Drama on Gay Experience to Be Presented

“At the Flash,” an incisive drama about five decades of gay history as seen through the lives of denizens of a gay bar, will be presented on Saturday, Sept. 20 at 8 p.m. at the Conejo Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship in Newbury Park.

David Leeper stars in the one-man play, portraying five distinctive characters whose experiences trace the struggles, heartaches, advances and challenges of the lesbian/gay/transgender/bisexual community. Leeper, who wrote the drama with Sean Chandler, transforms himself into characters from five decades whose stories unfold at a fictitious bar called The Flash.

Richard, a husband and father of three, struggles with his true sexual identity in 1965. Sparkle, an aging Southern drag queen, shares her burdens and wisdom in 1979. Ten years later, Derrick turns to drugs and alcohol to escape the pain as he faces the upcoming results of an HIV test. Lesbian activist Mona battles the proposed Defense of Marriage Act in 1996. Rod, the successful gay present-day owner of The Flash, struggles for the acceptance of those around him.

Leeper and Chandler will hold a discussion with the audience at the conclusion of the play, presented by the Conejo Valley Unitarian Universalist Fellowship Community Forum. The one-night-only performance is free and open to the public; donations will be accepted.

The play, which combines moving drama with comedic elements, premiered in Chicago in 2012 and had a run at the Celebration Theatre in West Hollywood in the spring of 2013. It opened in Europe in May at the International Dublin Gay Theatre Festival.

In a review in the WeHo news, Jake Webb wrote, “This play provides a benchmark for the progress the gay community has made, but also revs up our passion for what steps we need to take.”

CVUUF is located at 3327 Old Conejo Road, near the Wendy Drive freeway exit in Newbury Park. For information, visit forum.cvuuf.org or call (805) 374-9818.