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| Matrix Theatre 7657 Melrose Avenue, Los Angeles 90046 (323) 852-1445 info@salemktheatreco.org |
REVIEWS & PRESS
When you're not writing, what do you like to do?
As most people know, playwriting is rarely lucrative, so I have a private chef business. I've always thrown fabulous parties, but now I get paid for
doing it. My partner and I have three rambunctious dogs (everything you read about a border collie is true), who help make our lives action-packed
and frequently hysterical.
What's the first play you ever saw?
My first Broadway play was the musical 1776, and I still go to every revival when and wherever there is one. The two other plays that affected me
enormously are Fifth of July and The Real Thing, because both plays explore the complexities of the heart. I confess I'm a romantic. In my next play, I'm
determined to get all “swoony.” (It's about the love affair between Cary Grant and Randolph Scott.)
Now that's romantic! What can Boise, USA audiences expect when the house lights go down and the curtain goes up?
For the gay audience, we have some exceedingly handsome men! From the production's standpoint, we're re-creating the 1950s, a time of prosperity
and fathoms-deep repression, a world not too dissimilar from 2008. There is a lot of humor to be mined from the 1950s—did you know that Lysol was
advertised as a woman's douching aid? But, as evident from iconic films as East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, the parent/child conflicts were,
and continue to be, emotionally captivating.
Anything else you'd like to say?
Boise USA isn't just a gay play. In fact, it's one of my few plays in which a cute boy isn't taking off his clothes! I'm not an enormous fan of Arthur Miller
(which is practically heresy for a playwright to admit), but there are moments in Boise USA that I've been told capture the emotional realism that Miller
is famous for. If our audience feels small flickers of recognition of their own familial conflicts, I will have achieved something very big after all.
As most people know, playwriting is rarely lucrative, so I have a private chef business. I've always thrown fabulous parties, but now I get paid for
doing it. My partner and I have three rambunctious dogs (everything you read about a border collie is true), who help make our lives action-packed
and frequently hysterical.
What's the first play you ever saw?
My first Broadway play was the musical 1776, and I still go to every revival when and wherever there is one. The two other plays that affected me
enormously are Fifth of July and The Real Thing, because both plays explore the complexities of the heart. I confess I'm a romantic. In my next play, I'm
determined to get all “swoony.” (It's about the love affair between Cary Grant and Randolph Scott.)
Now that's romantic! What can Boise, USA audiences expect when the house lights go down and the curtain goes up?
For the gay audience, we have some exceedingly handsome men! From the production's standpoint, we're re-creating the 1950s, a time of prosperity
and fathoms-deep repression, a world not too dissimilar from 2008. There is a lot of humor to be mined from the 1950s—did you know that Lysol was
advertised as a woman's douching aid? But, as evident from iconic films as East of Eden and Rebel Without a Cause, the parent/child conflicts were,
and continue to be, emotionally captivating.
Anything else you'd like to say?
Boise USA isn't just a gay play. In fact, it's one of my few plays in which a cute boy isn't taking off his clothes! I'm not an enormous fan of Arthur Miller
(which is practically heresy for a playwright to admit), but there are moments in Boise USA that I've been told capture the emotional realism that Miller
is famous for. If our audience feels small flickers of recognition of their own familial conflicts, I will have achieved something very big after all.
FRONTIERS MAGAZINE
May 20, 2008
Passion Play
A powerful play about the devastation wreaked by a real-life 1950s gay witch-hunt in Middle America
BY JONATHAN RIGGS
True story: On Halloween night, 1955, in Boise, Idaho, three men are arrested for “lewd and lascivious” conduct with three teenage boys, sparking a
gay witch-hunt that divided families and destroyed lives. Award-winning playwright Gene Franklin Smith dramatizes this real-life event in his powerful
new play, Boise, USA.
FRONTIERS: What's the connection between modern American and Boise, USA?
