The summer of 1969, with Stonewall in June and Woodstock in August, represents a shift in the American ethos. These events meet in a new play Hit the Wall at the Barrow Street Theater. Woodstock may evoke the peace and love generation, and to a lesser degree, the look and sound is represented in Hit the Wall by a trio of musicians, a girl guitarist in headband and slovenly dress with her bra showing in the back recalls that bygone era. Hey, at least she wears one! But Stonewall is another thing unto itself: a routine raid on a gay bar in Greenwich Village, a stone’s throw from this theater, turns into a full scale riot, inaugurating change that still resonates. Hit the Wall is a reminder of early violence, a turning point. Today, same sex couples still arouse volatile passions for some.
On opening night, a carefully selected crowd filed into the theater celebrating not only this play, but Barrow Street itself: Tracy Letts, Mare Winningham, David Cromer, Austin Pendleton, Blythe Danner, Kate Arrington and Michael Shannon, and original Stonewallers, Danny Gavin and Martin Boyce. At the afterparty at A.O.C., Larry Kramer, author of The Normal Heart, a play about the AIDS crisis of the early ‘80’s, and the disgraceful bias toward gays, chatted with Joe Mantello, the playwright who starred in the 2011 revival. Hit the Wall takes place before AIDS became a scourge in this community. “Now I’m considered a hero,” said Kramer to Joe Mantello. He used to be a troublemaker. Or maybe in these circles, that’s the same thing.
Graphic Design: Salpeter Ventura
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