LGBTQ Theatre Makes Return to Denver Fringe: In loving memory
What better way to kick off pride season than by supporting a locally owned and operated LGBTQ business? Founded in January of 2022, The 2¢ Lion Theatre Company is an entirely queer theatre group whose focus is to elevate queer stories through original work with an LGBTQ focus and education component.
Started by three DU graduates, Gracie Jacobson (managing and education director, she/they), Izy Chern (artistic and technical director, they/them), and Kevin Douglas (executive director and resident playwright, he/him) all work together to make Lion Theatre, unlike other theater organizations in and around Denver by ensure that their performances are equitable, accessible, and affordable, aiming to spread the joy and passion of theater to everyone regardless of financial status or other prohibiting factors. Their new upcoming performance, In Loving Memory, invites viewers to attend the celebration of “Mr. Squirrel’s life, and meet Andi, a queer teenager who processes their trauma through the eulogy of roadkill.”
The theatre company’s first production, Yesterday-Today, is a touching adaptation of Danny Boyle’s Yesterday, described as a “gay multiverse comedy about the Beatles.” It debuted at last year’s Fringe Festival, a RINO art fest that highlights emerging and upcoming performance groups, where it astounded and entertained audience members, taking home the ‘Best of Fringe’ award. Premiering its fourth production, 2¢ Lion asks you to join them for this year’s Fringe Festival June 8 – 11 at the Savoy Flex Studio for their premier of tragi-comedy In Loving Memory. Sure to entrance those in attendance, In Loving Memory incorporates dance, poetry, and audience participation to create an unforgettable show that most if not everyone can relate to.
“It’s always a pleasure to read something so original that it really makes you sit up and take notice. In Loving Memory is a piece in which Kevin Douglas leads us along a path which, at first, appears to be cute and slightly comic, but which leads to high emotion and deeper, darker thoughts.” Paul Smith of New Play Exchange informs.
“It’s very clever and startling. This is a smart and innovative piece of writing.”
The importance of having inclusive spaces for people to express themselves authentically, especially those of the LGBTQ community, cannot be understated. Additionally, 2¢ Lion wants to establish a place for queer actors, and playwrights to share their experiences in a way only they can.
“Sometimes if you look into a show, it has queer elements, but then you find out the writer isn’t actually queer, or it just doesn’t ring quite true,” The organization states.
“So we really wanted to incorporate that in a way that felt authentic to us. We want to give queer people the voices to tell queer stories, but we’re not gatekeeping the performances to be like, ‘We’re only hiring queer designers; we’re only hiring queer actors,’ because that kind of does the opposite of what we’re fighting against.”
While there is little lack of queer representation in the world of musical and theatrical performance, 2¢ Lion wants LGBTQ stories and characters to be portrayed in a genuine way that feels real for both the audience and actors.
“We can’t just solely rely on going back to Shakespeare or to Eugene O’Neill, It gives us the opportunity to work with new playwrights who are open about their identity, even if their play isn’t solely about queerness. It’s just a great way to force us to produce work when maybe we would otherwise do something easier, like an easier target,” managing director Jacobson adds.
“I kind of prefer that it’s just about queer people existing, instead of like this show has to be about coming out and this has to be about queer struggles. It’s more just like it’s normalizing it, and it is in a comfortable way. It’s really just like, ‘Here’s a story. They happen to be queer.’”
The premiere of the performance is anticipated this week, with viewings starting on Thursday, June 8 and going through Sunday, June 11. Tickets are priced at $12 and can be purchased through the Fringe Festival’s website where anyone getting four or more tickets can receive an additional 10% off.
