But we face our share of challenges today, particularly in our cultural adversaries and the politicians who are incapable of feeling empathy for gay Americans until someone in their own family comes out.
It seems each edition of our series is a response to a cultural and political moment, and Out on Broadway: The Third Coming is no different. But to connect back to the the impulses that drove us in 1996 and 2000, I went back to the director's notes I wrote for our programs, and I found lots of value there...
March 1996
Gay men and lesbians have been playing straight characters since time began. They've had to sing about a kind of love they never felt, never able (until recently) to sing about the feelings they actually have. Stars like Danny Kaye, Larry Kert, George Rose, Jack Cassidy, and many others never had a chance to explore in their work the issues they faced in their daily lives.
Gay or bisexual writers, including Stephen Sondheim, Cole Porter, Jerry Herman, Leonard Bernstein, Noel Coward, Lorenz Hart, Arthur Laurents, Howard Ashman, and so many others have had to “transpose” their feelings in order to write for the characters in their shows.
Only a few gay musicals have ever played on Broadway. And though TV and movies are finally accepting gay characters as something more than a punch line, the Broadway musical is much slower to do the same. However, in regional theatres gay issues are being explored in many new musicals by writers like Mark Savage, Linda Eisenstein, Chris Jackson, myself, and others. Two songs from Mark Savage's new musical, The Ballad of Little Mikey will be performed tonight. This spring, an album of songs from gay musicals will be released by AEI Records, including songs from The Ballad of Little Mikey and the gay vampire musical In the Blood, which New Line premiered last season.
So tonight we present the history of Broadway musicals the way it should have been.
Every song you'll hear tonight was chosen for a reason. “You Have to Be Carefully Taught” was written about racism, but its message against intolerance is as relevant today as ever, as religious extremists demonize gays and lesbians. “In My Own Lifetime” and “Do You Hear the People Sing” are particularly potent, reminding us of the all the work we have to do. “Children Will Listen” is a warning to those political and religious leaders who would promote prejudice and fear instead of understanding. And in this explosive election year, “Our Time” and “Everybody's Got the Right” are no longer just show tunes – they are battle cries.
“Everything Possible” is the song we all wish someone had sung to us when we were little, a song that we hope will be sung to children from now on.
Very few of these songs were written in the context in which you find them tonight, but I think you'll be surprised at how easily they work this way. The experiences we're exploring tonight are universal. A love song written for a straight couple fits a gay couple no less perfectly: One lyric sums it all up: “They're writing songs of love, but not for me . . .” Well, tonight these songs are for us all.
August 1996
Well, here we are, back “Out” at the St. Marcus Theatre.
This is the first time New Line has ever done a show a second time. It's the first time we thought a piece was important enough. We decided that if we can reach people this time that we didn't reach the first time, then it's worth doing again.
We didn't realize this show was as special as it is until we put it in front of an audience last March. It's the only gay revue I'm aware of that doesn't make fun of gays and also doesn't ask for pity for gays. It's a very proud, brave, and occasionally political look at being gay in America. This is a show that sees gays as regular people, with the same kind of joy and heartache as everyone else, despite their often unique societal obstacles. And I think that's a big part of what made it so incredibly popular the first time around.
Only a few gay musicals have ever played on Broadway. And though TV and movies are finally accepting gay characters as something more than a punch line, the Broadway musical is much slower to do the same. However, in regional theatres gay issues are being explored in many new musicals by writers like Mark Savage, Linda Eisenstein, Cindy O'Connor & Larry.Johnson, Chris Jackson, myself, and others. Two songs from Mark Savage's new musical, The Ballad of Little Mikey (which New Line will produce in June 1997) will be performed tonight.
We've made some small changes since the last time we were here – a few songs cut, a few added, a few moved. We hope you like the show even better. Very few of these songs were written in the context in which you find them tonight, but I think you'll be surprised at how easily they work this way.
