I realize it is July 1st and Pride month is now officially over according to your Google Calendar. I shall persist with this reflection. I have been known to correct my straight ally friends when June 1st rolls around and they say “Happy Pride.” It is pretty rare that I hear “Happy Pride” on what is historically considered to be Pride. It is not a federally recognized date, nor is considered the date by any corporation blasting their rainbow logo across your computer screen. Yes, June is “dedicated” to LGBTQIA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer/questioning (one's sexual or gender identity), intersex, and asexual/aromantic/agender) history and recognition. I wrote it out because I am fairly certain not everyone knows what the acronym even stands for. Yes, it is complex, and yes the nuance matters. How people see themselves matters. So, to all you allies out there, this can still be a teachable moment. For myself - I don’t want corporate pride. For some, that visibility is important, even vital. Teen suicide related to gender expression and sexual identity is on the rise in the US. Depression, mental illness, and feelings of isolation from mainstream society is still up to each of us. I never had such visibility growing up and it makes me uncomfortable to be swarmed by rainbow flags. It is still hard. Pride isn’t just a party, it is a coming together in spite of the “acceptable.”  

The last Sunday in June represents an honoring of protest, resistance, and breaking the silence. As the famous Keith Haring painting/spray paint says “Silence = Death” or “Ignorance = Fear.” The sentiment still stands. An inability, an avoidance, a lack of trying to ask simple questions about a queer person’s life signals fear at the bare minimum. Both of the shows I saw during this Pride weekend were wonderful examples of speaking truth, celebration one another, and coming together. There was spoken words, dance, and movements of queer expressions.  In the shadow of the recent Supreme Court ruling against the human right to abortion, the queer community gathered in resistance, once again. We had to find a way to laugh. No only in the moment, but also to rally, to mobilize, to encourage one another in spite of the overwhelming narrative of the white, straight, and Christian narrative. I was able to attend two productions Pride 2022 in New York: Soho Playhouse’s production of Happy Birthday Doug and the 30th anniversary of Broadway Bares. 

At Happy Birthday Doug, I was thrown into the world of Drew Doege playing a range of seven different gay male characters at Doug, a recently published author. This was Doug’s birthday party, but we had to meet his guests first. It is pretty incredible to watch one actor morph into a variety of different characters in the same 60 minutes. I had met each of the characters in real life throughout my years at parties, events, and even aspects of my own personality were present. Rarely experienced by straight people, a gay birthday party is a unique space for dark humor, hot messes, and time for rekindling old flames. I was happy to discover the small off off Broadway theater downtown in Soho. 

At my first Broadway Bares, there were some fun celebrity appearances including Tony Awards host and Oscar winner Ariana DeBose, Funny Girl‘s Ramin Karimloo [a big favorite of mine] and A Strange Loop’s writer Michael R Jackson. I was a bit star struck by Jackson’s appearance as I will be writing on the Pulitzer Prize/Tony winning A Strange Loop in the next few weeks. I loved A Strange Loop and have already seen it twice. The mostly dance presentation was vibrant, energetic, and fun crowd celebrating Pride with a fundraiser. This performance celebrated 30 years of providing healthcare to those battling HIV/AIDS, supporting actors on stage and off, and trying to bandage up the broken US healthcare system. So, on this July 1st, Happy Pride to you - and every day for the rest of the year. Upcoming Reviews:The Minutes by Tracy LettsA Strange Loop by Michael R JacksonFat Ham by James Ijames

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