, with the same team, including director Laura Josepher who keeps all the plates spinning in the air without a feeling of exhaustion or franticness. She and the two men also manage to find a moment or two of humanity and tenderness near the end. Even in this torture chamber known as relationships and would-be/please-don€™t-be relationships, there€™s a glimmer of hope."
- Rob Lester, EDGE
BAIT is currently playing to sold out houses in NYC at Stage Left Studio: www.stageleftstudio.com. For more information visit: www.baittheplay.com.
Location & Dates: Mum Pupettheatre: 6/20 & 6/21 @ 8pm; 6/22 @ 2pm
Staged Readings:A very important part of the Philadelphia Gay & Lesbian Theatre Festival’s mission is to nurture new plays in the hope that a staged reading will give the playwright insight on how the play sounds with actors reading their work script in hand. Please attend these staged readings and support these new works by being part of the invaluable feedback discussion afterwards!
But not for Love
By Matthew Everett
A contemporary comedy/drama celebrating the double wedding of a brother sister and sister - he’s gay and she’s straight. When the ceremony, which includes their loving partners, a transgender minister, a love-starved cop, and a protestor outside the church with ties to one of the grooms, is shattered by a rock through the church’s stained glass window, each is forced to confront their ideas and assumptions about the true meaning of marriage.
Location & Date: Walnut Street Theatre Studio 4 (4th floor): 6/15@ 7pm
For Ticket information, Click here!