Many of the experiences we're exploring are indeed universal. As Congress passes new (possibly un-Constitutional) laws to exclude gays and lesbians from legal marriage, as Bob Dole and his friends work to prevent us from enjoying other equal rights, as national religious leaders misuse and misquote the Bible to demonize us, this is an important lesson for us all to take with us.
When we put together the first Out on Broadway in March 1996, we had no idea that there would be such enormous public demand for more performances that we’d have to bring it back in August of that same year. We never thought there’d be a cast album. And we certainly never thought we’d be doing a sequel four years later.
But here we are.
So much has changed since 1996. Will and Grace is on television every week, getting great ratings, and three more shows with gay lead characters are planned for next season. And for good or bad, gay Americans are every bit as visible as straight Americans on Jerry Springer and the other talk shows.
Gay marriage has become one of the top issues in the country, with the Vermont Supreme Court ordering the state legislature to give gay couples equal rights, with Californians voting on a referendum against equal marriage rights for gay couples on March 7, and with the Hawaii gay marriage case still rumbling despite setbacks. In contrast, a study just released says 2.5 million gay Americans are currently in heterosexual marriages.
The issue of adoption for gay couples is coming before courts around the country. Anti-gay discrimination in groups like the Boy Scouts is being actively challenged in the courts, and in some cases, is being condemned.
As the presidential races heat up, gay issues are on the agenda everywhere you look. Both Al Gore and Bill Bradley are actively courting gay voters. And even the most conservative Republicans are being forced to acknowledge us and address our issues.
And yet, Matthew Shepard was brutally murdered in Wyoming just for being gay. Billy Jack Gaither was murdered in Georgia for the same reason. And they’re not the only ones.
One of the purposes of the original Out on Broadway was to tell gay teens and closeted gay men and women that it’s okay to be gay, that they can be gay and still be proud of who they are, that being gay is not a sickness. With all the increased visibility for gay Americans, perhaps that’s not as necessary today as it was four years ago.
The other purpose of the original show was to demonstrate how alike gay and straight people are, and how alike gay and straight love is. That is still necessary because, even though we are all alike deep down, the world still does not treat us alike. It’s amazing how easy it was for most of these songs, originally written for straight characters, to work in a gay context – but they do, precisely because gay people think and feel most of the same things as their straight friends and families. And that message can’t be spread far enough or fast enough.
So enjoy the show. Laugh along with us, cry along with us, but most importantly, remember that we are your brothers and sisters, parents, friends, neighbors, and co-workers. Remember that many of us want to marry. Some of us want to have kids. And all of us want the respect we deserve.
So now here we are in 2017. When we did Out on Broadway 2000, we included a mildly militant piece called "Marry Us," and a song actually written for a gay couple called "Just Like Our Parents." This time, our show will have a married gay couple in the cast.
We've come a long way, but we've also been set back to some extent. And many of our victories are fragile ones. We still need Out on Broadway. We still need to remind ourselves, our friends and families, and our audiences that we are more alike than different, and that we're each basically following the same Hero Myth story.
I come to sing a song about hope
I'm not inspired much right now, but even so
I came out here to sing a song. So here I go
I guess I think
That if I tinker long enough, one might appear
And look! It's here
One verse is done
The work's begun
I come to sing a song about hope
In spite of everything ridiculous and sad
Though I'm beyond belief depressed, confused and mad
Well – I got dressed
I underestimated how much that would take
I didn't break
Until right now
I sing of hope
And don't know how
So maybe I can substitute "strength,"
Because I'm strong
I'm strong enough
I got through lots of things I didn't think I could
And so did you
I know that's true
And so we sing a song about hope
Though I can't guarantee there's something real behind it
I have to try to show my daughters I can find it
And so today –
When life is crazy and impossible to bear –
It must be there
Fear never wins
That's what I hope
See? I said "hope."
The work begins
Yes, the work begins again, and our show is part of that work. I hope you can share it with us.
Long Live the Musical!
Scott
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