When you think of love in February, you might think Valentines Day, or Galentine’s day or any amount of candy-covered sentiments…but if you are interested in thinking about the true meaning of love – even in the face of impossible odds, check out the brand new production of BENT, coming to Triskelion Arts (106 Calyer St.) in February featuring a Greenpoint-based production team, and LGBTQ+ cast.
BENT is a tragic love story set in Nazi Germany that follows the relationships and persecution of gay men during the Holocaust. The 1979 play, which originally starred Ian McKellen and Richard Gere, grabbed a Tony nod during its original Broadway run, and put playwright Martin Sherman in line for a Pulitzer.
Now, director, producer and Greenpoint resident Emma Coulter is bringing it back to the stage. Coulter and her team, who have staged the show before, know the power of the story they are telling. “…[Bent reminds us that] it’s worth the risk to care, and to love. Even if it means being killed. Because if we don’t do that, there is no point to living,” Coulter says. Producer Kira Geiger promises the show is “surprisingly funny, incredibly sexy, and absolutely heartbreaking…you will leave the theater a changed person.”
Bent doesn’t just ask you to live and love deeply; it’s a show that changes the conversation. The play is credited with bringing new attention to the gay experience during World War II, and prompting a new depth of scholarship in a relatively little-known facet of history.
If you see the production at Triskelion you’ll help honor and extend that legacy, since a portion of each ticket sale will be donated to Ali Forney Center, an NYC organization dedicated to homeless LGBTQ+ youth.
You can learn more about the show here, and find tix here.
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What: BENT
Where: Triskelion Arts (106 Calyer St.)
When: February 6th – 15th, 8pm
Tix: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/bent-by-martin-sherman-tickets-77394267337