BENT: Article in Diversity Rules! magazine

The following article was published in the January/February 2009 issue of Diversity Rules! magazine, serving the LGBTQ community and its friends.

In a small town where much of the art, culture, and entertainment does all it can to shy away from making people uncomfortable, director Tim Mollen isn’t pulling his theatrical punches. Tim’s wanted to direct the play Bent—a tale of gay men during the Holocaust—since he returned to Binghamton in 2002. “I talked to theater companies about directing it, but the answer was always, ‘it’s a little too edgy for our season.’ But then I talked to Tim [Gleason of the KNOW Theatre]. And it’s just a good fit with what they’re doing here.” One need look no further than the last play produced at KNOW to see what he’s talking about; Doubt, the tale of a priest accused of abusing a young boy, played there only a few months ago. But whereas Doubt dealt with a problem in the Catholic community—and therefore had a more visible and obvious audience in the Southern Tier—the cast clearly wonders how much more difficult it will be to get theater-goers in the seats for a play about the gay community during WWII.

Cast member Marty Murray spoke about the problem. “Best friends of mine refuse to come see this show… I would really like those specific people that think that way to come and see the show just to make their own opinions.” The fact that this is a troubling time for the gay community isn’t lost on director Tim Mollen. Even as he researches the play’s era and politics, he continues to be drawn to articles about the battle over Prop 8. “It’s remarkable to me that on the day when we elected our first black president is that the supposedly most liberal state in the country outlawed gay marriage.” He sees the play as an opportunity to educate the Southern Tier on the dangers of continued discrimination. The show opens in a pre-WWII Berlin that tolerates, if not accepts, its urban gay culture. It centers on Max, a well-liked young gay man who doesn’t get along with his wealthy family because of how open he is about his lifestyle. In the opening moments of the play, Max’s one-night trick is killed by Nazis in the apartment he shares with his dancer boyfriend Rudy. Max and Rudy are forced to flee—trying to escape the country before they are discovered and shipped off to a concentration camp. The show is about Max’s transformation as he discovers love under the most oppressive conditions. “I still wonder whether it’s about love transcending evil or love being crushed by evil,” notes Mollen.

One of the reasons Mollen believes that the play is so important is that it helped him with his own “evolution of tolerance.” He grew up attending a school without any openly gay students. He remembers using stereotypical gay humor in his improv comedy troop, and although he never considered himself intolerant, he regrets the choice. “Having a friend come out made me realize that I shouldn’t even be joking in that intolerant way. People aren’t going to know my heart.” If “Bent” can overcome the challenge of actually getting people into the theater, it can hopefully have the same transformative effect on them. After hearing that some of Marty’s friends are refusing to come, Tim interrupts him. “I encourage you to grab a couple of them by the ear and drag them to the show.” Maybe if everyone does the same, the little theater on Carroll Street can make a little difference.

For more information visit http://www.knowtheatre.org