![New Hampshire Theatre Project Celebrates Pride Month with a New Production: ROMEO AND HER SISTER New Hampshire Theatre Project Celebrates Pride Month with a New Production: ROMEO AND HER SISTER](https://i3.wp.com/cloudimages.broadwayworld.com/columnpiccloud/New-Hampshire-Theatre-Project-Cleebrates-Pride-Month-With-ROMEO-AND-HER-SISTER-1717647111.jpg?w=1200&resize=1200,0&ssl=1)
New Hampshire Theater Project will conclude its 2023-24 season with the theme “What’s Your Story?” and celebrate Pride Month with Romeo and His Sister, a new work by Jillian Blevins that explores the rarely told story of Charlotte Cushman, one of the world’s most famous American actors in the mid-19th century.
Following the presentation on Saturday, June 15, NHTP will host a conversation on Community Connectors: The LGBTQ+ Landscape on the Coast: Past, Present and Future. Facilitated by Angel Simone, the panel will feature a variety of guests and will offer audience members the opportunity to ask questions and participate in the conversation.
Cushman was considered the “first American celebrity” and recognized for her brilliant performances in Shakespeare’s best works, particularly in “breeches” roles, playing male characters such as Hamlet and Romeo, opposite her sister’s portrayal of Juliet. What very few knew was that she was a closeted lesbian, constantly fearful of scandal if her true story came to light.
Blevins wondered, “Why hadn’t I heard of Charlotte Cushman? Why didn’t I know of a woman who made a fortune and achieved international fame performing my favorite Shakespeare plays, while she exploited gender perceptions? “Here was a woman who played Lady Macbeth, Hamlet and Romeo.”
“In his time, a limited understanding of female sexuality meant that his many ‘romantic friendships’ with women were perceived as precisely that,” Blevins continues. “Throughout her 40-year career, she was considered ‘the most spectacular (performer) in the history of American theater.’ But after her death, the fact that Cushman had not been asexual but a lesbian, resulted in her being erased from her story, at least for a time.”
NHTP Company artist Amy Desrosiers returns to the stage, following her acclaimed performance in Collected Stories, to bring the role of Charlotte Cushman to life for Portsmouth audiences and help share her story.
“I am so excited to share Charlotte Cushman with our audiences this Pride Month. She was an incredible artist, a true pioneer and a person everyone should know,” says Desrosiers. “As a queer woman, it is an honor to bring Charlotte to life on the NHTP stage. “Her struggles to share her authentic self will resonate with everyone, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community.”
Romeo and Her Sister will be performed June 7 at the New Hampshire Theater Project at 959 Islington St. #3 in Portsmouth’s West End. Performances will run through June 23 on Friday nights at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 4:00 p.m., and Sundays at 2:30 p.m., with an additional performance on Thursday, June 20 at 7:30 pm
For tickets and information: www.nhtheatreproject.org/onstagenow
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