Staging a Crusade: Queer Activism and the Lionheart Gay Theater of Chicago

Abstract: Between 1979 and 1994, the Lionheart Gay Theater Company staged numerous plays around Chicago, Illinois. Founded by set designer Rick Paul, Lionheart Gay Theater was an important mode of gay politics and activism. Lionheart began as a venue for gay and lesbian playwrights to tell queer stories to queer audiences using gay and lesbian actors, and it persisted by evolving into an activist hub that addressed AIDS and other political concerns of the gay community. Lionheart performed its activism in three distinct ways: through its theatrical work to present a usable gay and lesbian past to its members and audience, through its activism around the AIDS crisis and other salient political issues, and through its transnational engagement with the wider queer world. Lionheart’s theatrical activism included producing numerous plays that highlighted the importance of queer people to world history, as well as staging the first play produced in the United States about AIDS in 1983. In addition, this volunteer group of Chicago thespians and playwrights participated in the wider queer world of the 1980s and 1990s through tours in the United Kingdom and a production of its work in Germany. These activities reveal that Chicago was as important as a center of queer cultural production and identity formation as coastal cities like New York City and San Francisco.