Desire: The New Gay Musical

Archive Listings for Desire: The New Gay Musical

T1935819933 (ALBANY10) A semi-staged performanceCompany Homo Promos Theatre Company. Conductor Peter Murphy. Director Peter Scott-Presland.
30 Jun 10 to 2 Jul 10	The Albany, Outer London :: V294 listing details L0938381161

Details

Play :: HOMO PROMOS, London’s oldest-established gay theatre company, is pushing the boat out to celebrate LGBT Pride 2010 and the 2010 Pride Festival. The boat is travelling back in time to the 1970s and across the pond to the USA, to visit gay men and gay life in 16 cities from Seattle to Fort Lauderdale, from New York to San Francisco. Harvey Milk is still alive, Village People are in the hit parade, and gays are building a new way of life. Meet them all - white, black, chicano, Native American; hillbillies, hustlers, drag queens, drifters, lobbyists and wierdos. It’s also a portrait of a world of lost innocence, at the last moment before the arrival of AIDS/HIV changed the landscape for gay men for ever. The music reflects the idea of America as a melting pot, and, in gay life as in other aspects, the USA isn’t one country, but many. The show uses a wide array of styles (Latin, bluegrass, blues, gospel, 70s pop, jazz) to convey the range of characters. A Narrator links the travelogue to 15 cities. Desire is optimistic and uplifting. This is a time of hope, of people forging new lives for themselves. The pioneering spirit lives on in Los Angeles, San Francisco, New York, Chicago... And whatever setbacks come, new pioneers arrive to keep building for the future. It’s an inspiring view of our recent past, and a gay sense of community. So join the parade in a lost Eden, the calm before the storm. This unique multimedia spectacle involves soloists, dancers, a chorus, slide projection and a large band. It’s the biggest gay community theatre project in nearly 20 years.

Lyrics	Peter Scott-Presland
Music	Peter Murphy (based on the book States of Desire by Edmund White)