Gay Play Tuesdays: THE LAST SUNDAY IN JUNE by Jonathan Tolins (2003)

It is the last Sunday in June, the day of the annual Gay Pride Parade through New York’s Greenwich Village. Tom and Michael, his partner of seven years, intend to spend the day planning their impending move from the Big Apple to the upstate town of Nyack, but their plans are rerouted as one friend after another drops by to view the parade from the window of their apartment. An afternoon originally designated for shopping at Pottery Barn instead turns into a series of conversations about relationships, self-acceptance and the very meaning of what it is to be gay, eventually calling into question Tom and Michael’s relationship itself.

What is “Gay Play Tuesdays”?

What makes a “gay play?” Is it dependent on the identity of the author or characters? The reception of the play by LGBTQIA+ audiences? The play’s politics or aesthetics? Or is there something else, less definable, that might make a play a gay classic?

Join our Resident Dramaturg, Jesse Marchese, for a monthly free play reading salon where we will investigate some of the most impactful, provocative, and fearless “gay plays” from the 20th and 21st centuries. Being a “salon,” this is not a professional performance. Rather, we treat each session as a classroom where the plays are our teachers.

We will treat every session as a first read through, assigning parts on a first come, first served basis. You are welcome to come and read a role out loud or just listen along – no experience necessary! Once we finish reading through the play we will engage in a short discussion of its themes and ideas.