In the early morning hours of June 28, 1969, the New York Police Department attempted to conduct a raid on the Stonewall Inn, a well-known gay bar in Greenwich Village. Many such raids had been conducted at other gay bars in the city. But unexpectedly, the patrons of the Stonewall fought back. Playwright Doric Wilson was there.
In Street Theater, Wilson assembles a cast of characters inspired by his own experience. A variety of patrons walk and linger along Christopher Street by the Stonewall Inn. There is Murfino, the tough-guy bar owner who is connected with the Mafia and regularly pays off the cops so they leave his establishment alone. Jack is a leather-clad, Harley-riding gay man, intimidating to look at but friendly and welcoming under the tough exterior. His close friend C.B., a butch lesbian, cares both for his motorcycle as well as for the young people that find their way to Greenwich, from flower child Heather to innocent Timothy. Ceil and Boom Boom are the local drag queens that inspire drama all around them, while various young gay men wander along the street. Rounding out the characters are two undercover cops, out to eliminate homosexuality. As these characters interact with each other--and the audience--Wilson creates an accurate and moving account of the tensions leading up to the Stonewall Riots, which sparked the beginnings of the Gay Pride Movement.
Street Theater guide sections
