True Colors Project/My True Colors Festival to Present Online Reading of THE MAN WITH THE FLOPPY EARS

True Colors Project/My True Colors Festival will honor LGBTQ+ History Month with an online performance of The Man With The Floppy Ears for One Night Only on Friday, October 22, 2021, at 7:30PM ET. Playwrights Elwhy Jones and Philip Reissman have created The Man With The Floppy Ears not only a witty play infused with music, but it is historical fiction in that it speaks of a global pandemic (Spanish flu), police brutality, the Depression and authoritarianism. The Man With The Floppy Ears is story of gay love, sexual exploits, politics, and survival in Post-Prohibition New York City.

"It tells a compelling gay love story set in the 1930's," says Jones. "We wanted to tell a story of everyday life of a gay man and his relationships in a context that was not permitted at the time and bring to light to what was happening to the common men of this period and their plight."

Reissman explains, "LGBTQ content on stage instantly became taboo in 1927 when New York State's Wales Padlock Law threatened to shut down theaters, literally placing a padlock on their doors, for depicting or dealing with any subject considered to be obscene or sexual perversion. Hollywood followed suit in 1930 with the Hays Code which made it illegal to show LGBTQ and interracial relationships."

The Wales Padlock Law wasn't found unconstitutional until 1967, which means for 40 years there were stage plays with LGBT themes that were shrouded in secrecy. The Hays Code was repealed a year later. The Man With The Floppy Ears fills the void of LGBTQ+ stories from of the 1920s through the 1960s.

The characters and cast of The Man With The Floppy Ears represent the wide range of culture and ethnicity of New York City as well as a broad spectrum of the LGBTQ+ community, both Jones and Reissman note.

October is LGBTQ+ History Month, an observance of lesbian, gay, bisexual, and transgender history as well as gay rights and related civil rights movements. This is a virtual theatrical production and not a staged reading. It is a FREE event, but the organizers are asking for a small $5 donation.

To register CLICK HERE!

True Colors Project/My True Colors Festival is a social enterprise that is dedicated to developing highly innovative and influential creative works, fostering artistic dialogue with widely diverse audiences on social, political, and human issues. It is a longstanding member of the National Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce (NGLCC) New York Chapter.

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