subversive theatre is honored to bring to buffalo this incendiary tony award-winner  first seen at NYC's lyceum theatre in 2013 (where it won Nathan Lane multiple awards in the leading role).  this historical tour-de-force looks at the vicious contradictions of a time when it was considered FUNNY to play a gay man on stage and CRIMINAL to be one in real life... a heartfelt tragedy wrapped inside a sparkling comedy... complete with a bawdy blast of music, dance, and vaudevillian showmanship.

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set in the simmering cauldron of a NYC burlesque house in the depths of the Great Depression, this unfiltered tale follows the life of a professional "nance" -- an openly gay stock character in both vaudeville and burlesque.  award-winning author Douglas Carter Beane (famous for scripts like TO WONG FOO and LITTLE DOG LAUGHED) draws from real history taking us back to 1937 as Mayor LaGuardia tightens bans on depictions of gays on stage forcing our story's fictional "nance" into a brutal choice between his freedom, his dignity, and his professional future. 

 

a tantalizingly risque glimpse behind the scenes into a bygone era of grand performance, irrepressible passion, and staggering hypocrisy, THE NANCE is a new classic of statement theatre that should not be missed. 

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directed by subversive's founder & artistic director Kurt Schneiderman*, THE NANCE stars Christopher Standart*, Michael Seitz, Becky Globus*, Brendan Cunningham*, Stephanie Bax, Karen Harty, Stevie Jackson, Emma Siddon, Courtney Barrow, Lindsay Daniels, J. Tim Raymond*, and Michael Mottern* with movement choreography by Monica Karwan*, musical direction by Arrow Fitzgibbon, and live music by Arrow Fitzgibbon and Stacey Narrod.

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our production runs march 8th-24th with performances thursdays, fridays, and saturdays at 7:30 at our home venue THE MANNY FRIED PLAYHOUSE at 255 great arrow avenue on the third floor of north buffalo's historic great arrow building.  tickets are $30 general admission, $25 for students, seniors, and subversive theatre members.  all thursday shows are pay-what-you-can.  purchase tickets right here online or leave reservations on our phoneline at 716-462-5549.

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