Madison Lyric Stage Brings Down the House and Raises Money for Pride Center
Proceeds of summer production to benefit LGBTQ+ youth.
Local audiences threw their enthusiastic support behind Madison Lyric Stage’s recent performance of the landmark play, “The Boys in the Band.” Presented in partnership with the New Haven Pride Center, the play generated enough ticket sales and donations raised during performances to award $1,622 for youth programming at the center.
“Our production of The Boys in the Band exceeded all of our expectations, both from an artistic and attendance perspective,” said John Johmann, executive director of Madison Lyric Stage. “We had large, enthusiastic and quite diverse audiences, and, proudly, we were able to raise a nice sum for the New Haven Pride Center.”
The Tony-Award winning play revolves around a group of gay men who gather for a birthday party in New York City in 1968, and the explosive truth and secrets that are revealed as the evening wears on. The performances were staged outdoors under a large tent on the grounds of Madison’s Deacon John Grave House.
“Through the play, we presented the stories and struggles of nine gay men in 1968, and it is key that we support and prepare the LGBTQ+ youth of 2021 to continue the fight for true equity and representation,” Johmann said.
The performance was supported in part by a Community Foundation for Greater New Haven Small Grant given in 2020. The grant was extended to 2021 when the play was postponed for a year. Other funders included Guilford Savings Bank, the Maureen E. and Peter F. Dalton Fund of The Madison Foundation, and the New Alliance Foundation, along with support from the Connecticut Office of the Arts, which also receives funding from the National Endowment for the Arts.
Madison Lyric Stage’s final production of its 2021 mainstage season will be a double bill of Puccini’s Suor Angelica and Schoenberg’s Erwartung playing September 9-19. Tickets for this production are available at madisonlyricstage.org.
Madison Lyric Stage is an award-winning, non-profit arts collective serving Connecticut. Its mission is to expand participation in the arts by presenting accessible, inclusive and affordable professional-quality opera, musical theater and drama.
For more information about Madison Lyric Stage, visit madisonlyricstage.org.
For more information about New Haven Pride Center, visit its profile on giveGreater.org.
