Purple Pride

Celebrating LGBTQ+ playwrights and works from the Purple Rose stage.

Theatre offers a lens in which to view life from different perspectives. The world of storytelling creates a space for unique worlds to exist and pieces of history to come alive. It evokes dialogue by bringing forth new material from existing human experiences and putting them center stage. We often look to find ourselves within those stories and among the characters involved. Imagine looking onstage and not seeing yourself at all.

The evolution of theatre and LGBTQ+ representation has been notable within the last century. As we pay homage to the events within LGBTQ+ history throughout the month of June, we must remember that the Pride and Black Lives Matters movements are intertwined. The [fight] for visibility translates across and within both histories, and that includes the theatre world.

For this Pride month, we would like to highlight shows that have LGBTQ+ plotlines and characters as well as featured LGBTQ+ playwrights at the Purple Rose. These works have entertained, informed, and contributed to the artistic plane as a whole.