© 2024 KALW 91.7 FM Bay Area
KALW Public Media / 91.7 FM Bay Area
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations
Crosscurrents

"If you attack us, we fight back. We fight for our rights." John Fisher on 40 years of queer theater

David Wilson

 

When it came time to choose a musical to put on this summer, the team at San Francisco’s Theatre Rhinoceros knew they wanted to pull out all the stops for their 40th anniversary. And that’s how this queer theatrical institution decided on Priscilla, Queen of the Desert.

 

It’s a show about two drag queens and a transgender woman who hop on a bus to travel across Australia, lip syncing to 70s diva anthems and having adventures along the way. But behind the glitter and costumes and feel-good music, there’s a message of equality and inclusion that Theatre Rhinoceros tries to evoke with all of its shows. Executive Director John Fisher sat down with KALW’s Ninna Gaensler-Debs to reflect on 40 years of queer theater.

 

 

FISHER: We're still playing to the gay men who find sexuality both exciting and amusing, and the lesbian audience which is titillated and excited by jokes directed at them and for them.

Priscilla, Queen of the Desert is showing at the Eureka Theater through July 1st. For more information, click here.

 

Crosscurrents
Ninna Gaensler-Debs is a reporter and editor for Crosscurrents. Since 2012, Ninna has worn a variety of hats at KALW - she was both a producer and event planner for Localore project Hear Here. Ninna also programmed and organized the Sights and Sounds live events - two in Bayview, and most recently, one in East Oakland.