Jonathan Tolins’ look at gay life in the 1990s - THE LAST SUNDAY IN JUNE – will be performed via Zoom by a cast of socially-distanced actors on the actual last Sunday of June 2020 – the day on which Chicago’s Pride Parade was set to take place before its cancellation due to the city and state’s COVID-19 restrictions prohibiting large gatherings. Michael Rashid, an ensemble member of Hell in a Handbag, will direct. The reading, part of the Pride Films and Plays “Pride in Place” live online play readings, will begin at 7 pm on Sunday, June 28. Tickets are $10.00 per virtual “seat” and are on sale now at www.pridearts.org. Pride Films and Plays Executive Director David Zak says, “we hope this will help compensate to some degree for the loss we’ll feel since we won’t be able to celebrate together as a community.”
Rashid’s cast will include a mix of Chicago favorites and new faces. Danny Bernardo, whose Chicago stage career included roles at the Goodman, Victory Gardens, About Face, Silk Road Rising, The House, and The Gift before his move to Los Angeles several years ago, will “return” to Chicago virtually via Zoom for the reading. Bernardo will play James, an ex-boyfriend of one of the party hosts, who comes to the party to announce his intention to marry a woman. Hosts Tom and Michael will be played by Gary Henderson (of THE BOYS NEXT DOOR with Pride Films and Plays) and stand-up comedian Ron Popp. Their middle-aged, opera loving friend Charles will be played by Michael Kingston, seen this past year in WORKING with Theo Ubique and MIRACLE THE MUSICAL at the Royal George Theatre. The youngest guest of the party – the recent college graduate Joe, who is savoring the gay lifestyle of New York City - will be played by Christopher Sylvie, himself a recent graduate of Northwestern State University of Louisiana.
Ethan Warren (of ALL THAT HE WAS with Pride Films and Plays and DEAD MAN WALKING with Lyric Opera) will play the hunky Scott, and Jamal Howard will play the acerbic Brad. The Los Angeles-based Leslie Connelly will play James’ intended wife, Susan. Michelle X Taylor, whose one-woman show, FOR THE DIVA IN YOU played the Gorilla Tango Theatre, will narrate.
Top row L-R: Danny Bernardo, Leslie Connelly, Gary Henderson.
Middle row: L-R: Jamal Howard, Michael Kingston, Ron Popp.
Bottom row L-R: Christopher Sylvie, Michelle X. Taylor, Ethan Warren.
Michael Rashid (Director) is an actor, director, and playwright; and an ensemble member at Hell in a Handbag. He holds a BA in Theatre Performance from Western Michigan University and MFA in Acting from West Virginia University. Favorite directing credits include GROSS INDECENCY, NEVER THE SINNER, and OUR LEADING LADY. (Click on image to access high res file.)
THE LAST SUNDAY IN JUNE was first produced in 2003 by Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, a New City company that has introduced plays by such important contemporary playwrights as Annie Baker, Craig Lucas, Adam Rapp, and Craig Wright. THE NEW YORK TIMES called it a “smart, timely and funny play…” that intends “to push the 'gay' play forward into its next generation of concerns.”
Following THE LAST SUNDAY IN JUNE in the “Pride in Place” series will be UNIDENTIFIED HUMAN REMAINS AND THE TRUE NATURE OF LOVE by Brad Fraser, directed by Jacob Van Hoorn. This provocative political comedy from Canada will be performed Wednesday, July 1 at 7 pm.
Ticket price for each reading is $10.00. Tickets are available at Pride Films and Plays.org or by phone at 773-857-0222.
LISTING INFORMATION
LAST SUNDAY IN JUNE
By Jonathan Tolins
Directed by Michael Rashid
Live stream on Sunday, June 28 - 7:00 pm
$10.00
Tickets available at www.Pridearts.org or by phone at 773-857-0222.
On THE LAST SUNDAY IN JUNE, the day of New York City’s annual Gay Pride Parade, Tom and Michael, his partner of seven years, intend to spend the day planning their impending move from the Big Apple to the upstate town of Nyack, but their plans are rerouted as one friend after another drops by to view the parade from the window of their apartment. A series of conversations about relationships follows amid the partying. Since this is the first time in decades the Chicago Pride Parade will NOT be held, this Pride reading celebrates a tradition as it looks at friends and lovers.
ABOUT PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS
Pride Films and Plays creates diverse new work (or work that is new to Chicago) with LGBTQ+ characters or themes that is essential viewing for all audiences. We accomplish this mission through fully-staged productions, writing contests and staged readings, and filming one short film each season.
PFP is the primary tenant in the Pride Arts Center (PAC), which connects and promotes other artists who share our values, creating a safe environment for all. PAC books one-night events or limited runs, cabaret, film, dance, comedy, and other events. PAC opened in 2016 and consists of two performance spaces: The Buena at 4147 N. Broadway which has 50 seats and The Broadway at 4139 N. Broadway which has 85 seats.
Pride Films and Plays is supported by The MacArthur Fund for Arts & Culture at The Richard Driehaus Foundation, The Illinois Arts Council, City of Chicago’s City Arts Fund, the Elliott Fredland Charitable Trust, Proud to Run, the AmazonSmile Foundation, Arts and Business Foundation, Tap Root Foundation and Alphawood Foundation.
PFP is a member of the Smart Growth Program of the Chicago Community Trust. Pride Films and Plays is a member of the LGBT Chamber of Commerce of Illinois and The League of Chicago Theatres.
For more information, visit www.pridearts.org or call 773-857-0222.