GENE FRANKLIN SMITH: The events of 1955-56 are eerily similar to current-day sex scandals and the homophobia still haunting many American small
towns. As the Bush administration continues its assault on our Bill of Rights, the parallels of what Boise's government tried to do—purge all
homosexuals from the city—becomes very clear.
What does the play say about being gay in 2008 America?
What happened in Boise could definitely happen today. America is a breeding ground for sex scandals because we're so steeped in Puritanism. I
encounter homophobia every single day of my life, as I'm sure most gay men and women do. In Los Angeles, it's subtle. But in Middle America,
homophobia is relentlessly aggressive. On a daily basis, our government thrusts its prejudice, judgment, and hatred into our lives. I truly believe that
most of America would rather all gay people just leave the country, which was the exact attitude of Boiseans in 1955.
That's a very provocative statement.
One interesting factoid about the Boise State Penitentiary: the eight men who were imprisoned were all placed in a cellblock directly above the
tuberculosis ward. Nobody cared if the men were infected and died. This is a dramatic example of what the attitudes towards homosexuality were
then—and continue to be today.
What's the theme of the play?
The cycle of abuse and intolerance continues unless we have the strength and convictions to stop it.
Who are some writers you look up to?
Well, first and foremost, F.D. Reeve, as he was such an influence on me. My other favorite playwrights are Lanford Wilson, for his theatrical
naturalism and deep understanding of people's hearts, and Tom Stoppard, for his extreme theatricality and wit. Naturally, as a gay playwright, I adore
Oscar Wilde. His plays are not all successful efforts, but I do think he has written some of the funniest one-liners ever.
May 20, 2008
Passion Play
A powerful play about the devastation wreaked by a real-life 1950s gay witch-hunt in Middle America
BY JONATHAN RIGGS
True story: On Halloween night, 1955, in Boise, Idaho, three men are arrested for “lewd and lascivious” conduct with three teenage boys, sparking a
gay witch-hunt that divided families and destroyed lives. Award-winning playwright Gene Franklin Smith dramatizes this real-life event in his powerful
new play, Boise, USA.
FRONTIERS: What's the connection between modern American and Boise, USA?
GENE FRANKLIN SMITH: The events of 1955-56 are eerily similar to current-day sex scandals and the homophobia still haunting many American small
towns. As the Bush administration continues its assault on our Bill of Rights, the parallels of what Boise's government tried to do—purge all
homosexuals from the city—becomes very clear.
What does the play say about being gay in 2008 America?
What happened in Boise could definitely happen today. America is a breeding ground for sex scandals because we're so steeped in Puritanism. I
encounter homophobia every single day of my life, as I'm sure most gay men and women do. In Los Angeles, it's subtle. But in Middle America,
homophobia is relentlessly aggressive. On a daily basis, our government thrusts its prejudice, judgment, and hatred into our lives. I truly believe that
most of America would rather all gay people just leave the country, which was the exact attitude of Boiseans in 1955.
That's a very provocative statement.
One interesting factoid about the Boise State Penitentiary: the eight men who were imprisoned were all placed in a cellblock directly above the
tuberculosis ward. Nobody cared if the men were infected and died. This is a dramatic example of what the attitudes towards homosexuality were
then—and continue to be today.
What's the theme of the play?
The cycle of abuse and intolerance continues unless we have the strength and convictions to stop it.
Who are some writers you look up to?
Well, first and foremost, F.D. Reeve, as he was such an influence on me. My other favorite playwrights are Lanford Wilson, for his theatrical
naturalism and deep understanding of people's hearts, and Tom Stoppard, for his extreme theatricality and wit. Naturally, as a gay playwright, I adore
Oscar Wilde. His plays are not all successful efforts, but I do think he has written some of the funniest one-liners ever.
STAGE SCENE LA
May 22, 2008
The 1950s are often thought of as “happy days” for the U.S., yet a closer look reveals a not so happy picture for
many Americans of the era. Segregation was the law in the once Confederate South, liberal minded Americans
were being branded Communists by Senator Joe McCarthy and his ilk, and in Boise, Idaho, another albeit less
famous witch-hunt was underway.
