FORT LAUDERDALE, Fla. (September 8, 2023) – Love! Valour! Compassion! – Terrence McNally‘s most honored and celebrated play about eight gay friends who spend the holidays over one summer at one’s beautiful hundred-year-old house in upstate New York, kicks off Island City Stage’s 12th thrilling season. The show runs from October 12 – November 5.
“We are thrilled to open our 12th season with Love! Valour! Compassion!, an insightful, witty and sometimes darkly humored look at love, life and the nature of friendship,” said Andy Rogow, artistic director of Island City Stage. “Because of its deeply personal nature, sharp dialogue, and heartfelt moments, this critically acclaimed play written in the height of the HIV/AIDS era has stood the test of time. We are delighted to showcase the theatrical skill of our production team and the emotional range of our talented national cast who will bring this award-winning Broadway hit to life.”
At a lakeside summer vacation house in Dutchess County, two hours north of New York City, eight gay friends spend the three major holiday weekends of one summer together for Memorial Day, Independence Day, and Labor Day. The house belongs to Gregory, a successful Broadway choreographer now approaching middle age, who fears he is losing his creativity; and his twenty-something lover, Bobby, a legal assistant who is blind. Each of the guests at their house is connected to Gregory’s work in one way or another – Arthur and longtime partner Perry are business consultants; John Jeckyll, a sour Englishman, is a dance accompanist; die-hard musical theater fanatic Buzz Hauser is a costume designer and the most stereotypically gay man in the group. Only John’s summer lover, Ramon, and John’s twin brother James are outside the circle of friends. But Ramon is outgoing and eventually makes a place for himself in the group, and James is such a gentle soul that he is quickly welcomed.
Florida-born Terrence McNally is considered one of the most prolific and highly lauded playwrights, librettists and screenwriters in the last 50 years. His decades of works explored human relationships – frequently those of gay men. In addition to Love! Valour! Compassion!, McNally’s works include Bad Habits, The Ritz, Frankie and Johnny in the Claire de Lune, Masterclass, and Mothers and Sons, among many others. McNally’s librettos for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime won him Tony Awards in 1993 and 1998, respectively. Additional credits as a librettist included The Full Monty, Catch Me if You Can, and The Visit. He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 1996, and he also received the Dramatists Guild Lifetime Achievement Award in 2011. In 2018, he was inducted into the American Academy of Arts and Letters, the highest recognition of artistic merit in the United States. In 2019, he won a Lifetime Achievement Tony award. His other accolades included an Emmy Award, two Guggenheim Fellowships, a Rockefeller Grant, four Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, two Obie Awards, and three Hull-Warriner Awards.
The Love! Valour! Compassion!, ensemble cast features theatre veterans Chad Darnell, Robert Koutras, Bruce Linser, Saul Mendoza, Christoper Michaels, Matthew Salas, and Michael Scott Ross.
