Perseverance Theatre in Juneau has outdone itself. After last year’s “Little Women” production, in which the main character of this Louisa May Alcott classic story was a transgender (female to male), critics are saying the community theater has doubled down on LGBTQ.
Two of the three productions for 2023-24 are about transexual and queer life.
“Hedwig and the Angry Inch” is about transexual punk rocker from East Berlin who tours the U.S. with her rock band. The entire play seems to be about her gender identity.
Amazon describes it as “A high-powered rock musical that tells the hilarious but emotional tale of an East Berlin transgendered diva on a journey to find stardom in her new home.”
The second production, “A Nice Indian Boy,” is about a Californian named Naveen who brings his same-sex fiance home to meet his family, and how his traditional East Indian parents must contend with accepting his gay partner, who is also caucasian, and helping them plan their same-sex wedding. The entire play, written by Madhuri Shekar, takes place in California.
The third production is titled, “Indecent,” and was written by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel. It recounts the scandal surrounding the play “God of Vengeance,” which debuted on Broadway in 1923, leading to the arrest and conviction of the producer and cast on obscenity charges. The production is laced with themes of censorship, obscenity, immigration, and anti-Semitism.
“Our Perseverance Theatre Team works with great care to select our seasons— we listen deeply and work to support the conversations that our communities are working to bring forward for a just and equitable world. We welcome everyone to celebrate our communities and the incredible artistry and talent of Alaska as we produce this 2023-2024 Season”, said Artistic Director Leslie Ishii on the website.
Perseverance Theatre, which bills itself as the premiere regional theater, has taken a hard left turn since the departure of artistic director Art Roach in 2019.
The theatre hired Ishii from Seattle as the new artistic director and she soon was was writing to donors and asking them to donate to Black Lives Matter during the George Floyd riots of 2020.
The theater did no productions during the pandemic, but since returning to productions, required attendees to show proof of a Covid vaccination and wear masks, a policy it has finally eased away from. It also cut its offerings from four to three, and is putting a big emphasis on LGBTQ themes for capital city theatergoers. Perseverance tickets and information are here.
Theatre in the Rough is also offering a LGBTQ-themed comedy starting July 28. “He Kills Monsters” is about coming to terms with being queer.
“In this high-octane comedy laden with homicidal fairies, hobgoblins, and 90s pop culture, acclaimed playwright Qui Nguyen (VIETGONE, LIVING DEAD IN DENMARK) offers a heart-pounding homage to the geek and warrior within us all,” the theater writes. Tickets here.
There are other theater groups in Juneau offering less LGBT-obsessed entertainment.
There’s the Juneau Lyric Opera, which will offer a concert version of “Candide” in October.
There’s also the innovative and approachable Theater Alaska, which has offered “Shakespeare in the Park” for the third summer, performing Macbeth in 2021, Midsummer Night’s Dream in 2022, and Twelfth Night in 2023. The production of Twelfth Night begins Wednesday and runs through July 30. Tickets here.
Always have enjoyed this Theater Troupe. I must agree that the direction its management has taken seems to be putting the group’s once bright future in a dimming light. I viewed The Great Leap last winter at UAA. The over the top, gratuitous cursing did nothing to advance the story told. Actors were great, production was simple and effective, I almost walked out in protest two or three times. Out of politeness to the actors, I stayed. I shouldn’t have, but I stayed. The actors deserve better.
“Actors deserve better?” I didn’t realize they were forced to act against their will.
Every one of us should read the lyrics and listen to the old Buffalo Springfield song, “For what it’s worth”.
This is news? Oh right, gotta freak out about the wokeness destroying our country.
If you do not like the subject of the play, do not go.
Don’t worry. I’m sure many will choose not to go. Maybe once that theater is going bankrupt, they will come to their senses.
Perhaps the point of the article is to inform us of the subjects, so that we may choose to not go. Or are you just here to be unpleasant?
Mostly the last part.
If you do not like the subject of the news do not read
NO. Thanx.
This isn’t news. Juneau is alphabet obsessed. New would be if the season wasn’t dragarama.
Masked,
Read the last few lines. I did not know about Theater Alaska and Juneau Lyric Opera. That’s news I’m glad to know.
Lyric is focused on the art, not the “message”
This is not news for the psychiatric and mental health community. There is a lot psychological illness associated with the LGBTQ identifiers. Aside from severe confusion and high lack of self-esteem and self-worth, they are desperate for societal validation. Their political proponents, including the arts community, universities, and major media are driven by guilt and directional control. The method of subjecting guilt to everyone else is through the principals of bombardment and repetition. It’s the same way that Nazi Germany brainwashed the German youth. Indoctrination by force.
Dr., it seems to be effective for about 40% of the US population.
Perseverance Theater, or Perversity Theater?
The “new” Perseverance Theater also introduced shared, co-ed restrooms. While I stood at a urinal, a girl in a pretty white dress entered and plopped down in the stall next to me and….well, I’ll stop there…use your imagination and that will likely be accurate.
Oh for goodness sake.
Sounds to me like “Perseverence” has a problem with reality. Too bad the people around it can’t help with its problem.
Oh wow. Thank God we gave up our future, our posterity, our economy, our sovereignty, our wealth, our happiness, our self determination, our ability to be happy with our skin color, our ability to be happy with our own identity, our ability to raised our own children, our ability to say what is happening is wrong, and our ability to put our foot down.
This is the future you wanted. It’s not a grave, it’s the future you chose. Thank you boomers. Keep voting republican.
Your badly-tossed salad is sorely lacking in any sort of logical dressing.
At no point in your rambling, incoherent response were you even close to anything that could be considered a rational thought. Everyone in these comments is now dumber for having read it. I award you no points, and may God have mercy on your soul.
Yawn!!
Blah, blah blah…..same old song!
I’m so sick and tired of hearing about these mentally defective freaks. We need to stop giving them ANY nod or news spot sorry. This isn’t news. It’s more proof that these people need to be stopped and the new fad to promote the freaks upended.
They RUIN every single thing they touch. Movies, schools, Theatre, bathrooms, sports, and morality.
More and more things coming out that these trans whatever’s are not what we want to live around. Boycott it all. Stand up for what is right. Also stop giving them so much news time!!!
Oh, they just want to get back to the Roman Code to rid themselves of the laws of nature and the US Constitution.
Love it! Thanks for the links!
I do know the theatre produced several plays, including Shakespeare and Alaska Native plays during the pandemic that streamed virtually statewide.
Also, i think the play is called “SHE Kills Monsters”
Also, i believe God Of Carnage was censored due to a lesbian romance in the original production.
Hope Florida weather is treating you well, Suzie
A smarter business owner including executive directors overseering non profits are neutral or so the seem. An owner I worked for in Sitka when I asked him how he’ll vote cause I don’t know how I should vote. He wouldn’t tell me. He further explained he doesn’t talk about political subjects at work. I thought that’s smart. As well as follows wisdom since he owns a restaurant, he don’t want to alienate either intentionally or unintentionally because his beliefs are different than any customers. Non profits as Perserverence Theater or Anchorage Performance Center and small businesses can’t afford to alienate other customers for a cause, as well as it can’t survive if only one type of group patronizes it.
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