In late 1955, hundreds of Boise men found themselves named as “suspected homosexuals” for allegedly having
committed “infamous crimes against nature.” Their names and faces were splashed across newspaper pages,
families and lives were destroyed, and many of these “criminals” were sentenced to prison, one of them for life.
Gene Franklin Smith’s Boise U.S.A., the third and final production of Salem K Theatre Company’s first season,
dramatizes the Idaho witch-hunts of 1955-1956, centering on 10 major figures in the investigations.
The play begins with a blowjob in a dark alley and an arrest. 17-year-old Eldon Halverson (Westley Thorton), the
blowee (for pay), seems not to mind being taken to jail. “I’m sick of sleeping in the park anyway,” he declares.
Senior City Councilman, Harold T. "Buck" Jones (George McDaniel) is outraged by the presence of homosexuals in
Boise. “We have to protect our community!” he roars, and when county prosecutor Blaine Evans (Nic D’Avirro)
informs him that the crime committed is a felony offense punishable by five years in the State Penn, Buck is
shocked. “That’s all?” he exclaims.
May 22, 2008
The 1950s are often thought of as “happy days” for the U.S., yet a closer look reveals a not so happy picture for
many Americans of the era. Segregation was the law in the once Confederate South, liberal minded Americans
were being branded Communists by Senator Joe McCarthy and his ilk, and in Boise, Idaho, another albeit less
famous witch-hunt was underway.
In late 1955, hundreds of Boise men found themselves named as “suspected homosexuals” for allegedly having
committed “infamous crimes against nature.” Their names and faces were splashed across newspaper pages,
families and lives were destroyed, and many of these “criminals” were sentenced to prison, one of them for life.
Gene Franklin Smith’s Boise U.S.A., the third and final production of Salem K Theatre Company’s first season,
dramatizes the Idaho witch-hunts of 1955-1956, centering on 10 major figures in the investigations.
The play begins with a blowjob in a dark alley and an arrest. 17-year-old Eldon Halverson (Westley Thorton), the
blowee (for pay), seems not to mind being taken to jail. “I’m sick of sleeping in the park anyway,” he declares.
Senior City Councilman, Harold T. "Buck" Jones (George McDaniel) is outraged by the presence of homosexuals in
Boise. “We have to protect our community!” he roars, and when county prosecutor Blaine Evans (Nic D’Avirro)
informs him that the crime committed is a felony offense punishable by five years in the State Penn, Buck is
shocked. “That’s all?” he exclaims.
Meanwhile, in France, Dr. Jack Butler (alternate Scott Victor Nelson) and wife Marjorie (Audrey Moore) learn that Boise’s Division of Mental Health is
looking for a new director. Jack, who has been doing research on “sexual deviancy,” is thinking of staying on in Europe another three years, but
Marjorie pleads with him to return to Boise. “Daddy (Buck Jones) will arrange for everything,” she tells him, adding that it’s time to stop running from the
swimming death of their young son Harry.
Popular bank vice-president Joe Moore (Kris Kamm) is having breakfast with his wife Doris (Melissa Kite), who wonders if “a chain link fence is really
enough to keep the schoolyard safe.” Little does she know that Joe was once in love with a fellow soldier named Pete, and that he and Eldon have
also had intimate relations.
Aiding in the investigation is former FBI agent Will Fairchild (Craig Robert Young), hired to interrogate the alleged homosexuals, many of whom are
married and have children.
Completing the cast of characters are two more members of Buck Jones’ family, son Frank (Matty Ferraro) and brother Herbert (Cameron Mitchell Jr.).
Frank is a West Point cadet and former Eagle Scout (with an incredible 103 merit badges). He also has a secret, one which Uncle Herbert shares,
though from the moment the latter swishes onstage, it’s pretty clear what that secret is.
As the investigation progresses, an interesting piece of information comes to light. Apparently, 1950s homosexuals (at least those in Boise) smoked
Pall Mall cigarettes, whose slogan was “Wherever particular people congregate,” as a way of identifying each other. (Who knew?) Less likely to be
true is agent Fairchild’s claim that “Russia sends their homosexuals here to infiltrate our society.”
