WEST HOLLYWOOD, Calif. - Playwright Robert Patrick, one of the founding fathers of gay theater, will be feted at Celebration Theatre on Sunday, June 29 at 7 p.m. Patrick's first play, The Haunted Host, will have a staged reading, followed by a conversation with the author (moderated by playwright Tom Jacobson) and a reception.
Patrick, author of more than 60 published plays, was a pioneer in the off-off-Broadway movement in the 1960s and, with the production of The Haunted Host at the famed Caffé Cino in 1964, is credited with having one of the first gay plays produced on a New York stage. Samuel French called him "the most produced playwright of the 1960s," with more than 300 productions of his plays in Manhattan alone.
Patrick is perhaps best known for his 1974 play Kennedy's Children, which won Shirley Knight a Tony Award for Best Actress.
He currently resides in Los Angeles where he has lived and worked since 1993. His work appears in several anthologies and he has written novels, short stories, reviews and his autobiography Film Moi. In addition, he is a frequent contributor to GAYVN magazine.
Jacobson, who will moderate the post-reading discussion of The Haunted Host, is one of Los Angeles's most prolific playwrights. Often exploring issues of gender, sexuality and faith, Jacobson is the author of Cyberqueer, Ouroboros, Bunbury, and The Orange Grove.
Since 1982, Celebration Theatre has stood as the only nonprofit, community-based professional theater in Los Angeles dedicated to progressive gay and lesbian theater. Celebration Theatre artistic director Michael Matthews will direct the reading of The Haunted Host as part of the theater's monthly Salon Series.
"The Haunted Host - An Evening with Robert Patrick" is presented as part of the City of West Hollywood's Pride Month activities that include numerous arts, cultural and community events. Pride Month was coordinated through the city's Arts and Cultural Affairs Commission.
The event at Celebration Theatre is free, but reservations are required. For reservations, call (323) 957-1884.
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