THET110 Notes November 26 2012 LGBT Theater Before words associated with classes of homosexuality and before homosexuality was Lesbian Gay Bisexual Transgender given scientific classification o They were dandies and gallants sophisticated outspoken men of impeccable style Oscar Wilde o Irish born playwright o Married with 2 children o Scandalized by affair with a younger man made public o Put on trial and jailed for proclivities sodomite Plays often included dandy characters o The Importance o Noted as somewhere autobiographical o Bunbury British slang for a gay brothel o There is something not right about that person I hope he is okay o Early 20th century American psychiatric Association classified homosexuality as a mental illness o Homosexual activity also still a punishable crime in many areas The Glass Menagerie by Tennessee Williams o Stories about unspoken gay men Gay Rights Movement o Seeking equality freedom o Stonewall Rights NY 1969 Theater responded with powerful politically charged work Black Gay Theater Out gay characters no longer hiding no longer seen as ill perverted The Boys in the Band Separate but simultaneous journeys o Part of political fiery black arts movement o Led by James Baldwin o Plays often depicted double minority struggles Lesbian Theater Aids crisis in the 1980s o 1970s rare cancer Gay Related Immune Deficiency GRID o Renamed AIDS 1982 o Untreated epidemic o Mainly talked about in gay community but it affected everyone The Normal Heart Larry Kramer o Largely autobiographical focusing on AIDS crisis Angels in America Tony Kushner 90s AIDS intertwined with mainstream stories Rent Jonathon Larson Fight for equal marriage
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