On June 17, the About Face Theater threw itself a party celebrating 20 years of LGBTQ theater.
Titled "AFT20: A Celebration," the event took place at the Hoover-Leppen Theater at the Center on Halsted. The event also served as a reunion as founding members, board members, current and former performers, and artistic associates joined for a night of history, music and theater.
A major highlight of the evening came with a presentation that spotlighted the 20-year history of the theater through scenes, songs and archival video footage. Throughout the presentation, there were scenes and footage presented from such plays as Dream Boy, The Boys in the Band, Xena Live, Pulp, I Am My Own Wife, Le Switch, The Homosexuals and a host of others. The presentation also touched on the work of the About Face Youth Theatre, which is focused on creating works that address adolescent LGBTQ life.
Among the many board members and performers in attendance were current artistic director Andrew Volkoff as well as former directors Kyle Hall, Eric Rosen and Bonnie Metzgar. Among the many performers in the presentation were Ruben Adorno, Dana Tretta, Paul Oakley Stovall, Elizabeth Laidlaw, Keira Fromm, Scott Duffy, Any Matheny, Cin Salach, Elizabeth Ledo and Micheal Fain.