We also learn that Eldon, who left home at 12, has spent the five years since then on and off at the YMCA, and that the Y is where he met Joe, who
coaches boxing there. Cocky Eldon seems ahead of his time, unashamed of his sexuality to the point of flirtatiousness with interrogator Fairchild. “I like
older men,” he tells the hunky Fairchild with a wink.
Joe considers pleading guilty, on condition that, rather than do time in prison, he be sentenced to a shorter (18 month) term in a mental hospital. “I didn’t
do all those things,” he tells Jack, “but I’m not innocent.” Joe can’t understand why his wife isn’t enough. “It’s a mental illness, isn’t it?” he asks the
doctor.
Joe Moore’s gradual realization that perhaps he’s not mentally ill is one of the more powerful aspects of Boise U.S.A. Sentenced to seven years in the
penitentiary, Joe discovers Walt Whitman in prison. In discussions with Jack, his court appointed therapist, Joe can’t get over that Whitman was
“queer.” Reading one of Whitman’s poems, Joe marvels, “That’s how I felt with Pete. That we could conquer everything.”
The real hero of Boise U.S.A. turns out to be gay Uncle Herbert, who accuses FBI agent Fairchild of being “a cruel black-hearted cocksucker” who “go
(es) after queers to deflect suspicion.” Herbert happens to know J. Edgar Hoover and Hoover’s partner (in crime-prevention and the boudoir) Clyde
Tolson, something which comes in handy in righting at least some of the wrongs inflicted on his fellow gays.
Thornton is a particular standout as teen tempter Eldon. The actor has real star potential, commanding the stage and exuding sex appeal in each of his
all too brief appearances. Perhaps no one in the cast captures the look and feel of the era better than Kite, who could easily have stepped out of
Father Knows Best. In her final scene, a prison visit with an excellent Kamm as husband Joe, the stage truly takes fire. Broadway vet McDaniel is a
powerful Buck Jones, and Mitchell creates a real three-dimensional Uncle Herbert, a role which in lesser hands would have been mere stereotype.
Laura Fine Hawkes’ excellent set allows for quick scene changes, and makes especially fine use of the Matrix’s brick upstage wall, painted to
resemble the painted-on ads which adorned many downtown building walls of the era. Leigh Allen once again proves why she was the deserving
recipient of this year’s L.A. Drama Critics’ Circle lifetime achievement award for lighting design. May Routh’s costumes are an excellent evocation of
the mid-1950s. Best of all is Eric Snodgrass’s sound design, particularly outstanding in several scenes involving the “Boise voices.” In a press
conference and later at a town meeting, the recorded voices seem to be coming live from all parts of the theater, perfectly integrated with the voices
of the onstage actors.
Boise U.S.A. has particular resonance for those in the audience who can recall pre- Stonewall days. It is also a production which every young gay
person should see. In these days when the majority of Californians see nothing immoral about gay relationships, it would behoove those who have
grown up in this more tolerant and accepting society to take a look back at a time not so long ago when being gay meant being a criminal (as it still
does in many parts of the world).
At the play’s end, one of the characters comments that it is “as if it never happened,” to which he receives this prophetic response: “It did. It will
again.”
-- Steven Stanley --
looking for a new director. Jack, who has been doing research on “sexual deviancy,” is thinking of staying on in Europe another three years, but
Marjorie pleads with him to return to Boise. “Daddy (Buck Jones) will arrange for everything,” she tells him, adding that it’s time to stop running from the
swimming death of their young son Harry.
Popular bank vice-president Joe Moore (Kris Kamm) is having breakfast with his wife Doris (Melissa Kite), who wonders if “a chain link fence is really
enough to keep the schoolyard safe.” Little does she know that Joe was once in love with a fellow soldier named Pete, and that he and Eldon have
also had intimate relations.
