DIRECTOR’S NOTE

Ultimately, this show is about HOPE and LOVE triumphing over HATE.

Through the passage of time, we have seen challenges to our human decency that surface repeatedly. When a class of people is treated as ‘other’ and caused the pain and loneliness of hiding their true selves, it is easier to turn a blind eye than it is to acknowledge our common humanity.

Growing up with a father who was a Holocaust survivor and who barely escaped Nazi-occupied Vienna, I learned from an early age to take notice of the dark places in the human soul. I saw it firsthand when, as a young dancer in New York, friends and colleagues were dying of AIDS; the general population, the government and the medical establishment turned away. And once more, compassion for those who most need it is lacking in the corridors of power.

As we celebrate the 50th Anniversary of the Stonewall riots, we acknowledge the journey that brought us to this day. Great progress has been made, but the struggle is not over.

For older folks, this show is a chance to remember their friends who fought for Gay Rights and some who were lost to the plague. For younger generations, it is an important reminder that being able to live authentically as an LGBTQ person is a very recent thing, not a guaranteed right, and is only possible because of the hard-won battles of those who came before us. Cherishing the flames lit by them will light the way to our future’s progress.

I hope this show can be some small part of that vision.

– Sasha Spielvogel