LGBTQ+ Pride Month

Posted on May 29, 2019

*__Live From Lincoln Center: Falsettos__*
Nominated for five 2017 Tony Awards, including Best Revival of a Musical, this musical theater landmark is a hilarious and poignant look at a modern family starring Christian Borle, Stephanie J. Block and Andrew Rannells. Originally created under the specter of the AIDS crisis, this timely portrait of middle-class family dynamics manages to remain buoyant and satirically perceptive even as it moves towards its heartbreaking conclusion.
Friday, June 7 at 8 p.m. on KLRU

We’ll Meet Again: Coming Out
Join Ann Curry as those whose lives were changed by the early days of the gay rights movement reunite. Tom wants to find the childhood friend who urged him to come out, while Paul seeks a fellow student who inspired him to stand up for his beliefs.
Tuesday, June 11 at 7 p.m. on KLRU

American Experience: Stonewall Uprising
Explore the dramatic event that launched a worldwide rights movement as we mark the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Told by those who took part, from drag queens and street hustlers to police detectives, journalists and a former mayor of New York, this documentary revisits a time when homosexual acts were illegal throughout America and homosexuality was seen as a form of mental illness. Hunted and often entrapped by undercover police in their hometowns, gays from around the U.S. began fleeing to New York in search of a sanctuary. Hounded there by an aggressive police force, they found refuge in the Stonewall Inn, a Mafia-run gay bar in Greenwich Village. When police raided the Stonewall on June 28, 1969, gay men and women did something they had not done before: they fought back. As the streets of New York erupted into violent protests and street demonstrations, the collective anger announced that the gay rights movement had arrived.
Tuesday, June 11 at 8 p.m. on KLRU

Considering Matthew Shepard
In October of 1998, Matthew Shepard was beaten, tortured and left to die. Twenty years later his legacy is remembered in a unique production that uses music, poetry and interviews and to explore a pivotal time in our history. When a hate crime is committed, what does it mean to be a victim, a parent, a community member, a perpetrator? How do we learn to be compassionate and find hope in hopeless situations? As a response to this hate crime, Matthew's story is placed into the context of a passion story presented as a three-part oratorio, bringing new depth to a harrowing story of loss and highlighting the role of art and how we react to tragedy. At the heart of this production is the renowned composer Craig Hella Johnson and the Grammy Award-winning choral group Conspirare. We follow the creative process as their art is used to explore how music can be a healing force and lift up voices that are rarely heard.
Friday, June 14 at 8 p.m. & Monday, June 17 at 9 p.m. on KLRU

American Masters: Terrence McNally
Four-time Tony-winning playwright Terrence McNally has experienced six groundbreaking decades in theater, from Kiss of the Spider Woman and Master Class to Ragtime and Mothers and Sons. This film also delves into McNally's pursuit of love and inspiration throughout his career, LGBTQ activism, triumph over addiction and the power of the arts to transform society. It also features interviews with Chita Rivera, Nathan Lane, Audra McDonald, Angela Lansbury and others.
Friday, June 14 at 9 p.m. on KLRU

The Lavender Scare
This is the first documentary to tell the little-known story of an unrelenting campaign by the federal government to identify and fire all employees suspected of being homosexual. In 1953, President Eisenhower declared gay men and lesbians to be a threat to the security of the country and therefore unfit for government service. Over the next four decades, tens of thousands of government workers would lose their jobs for no reason other than their sexual orientation. But, the actions of the government had an unintended effect. They inadvertently helped ignite the gay rights movement.
Tuesday, June 18 at 8 p.m. on KLRU

POV: The Gospel of Eureka
The spotlight is beaming on drag shows and a passion play in an Arkansas town. With verve, humor and unfailing compassion, The Gospel of Eureka builds unexpected bridges between religious faith and sexual orientation.
Monday, June 24 at 9 p.m. on KLRU

Pacific Heartbeat: Lettis in Waiting
Learn the story behind Tonga's evolving approach to gender fluidity through a character-driven portrait of the most prominent leiti (transgender) in the Kingdom, Joey Mataele, a devout Catholic of royal descent. Over the course of an eventful year, Joey organizes a beauty pageant, mentors a young leiti who is rejected by her family and attempts to work with fundamentalist Christians regarding Tonga's anti-sodomy and cross-dressing laws. Her story reveals what it means to be different in a deeply religious and conservative society, and what it takes to be accepted without giving up who you are.
Monday, June 24 at 10:30 p.m. on KLRU