"Abraham Lincoln's Big Gay Dance Party" fills the stage

The United States has never had a gay president, but a play coming to Bloomington this weekend imagines that scenario.

“Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party” deals with issues that “go unseen or people are willing to ignore,” said Stephen Hammoor, the play’s director and an IDS web editor.

The play’s premiere will be 8 p.m. Friday in the Ivy Tech John Waldron Auditorium. There will be additional performances Saturday and Sunday at the same time and location.

The performance is free, and doors will open 30 minutes prior to the beginning of the show. Attendees will be seated on a first-come, first-served basis.

“Abraham Lincoln’s Big Gay Dance Party” was originally written by Aaron Loeb and directed by Chris Smith. It was staged in New York City and was particularly popular at the New York International Fringe Festival in 2009.

The three presentations of the play are only part of a series of events about gay culture and history that will take place in Bloomington this weekend. These include the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History, an academic panel titled “Queer History in ‘Real America’: Subjugated Knowledges in 21st Century Education” and a workshop about “Teaching Queer Histories, a Workshop for K-12 Educators.

The staging of this play in Bloomington was conceived by Hammoor, a theater major at IU.
“With this play, I hope that people will be able to see American history through a different and specific lens,” Hammoor said. “Also, to prove that, even though our society has many good things, there are some that can be changed.”

The original story is set in Menard County, Ill., where Lincoln was born. It begins with the questioning of the former president’s sexual orientation but does not revolve entirely around it.

The plot touches on a number of issues that are part of current society, such as the distinct way gay culture is viewed and the fight for equal rights. Sophomore cast member Zachary Stewart voiced the gravity of this aspect of the play.

“I think that the most important message in the play is that simply because people disagree doesn’t mean they have the right to abuse them or create conflict,” he said.
Cast member and senior Eric Schaefer said the message of the production will help others understand the potential ramifications of their actions.

“Coming from a small town, in school I experienced bullying and actions that came from small-minded people, so I hope the production can help change this,” Schaefer said.

However, it is a performance full of humor, entertainment and musical numbers.
Hammoor said the most enjoyable part of the production process was rehearsal and working with the dynamic cast and crew.

“We have amazing musicians participating in the project who have created original music for the play,” said Francisco Tirado, a junior and IDS opinion columnist. “It has taken a lot of time and effort, rehearsing four hours everyday.”

Tirado has been working with Hammoor on this project as the props manager and had worked as a curator in the Pop-Up Museum of Queer History, an additional fixture in the weekend’s events.

“The production in general aims to emphasize a cause, even if that cause is under a lot of layers, like the humor or musical numbers,” Tirado said. “In the end, it is all about a struggle for equal rights.”