"Sadly, right now, the queer community is being reminded that we are not done fighting," says Johnathan Underwood, a Denver actor appearing in Benchmark Theatre's upcoming production of Stonewall. "There was a period when things were more peaceful for gay people, but as oppressive laws continue to be passed nationwide, it is obvious that the witch hunt has resumed. I think that it is really important for people to come experience our history in Stonewall, and hopefully it gives them hope and energy. We may have our differences, but we need to stand together against hate."
In honor of Pride month, Benchmark Theatre is presenting the world premiere of Stonewall, a production with a 24-person cast and directed by the company's artistic director, Neil Truglio, and associate director, Samwell Rose.
The play is based on the real-life events of the 1969 Stonewall Uprising, which involved a series of demonstrations by queer people against police officers who raided the Stonewall Inn, an LGBTQ+ bar in New York City that was designated a national monument by President Barack Obama in 2016. This docudrama recounts the rebellion as well as the events leading up to the six-day uprising to demonstrate how far we have come and how far we still have to go.
"We were really interested in the events leading up to Stonewall and what the breaking point was for the community," Rose says. "When did they start to fight back? It's no surprise that, just like today, those who faced multiple forms of oppression fought the hardest."
The cast was able to create a safe space for each other while confronting heavy subject matter.
Courtesy of Benchmark Theatre
Stonewall is the second show in Benchmark's 2023 season, which is focused on telling stories about "casualties" and how communities respond to disasters. According to Truglio, this show was selected in response to the company's previous "aftermath"-themed season.
"As we were looking at the aftermath season, we felt there were some voices that were left out," he explains. "There was no story that featured LGBTQIA+ voices, so as we approached this season, we sought to fill that hole in our storytelling. We couldn't ignore what is happening to trans people, drag performers, artists and citizens who just want the freedom to be who they are. The history of Stonewall felt like a really powerful way to tell a story about the community that people may not know while also celebrating the people who are on the front line fighting right now."
Truglio had considered staging this story since 2017 and conducted deep research to piece together the timeline of the rebellion. He read Stonewall: The Riots That Sparked the Gay Revolution, by David Carter, shifted through records on archive.org to find what was written about it at the time, and listened to audio interviews from people who were in attendance.
"One of the most interesting things about Stonewall was that everyone was there, but no one was there, because there isn't a ton of recorded history about what happened," Truglio says. "The 24-hour news cycle wasn't around yet, so we had this major uprising that was barely covered by the press. That means the history of what happened is largely hearsay. What we know about what happened comes from a cross-section of stories, and my goal is to present the history as accurately as we can. It’s a little like The Crown: We know the queen had a meeting with the prime minister; we don’t know what was said, but we know the outcome, so we are going to use our dramatic license to create what we think would have been said."
The Stonewall Uprising is considered one of the most significant events in U.S. LGBTQ+ history.
Courtesy of Benchmark Theatre
"This laid the groundwork for what we now know as Pride," Truglio says. "The community does a small ceremony to commemorate Stonewall, and then a year later is the first formal Pride parade — or, as it was called at the time, a 'gay liberation march.'"
In order to capture the scale of the protests, he knew he wanted to assemble a massive cast.
"It was always my dream to have as big a cast as possible," Truglio says. "We needed a large group of actors to create the feeling of the riot, but I didn't realize it was going to be this big until auditions. So much of the process was about trying to get as many diverse voices in the room as possible."
Stonewall has the largest cast in Benchmark's history, including Grant Bowman, Andrew Catterall, Alex Duty, Hayley Emerson, Corey Exline, Danté J. Finley, B. Ryan Glick, Andrew Hensel, Verl Hite, Andrew Horn, Cayla Izmirian, Corinne Landy, Frankie Lee, Alicia Millerson, Paola Miranda, Dan O’Neill, Liyah Patrick, Caden Pazo, Barbara Porreca, Andy Ray, Caleb Reasy, Chloe Ryan, Ben Stasny and Johnathan Underwood.
Many of the cast members describe their experience in making the production come to life as incredibly illuminating.
"I don’t think anyone knows a lot about Stonewall," Ryan says. "It's definitely not something you are taught about in the American public school system. You have to learn about it through the queer community or social media, but it is kind of a mythical event unless you have done your own research. Before starting this show, I knew there was a lot of controversy over who threw that first brick, I knew there were a lot of people who claimed to be at Stonewall, and I knew that Stonewall was the first Pride, but that is the extent of my knowledge."
Along with their own independent research, one of the most important elements for each actor to consider was how their character ended up on Christopher Street, where Stonewall is located, and why they decided to join in the uprising. "Many of the people at Stonewall were flawed," Rose notes. "Some are the types of activists who are fighting for their own assimilation versus queer liberation. They were fighting to fit into the world, whereas some would not fit in; the only option they have is to fight for liberation."
Though those conversations often confronted bitter divides and painful realities, the rehearsal room at Benchmark has been incredibly supportive. A majority of the cast and production team are members of the LGBTQ+ community, which has helped create a safe space for performers to dive into the show's heavy subject matter.
"The best way to describe the space is queer joy," Underwood says. "It's nice to be in a space with so many diverse queer people. It’s been less like work and more like fun. I am grateful that Denver is doing so much queer theater. It is extremely affirming for me as a queer person of color to be able to transition from PopUp Theatre's production of Corpus Christi to this show and represent another facet of who we are in our fight in a different way."
The actors' work on stage is supported by Chantelle Frazier's costume design and Benchmark's in-house team, which designed the show's scenery, lighting and sound. "We are trying to create Christopher Street in Benchmark," Truglio explains. "It's a highly theatrical re-creation that is truly wall-to-wall. We are using parts of our space that we don't use often; audiences may not even know they exist! The goal is to maximize our space. Actors will be on stage more than backstage because it isn’t huge, and there is no point in having 24 actors if most of them are backstage for most of the story. It will be alive. I want audiences to get a sense of the world and what it was like to walk down the street before and after the uprising."
Stonewall opens on June 9, and Benchmark encourages patrons to consider attending the show as part of their own Pride celebration.
"There wouldn't be any Pride celebrations today if it weren't for this pivotal moment in history," says Frankie Lee, who serves as both an actor and a writer on the project. "I strongly urge anyone who is in the queer community or an ally to us to attend the production, because it is important to know where we started. The world is scary right now for queer people, but as long as we stick together like we did then, we can see that change happen again."
Stonewall, Friday, June 9, through July 1, Benchmark Theatre, 1560 Teller Street, Lakewood. Find tickets, times and more information at benchmarktheatre.com.