Aiding in the investigation is former FBI agent Will Fairchild (Craig Robert Young), hired to interrogate the alleged homosexuals, many of whom are
married and have children.
Completing the cast of characters are two more members of Buck Jones’ family, son Frank (Matty Ferraro) and brother Herbert (Cameron Mitchell Jr.).
Frank is a West Point cadet and former Eagle Scout (with an incredible 103 merit badges). He also has a secret, one which Uncle Herbert shares,
though from the moment the latter swishes onstage, it’s pretty clear what that secret is.
As the investigation progresses, an interesting piece of information comes to light. Apparently, 1950s homosexuals (at least those in Boise) smoked
Pall Mall cigarettes, whose slogan was “Wherever particular people congregate,” as a way of identifying each other. (Who knew?) Less likely to be
true is agent Fairchild’s claim that “Russia sends their homosexuals here to infiltrate our society.”
We also learn that Eldon, who left home at 12, has spent the five years since then on and off at the YMCA, and that the Y is where he met Joe, who
coaches boxing there. Cocky Eldon seems ahead of his time, unashamed of his sexuality to the point of flirtatiousness with interrogator Fairchild. “I like
older men,” he tells the hunky Fairchild with a wink.
Joe considers pleading guilty, on condition that, rather than do time in prison, he be sentenced to a shorter (18 month) term in a mental hospital. “I didn’t
do all those things,” he tells Jack, “but I’m not innocent.” Joe can’t understand why his wife isn’t enough. “It’s a mental illness, isn’t it?” he asks the
doctor.
Joe Moore’s gradual realization that perhaps he’s not mentally ill is one of the more powerful aspects of Boise U.S.A. Sentenced to seven years in the
penitentiary, Joe discovers Walt Whitman in prison. In discussions with Jack, his court appointed therapist, Joe can’t get over that Whitman was
“queer.” Reading one of Whitman’s poems, Joe marvels, “That’s how I felt with Pete. That we could conquer everything.”
The real hero of Boise U.S.A. turns out to be gay Uncle Herbert, who accuses FBI agent Fairchild of being “a cruel black-hearted cocksucker” who “go
(es) after queers to deflect suspicion.” Herbert happens to know J. Edgar Hoover and Hoover’s partner (in crime-prevention and the boudoir) Clyde
Tolson, something which comes in handy in righting at least some of the wrongs inflicted on his fellow gays.
Thornton is a particular standout as teen tempter Eldon. The actor has real star potential, commanding the stage and exuding sex appeal in each of his
all too brief appearances. Perhaps no one in the cast captures the look and feel of the era better than Kite, who could easily have stepped out of
Father Knows Best. In her final scene, a prison visit with an excellent Kamm as husband Joe, the stage truly takes fire. Broadway vet McDaniel is a
powerful Buck Jones, and Mitchell creates a real three-dimensional Uncle Herbert, a role which in lesser hands would have been mere stereotype.
Laura Fine Hawkes’ excellent set allows for quick scene changes, and makes especially fine use of the Matrix’s brick upstage wall, painted to
resemble the painted-on ads which adorned many downtown building walls of the era. Leigh Allen once again proves why she was the deserving
recipient of this year’s L.A. Drama Critics’ Circle lifetime achievement award for lighting design. May Routh’s costumes are an excellent evocation of
the mid-1950s. Best of all is Eric Snodgrass’s sound design, particularly outstanding in several scenes involving the “Boise voices.” In a press
conference and later at a town meeting, the recorded voices seem to be coming live from all parts of the theater, perfectly integrated with the voices
of the onstage actors.
Boise U.S.A. has particular resonance for those in the audience who can recall pre- Stonewall days. It is also a production which every young gay
person should see. In these days when the majority of Californians see nothing immoral about gay relationships, it would behoove those who have
grown up in this more tolerant and accepting society to take a look back at a time not so long ago when being gay meant being a criminal (as it still
does in many parts of the world).
At the play’s end, one of the characters comments that it is “as if it never happened,” to which he receives this prophetic response: “It did. It will
again.”
-- Steven Stanley --