Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m.—RANDOLPH—Join Vermont Pride Theater at Chandler Music Hall for the northeastern premiere of Topher Payne’s prize-winning new play “Perfect Arrangement,” in a benefit staged reading, on Saturday, Jan. 28 at 7:30 p.m. Proceeds will go to the civil rights work of LGBTQ Legal Advocates & Defenders.
“Perfect Arrangement” is set in the 1950s, when popular TV sitcoms diverted attention from Senator Joseph McCathy’s Red Scare purges of civil society and the U.S. government. State Department employees Bob and Norma, who helped with the purges, are now asked to weed out degenerates and deviants, including the promiscuous and homosexuals. But they are homosexuals themselves. Until now they have been living with their partners in adjoining apartments, successfully masquerading as two straight couples. A concealed closet between the apartments helps them maintain appearances in the first act but begins to divide them in the second, as the Pink Scare threatens to disrupt their perfect arrangement. The play ends by planting an early seed for the LGBTQ+ rights movement.
The play will be directed by Jeanne Beckwith. “This play tells a compelling story about the not-long-ago past that is still relevant today. Whenever individual freedom is at risk, human beings must take action even when it isn’t comfortable, even when it isn’t safe,” said Beckwith.
A talkback after the reading will give audience and performers a chance to ask questions and share their comments, followed by a reception plus meet and greet.
Tickets are available by calling 802-728-6464 or at chandler-arts.org. Adult tickets are $17 in advance, $20 at the door; students are $12 advance, $15 at the door. Chandler Center is located at 71-73 Main Street, Randolph.
Photo courtesy of Chandler Center for the Arts
Local actors took part in Vermont Pride Theater in past years, which continues with a staged reading this Saturday.
