It started in 1982, when the late Charles Rowland leased a tiny storefront in L.A.'s Silverlake area, turning it into the first home for what was a very bold venture at that time: the Celebration Theatre, a company dedicated to producing gay-focused material. In 1993, Robert Schrock came in as artistic director and escorted the community theatre into the Equity Waiver age (now called the 99-Seat Plan) while moving to a new facility on Santa Monica Boulevard in Hollywood. He was followed by three illustrious successors: Richard Israel, Derek Charles Livingston, and Michael Matthews. The company launches its 25th anniversary season Oct. 12 with the L.A. premiere of Philip Ridley's edgy British comedy The Fastest Clock in the Universe.
Schrock, who helmed the company from 1993 to 1999, fostered such critically lauded new works as Naked Boys Singing (still flourishing in its long Off-Broadway run and in international productions and opening in a film adaptation Oct. 12), Cyberqueer, and The Pink Triangle. Under Livingston's tenure, the group stretched the company's artistic boundaries further with such successes as Insurrection: Holding History, Hedwig and the Angry Inch, and Pinafore!, leading the company to myriad honors from local awards groups.
Matthews, the theatre's artistic director since February 2005 and currently a double Ovation Awards nominee for directing Beautiful Thing and The Bacchae last season at the Celebration, is overseeing his third season (detailed in last week's Stage Notes column). Having tried different kinds of shows, from the lesbian-themed classic The Children's Hour to the original seriocomic musical Play It Cool, Matthews noted that he is offering a season of world premieres or local premieres. In addition to Fastest, other highlights will include a world premiere musical theatre piece—Songs From an Unmade Bed—and a festively gay version of Dickens' A Christmas Carol.
"We're not playing it safe at all," he said. "We really don't have anything to lose, but at the same time we have everything to lose. But I'm proud we're giving L.A. audiences worthwhile shows they haven't seen before."
Like most small companies, the Celebration continually struggles for fiscal survival. Matthews attributes the theatre's ability to stay afloat to his staff of 25 stalwart supporters, from the board and the company. He said, "Only six to seven of [those supporters] are actors, but they're all there because they believe in what we have to say and what we're doing."
He noted that the theatre's audience increasingly includes many straight patrons, which he believes is a reflection of the evolving assimilation of gay and straight cultures. Shrock agreed, noting that during one of the company's biggest hits, The Gay '90s Musical, "buses of older straight people came in from Orange County to see it." Another revue developed during his tenure, Too Old for the Chorus, has enjoyed a successful afterlife in San Diego and elsewhere (a new version is currently playing at La Mirada Theatre in La Mirada, Calif.). During Schrock's years, he won widespread praise for his lesbian workshops, which dispelled the myth that lesbians never go to theatre, though Schrock believes that lesbian audiences are more specialized and support the right shows done at the right time, such as last year's breakaway hit, The Break Up Notebook: The Lesbian Musical, presented at the Hudson Theatre in Hollywood.
Matthews said gay theatre has moved beyond the conventional gay-bonding ensemble pieces that were staples for many years, such as Love! Valour! Compassion! and Buddies. Instead of looking back, he suggested, the new generation of gay plays must reflect where we are today and where we're headed. Schrock said he is delighted that his successors have carried the torch so eloquently. "There will always be a place for a gay theatre—especially for the Celebration," he said. "It gives playwrights, directors, and actors a place to exercise and grow. It's very important to the gay community, and yet its value extends far beyond that."
The Celebration casts by open audition. For theatre schedule, tickets, and other information, visit www.celebrationtheatre.com.