The #NOH8 movement will be collaborating with West Hartford’s Playhouse on Park during the upcoming production of ‘Indecent.’

Courtesy image

By Ronni Newton

The nonprofit campaign for equality, #NOH8, will be holding an event in West Hartford at the end of January, in collaboration with Playhouse on Park’s production of Paula Vogel’s “Indecent.”

West Hartford Pride is hosting then event, and co-chairs Barry Walters and Johanna Schubert said in an announcement that the photos will be taken at Playhouse on Park, 244 Park Road in West Hartford, by NOH8 Co-founder Adam Bouska, a renowned celebrity and fashion photographer.

The NOH8 campaign was founded by Bouska and his partner, Jeff Parshley, in response to California’s passage of Proposition 8 in November 2008 – an amendment to the state constitution which banned same sex marriage and was ultimately ruled unconstitutional in federal court. To date more than 56,000 photos have been taken as part of the “no hate” campaign, images that feature subjects with “NOH8” on one cheek and duct tape over their mouths, symbolizing the silencing of their voices by Proposition 8 and other legislation around the world. The campaign’s scope has been expanded to be a reaction against bullying and discrimination of all types.

Bouska will take multiple photographs during each session, and he and the NOH8 team will select and edit one of the images, that will then be made available to participants in about six weeks. Photos will be available on a first-come-first-served basis, and the images will available online via noh8campaign.com, and do not include physical prints.

Broadway’s Norm Lewis posing for the NOH8 Campaign. Courtesy photo

Tickets to the show are not required to be photographed, but the cost of a single or solo photograph is $40, or $25 per person for couples or group shots. TheaterWorks Hartford is also participating in the campaign and will host an open photo shoot on Jan. 29, from 2-4 p.m. at 244 Pearl Street, Hartford.

Full details, including wardrobe instructions (participants are asked to arrive camera ready and to wear a plain white shirt) for the photo shoot can be found here.

Playhouse on Park. Courtesy image (we-ha.com file photo)

About “Indecent”

Playhouse on Park will be hosting a run of “Indecent” from Jan. 25 through Feb. 26.

An announcement provides the following description of the show: “Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Paula Vogel tells the explosive and deeply moving story of the controversial 1923 Broadway debut of Jewish playwright Sholem Asch’s God of Vengeance – a play about a forbidden lesbian romance that enchanted and outraged audiences. We follow the path of the artists who risked their careers in order to perform it. It actively pays tribute to the Yiddish, immigrant families, Jews, theater makers, and the women, specifically the queer women, who are erased from historical narratives. ‘Indecent’ is a riveting backstage drama filled with music, groundbreaking theatre, and stage magic.”

“Indecent,” which is part of Playhouse on Park’s 14th Main Stage Season – the theme of which is “perseverance” – will be directed by Kelly O’Donnell, with music direction by Alexander Sovronsky and choreography by Katie Stevinson-Nollet.

The ensemble cast includes Bart Shatto, Noa Graham, Helen Laser, Kirsten Peacock, Dan Krackhardt, Jeff Raab, and Dan Zimberg.

Tickets range from $45-$55, and group rates as well as student and senior discounts are available. Previews on Jan. 25 and 26 are $25 for all seats. There are 2 p.m. matinees on Tuesday, Saturday, and Sunday, and evening performances begin at 7:30 p.m. on Wednesday and Thursday and at 8 p.m. on Friday and Saturday. Talk backs with the cast are held following Sunday matinees.

Playhouse on Park also has a three-show subscription which offers discounts for the three remaining Main Stage Season shows, which include “Indecent” as well as the world premiere of “Webster’s Bitch” and the musical “Bandstand.” There are also options to include stop/time dance theater in the subscription package.

For more information or tickets, call the Box Office at 860-523-5900 x10 or visit www.playhouseonpark.org.

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