What does it mean to be gay in contemporary society? Over the span of 80 years, the face of American homosexuality has changed from fearful secrecy to proud openness, from the painted windows and dark staircase of a hidden dive bar to a publicly celebrated wedding.
In fact, it is a wedding that brings these glimpses of American gay history together in one honest and moving play. "Some Men," by veteran writer Terrence McNally, is a collection of vignette-like moments in the histories of nine gay men who all attend the same same-sex wedding.
McNally vehemently declares that "Some Men" is not about gay marriage, despite his proclivity toward political commentary in his work. However, the subject comes up as often as any other. Several characters argue over the meaning of marriage in single-gender couples; the entire play takes place as a series of flashbacks played out between scenes from the aforementioned wedding.
These memories include a tryst on the beach in 1922, cybersex in a chat room in 2004, an interview between a "pre-liberation" gay couple and a pair of gender studies students in 1998, and a song performed in drag at a piano bar during the Stonewall riots in 1969.
"Some Men" marks McNally's first attempt to write a non-linear, non-chronological play, and he meets the challenge with moderate success. Bernie's history, which jumps from 1968 to '71 to '75 to '89 to 2000, until the wedding, is relatively simple to follow.
Bernie (played by Diego Arciniegas), a married man with children who decides to leave his wife and come out, is arguably the center of the play. He struggles to confront feelings and desires contradictory to the way he believes he should behave before he decides to end his marriage. After his divorce, and even after he meets and falls in love with Carl, he continues to question his identity as a gay man, a father and a member of society.
Arciniegas only appears as one other character, a gruff British bartender in the 1969 scene, but others' multiple roles aren't as clear. For example, the six characters played by Boston University senior Paul Cereghino are much less distinctive.
Ben Lambert, another of the production's young actors, plays his own great-grandfather (Bernie's grandfather and son). Who in the audience remembers the difference between Paul, Will, Darren and Richard (all played by Christopher Loftus)? When is Will McGarrahan playing Marty, and when is he Scoop?
Fortunately, the play's weaknesses are overcome by a stellar production. The script only specifies the inclusion of two songs ("Somewhere Over the Rainbow," sung by drag queen Archie, and "Ten Cents a Dance," sung by nightclub owner Angel Eyes), but director Paul Daigneault builds on the musical concept, using a clever and unexpected variety of music, from Rogers and Hammerstein to Nirvana, to transition between moments and moods.
Six sliding, transparent, white panels, nine white chairs, a white piano and a crystal chandelier comprise nearly the entire set, but its simplicity is effective. Daigneault has his actors slide the panels across the stage into various positions, constantly changing the space and evoking the concept of memory.
At the heart of any play are its actors, and the company of SpeakEasy's production is graced by several especially excellent performances. In addition to Aciniegas' memorable turn as Bernie, Christopher Michael Brophy is especially notable as Carl, Bernie's partner, and Kurt, a depressed, HIV-positive loner who sees new life and light in a young man's admiration.
Loftus is particularly effective as Paul, a soldier attending his lover's funeral. Finally, Maurice E. Parent, a longtime SpeakEasy performer, shines in several of his roles and merits praise for his display of versatility.
Despite its shortcomings in some scenes, "Some Men" is remarkably effective in others. As the 1969 Stonewall riots occur outside of a piano bar, the older generation of "show queens" resists the revolution with almost defiant apathy. When McGarrahan enters in a black dress and pumps, crooning "Somewhere over the Rainbow," he holds the audience spellbound. Later, he and Robert Saoud challenge the younger gender studies students to consider that perhaps things in the closet weren't so bad. But out or not, SpeakEasy's production of McNally's play succeeds in making its audience reconsider what it knows.
