LGBTQ timeline.

Oscar Wilde was a British Poet, Playwright, and Novelist who became famous for going on trial for homosexuality. He was found guilty and sentenced to two years in prison. He was excellent for witty remarks such as "Life imitates art far more than art imitates life" (Wilde, History.com Editors, 2019). He wrote the novel The Picture of Dorian Gray in 1890. The GALEA Society of LGBTQ Critics is home to the Dorian Awards.

Boys in the Band (1968) by Matt Crowley was the first play on Broadway to specifically feature gay men. It had run for approximately two years in Manhattan's Stage Four theatre before showing on Broadway. In 1970 it was turned into a film. Boys in the Band recently won a Tony Award (2019) for best revival (Genzlinger, 2020). Crowley wrote a sequel to Boys in the Band called The Men from the Boys in 2002. Netflix released Boys in the Band series in 2020. Crowley died at age 84.

Charles Ludlam playwright and actor spearheaded many gay plays mostly in the 70s and 80s. He is known for Bluebeard (1970), Camille (1973), and The Mystery of Irma Vep (1984), and he founded the Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Charles is the recipient of, "six Off-Broadway (Obie) Awards as well as a Drama Desk award, and the Rosamund Gilder Award" (Keehnen, 2022). Ludlam suffered from AIDS and succumbed to pneumonia at only 44 years of age in 1987.

The Ritz written in 1975 by Terrance McNally first aired in the National Theatre of Washington D.C. but did perform on Broadway directed by Robert Drivas. This was a comedy about a man looking for safety who winds up in a gay bathhouse owned and operated by the Mafia. Rita Morena received a Tony for Best Featured Actress and McNally received a Tony Award for Lifetime Achievement (Concord Theatricals, 2023).

The Gay Theatre Alliance was formed in 1978 to support the welfare of LGBTQ communities. Specifically, the original theatres involved were Caffe Cino owned by Joe Cino and LaMaMa Experimental Theatre Club owned by Ellen Stewart. These two were OFF-OFF Broadway Clubs and "produced some of the most well-known plays dealing with LGBTQ issues" (Brockett, p 254). LaMama is, "the oldest surviving Off-Off-Broadway theater in New York City"(NYC LGBT Historic Sites Project Editors, 2023).

Torch Song Trilogy 1978 written by Harvey Fierstein and directed by Eric Concklin. However, it did hit Broadway in 1982 directed by Peter Pope. Torch Song Trilogy includes a Jewish drag queen in New York City. It premiered in La Mama ETC and won a Tony in 1983 for Best Play (Concord Theatricals, 2023). This play was adapted into a film in 1988 and actually starred Harvey Fierstein and Matthew Broderick.

Bent was written in 1979 by Martin Sherman and went to Broadway but first premiered in London. Robert Allan Ackerman directed Bent on Broadway. This play educated audiences about the brutal treatment of gay communities by the Nazi Regime. The play is set in a Nazi Camp and the treatment of gay men within. Bent has since been adapted into a film in 1997 and was nominated in 1980 for best play, and this play won the Dramatist's Guild Hall-Warriner (League, 2023).

WOW (Women of the World) Cafe is actually a theatre in New York established for Lesbian and transgenders who identify with women. It started as a festival in 1980 but turned into a permanent facility. The historical founders are Peggy Shaw and Lois Weaver. It currently takes testimonies of members of their favorite performances in their WOW Cafe Documentary Project (WOW Cafe Editors, 2023).

LaCage aux Folles (1983) written by Harvey Fierstein "won a Tony award for best book" (Brockett 254). Fierstein is known for writing, acting, and his activism for gay rights. It was adapted into a film and is more commonly known as Bird Cage (1996) starring Robin Williams. The film was another one directed by Mike Nichols in collaboration with Elaine May. Fun Fact, Steve Martin was originally set to co-star with Robin Williams (Cormier, 2021).

GLAAD is the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation. Originally, this alliance was formed in order to battle any misleading media coverage in the wake of the AIDS crisis. Today, it battles current issues of the LGBTQ community to motivate acceptance including working with the arts to ensure the LGBT community is fairly portrayed on stage and in film. GLAAA also promotes the annual GLAAD Media Awards (GLAAD editors, 2023).

Angels in America written in two parts by Tony Kushner highlights the AIDS crisis in America. Millennium Approaches 1991 won the Tony Award and Perestroika 1992 won the Pulitzer Prize. Tony states, "'This was all a dream!' Kushner has said that the idea for Angels stemmed from a dream he had after a former classmate passed away from AIDS" (Boone, 2013). This play was adapted into an HBO series in 2003 directed by Mike Nichols and stars like Al Pacino and Meryl Streep.

The Laramie Project written in 2000 by Moises Kaufman about a true story of Matthew Shepherd fatally beaten for being gay in Laramie, Wyoming. "'The Laramie Project' premiered at The Ricketson Theatre in Denver, Colorado. It opened off-Broadway less than two years later, at the Union Square Theatre, and the Tectonic Theater Project even performed the play in Laramie, Wyoming" (Bradford 2019). It turned into film 2002 and won a GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Television Film.

GALECA was originally established in 2009 to critique theatre, television, and film. It is home to hundreds of professional writers for the US, Canada, Australia, the UK, and more. They are also the hub for the annual Dorian Awards. The awards are for film, television, and theatre. The theatres' awards are not only for Broadway but also for Off Broadway is included. Dorian is named after a story written by imprisoned Oscar Wilde, a gay British playwright (GALECA editors, 2023).

Fun Home 2015 written by Lisa Kron and composer Jeanine Tesori. Both of these ladies earned a Tony for Best Original Score of a Musical which was a historical moment for women. It was featured on Broadway and won a total of five Tony Awards as well as countless other awards. Fun Home's lesbian character in a dysfunctional family with a secret that her father is also gay. Fun Fact: This is based on a true story (Long, 2020).

Pulled from headlines: Cake 2019 performed on Off-Broadway and written by Bekah Brunsetter started at the Echo Theatre in California in 2017, however, currently showing on Broadway. This play is the storyline of a conservative cake maker hired to make a cake for a lesbian couple. She is faced with making decisions about her faith and family. She was raised in a conservative home, however, considers the lesbian bride her family. (Broadway Musicals, 2023).

J. Harrison Ghee is the first nonbinary person to win a Tony Award for Best Performance by an Actor in a Leading Role in a musical called Some Like It Hot. This was a historic award for nonbinary persons. Ghee has a dual character of Jerry and Daphne inspired by the film of the same name. The play is "during Prohibition in Chicago when two musicians are forced to flee town after witnessing a mob hit. With gangsters on the heels, the two pals go undercover in drag(Siwak 2023).