June is Pride month! Celebrated annually, pride month begins on June 1st and ends on the 30th. This month is a time to for lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer or questioning, intersex, and asexual or allied (LGBTQIA+) communities to come together to celebrate their identities. Conversations around gender and sexuality are nuanced, as it’s each person’s own journey as to how they identify and want to be identified. People don’t have to be a member of the LGBTQIA+ community to celebrate Pride month—the more allies the better! Pride month is the time to support and learn more about LGBTQIA+ inclusion, diversity, and the fight for equal rights. 

Pride month is dedicated to uplifting LGBTQIA+ voices, art, music, theater, culture, and human rights. Memorials are held to remember those who lost their lives for the cause, due to hate crimes and HIV/AIDS, or took their own lives due to never-ending stigma. Pride month recognizes the incredible impact the LGBTQIA+ community has had on local, national, and international history and culture. The rainbow flag is the symbol of the LGBTQIA+ community, with its stripes representing the different sexualities on the spectrum. After two years of not hosting Pride events due to the COVID-19 pandemic, New York City’s Pride events are back with a bang, especially in the theater scene.

Everyone can celebrate Pride month! The LGBTQIA+ community has always existed, but not allowed to do so openly. If there was an enclave, they were often harassed and arrested by the authorities. While in the US, it has been deemed lawful, in many places in the world, it is still illegal. 

In New York City, Pride month has special significance as the birthplace of the gay rights movement. For years, members of the gay community were harassed by authorities in New York City. Tensions came to a head on June 28, 1969, when the police raided the Stonewall Inn in Greenwich Village, a gay bar in New York City. Patrons were hauled outside and arrested. Many customers resisted arrest and started throwing bottles, coins, and other objects at the police officers. Neighborhood riots broke out for three days. 

The Stonewall Inn incident became the rallying cry for the gay community. The confrontation spurred the Gay Liberation Movement as a human rights movement formed in a similar vein as the civil rights and women’s rights movements. Organizations across the country formed to promote LBGT rights across the country. Members held protests, marches, and met with politicians to advocate for gay rights as well as holding leaders accountable for rights abuses. 

Their efforts worked to mobilize supporters. A year later, the first Pride March was held. Now every year, the Pride parade is held in late June close to the 28th to celebrate the LGBTQIA+ community. In 2016, the Stonewall Inn was designated a National Monument. Despite much progress in the US, the LGBTQIA+ community still faces many challenges for acceptance. Fortunately, the NYC theater community is an ardent supporter of them and promotes many activities about LGBTQIA+ rights and culture.

While gay rights picked up steam across the country, it took a few years for LGBTQIA+ narratives to reach the NYC theater stage. A lot of homophobias still existed in the 1960s and post-Stonewall. LGBTQIA+ members could exist but their stories had to stay away from being mainstream. Famous playwrights, like Tennessee Williams or Edward Albee, didn’t write gay-centered plays for theater. Not until the famous play released in 1968, “The Boys in the Band,” did narratives surrounding gay characters reach mainstream audiences. The actors in this play were warned that their careers were toast if they played a gay character. Despite the misgivings, the play was a hit and opened the door for later narratives to be about gay characters and stories. Other playwrights would follow to pen plays about gay characters and LGBTQIA+ narratives, such as “Angels in America” and “Torch Song Trilogy.” The “Boys in the Band” is even seeing a revival and made its debut on Broadway in 2018. Since the late 1960s, the way the modern audience sees gay characters and the LGBTQIA+ community has evolved over the years and become more mainstream. 

With NYC being the epicenter of the gay rights movement, many theater organizations within the city support LGBTQIA+ members, including those within the theater community. Groups arose such as the National Queer Theater to support gay actors as well as host plays that have LGBTQIA+ narratives. In addition, the Stonewall Community Foundation supports the LGBTQIA+ community through social justice in the performing arts. 

Also, the NYC theater community has started to focus on giving light to other voices within the LGBTQIA+ group, such as highlighting voices belonging to minority, gay narratives. These voices have often not been represented and are now being promoted to center stage to support diversity within the community. Further, well-known places like the Lincoln Center, Broadway, and Playbill Pride devote entire lineups of shows, events, artists, rallys, and more to celebrate the diversity of the LGBTQIA+ community throughout June. Pride in Times Square is one of their signature events. It hosts a number of sing-alongs, performances like The Big Broadway Disco and at the Playbill Piano Bar, and more. Over 400,000 people attended various theater events to support the LGBTQIA+ community—amazing!

The NYC theater community has been a long supporter of the LGBTQIA+ rights. Countless numbers of actors, employees, and theater attendees identify with the LGBTQIA+ community. No matter one’s sexual identity, we can be allies of the LGBTQIA+ community. 

We at Live In Theater are supporters of the LGBTQIA+ community. Love is love! Live In Theater is an innovative and award-winning theater company that has revolutionized the murder mystery play experience. Since the pandemic, we’ve moved our murder mystery theater experiences digital, so you can have an amazing experience from the comfort of your home or office. 

Contact us today to learn more about our remote-friendly, interactive, murder mystery plays for your next corporate event!