Diversionary Theatre to Channel the '80s with DECADES OF DIVERSIONARY Event

Celebrate the decade that birthed the third oldest LGBT theatre in the country and the resilience of our community. The event features a special concert performance of highlights from the Tony Award-winning musical Falsettos.

Join us for an evening of fun and fabulousness to celebrate Diversionary Theatre's founding decade. Drawing opportunities, performances, fantastic food & beverages, and much, much more!

Emcee Mo Gaffney (star of BBC hit show Absolutely Fabulous) will host this not-to-be-missed evening. Local theatre favorite Shana Wride will be honored with the inaugural Fritz Klein Artistic Award. Wride was last seen in the critically aclaimed production of Lisa Kron's 2.5 Minute Ride this past Spring. Says Wride of receiving the award,

"Diversionary Theatre has always been an artistic home for me. The relationship there between artist and audience is profoundly intimate and supportive. It is a perfect example of how theatre can and should be a place to gather and connect. As a lifelong ally of the LGBTQ community, I am honored to have been invited to the party."

Avid Diversionary supporters Rob Granat and Al Mazur are slated to receive the 2017 Fritz Klein Award. Granat and Mazur have supported acclaimed Diversionary productions such as The Boy Who Danced On Air, which is current receiving its Off-Broadway debut at the Abingdon Theatre in New York City.

The Fritz Klein Awards honor the late Dr. Fritz Klein, longtime Diversionary supporter, Board Trustee and founder of American Institute for Bisexuality, who passed away in 2006. Previous recipients include Tom Reise for his work with California Institute of Contemporary Arts, and Jim Obergefell, lead plaintiff in Obergefell V. Hodges, the landmark case legalizing gay marriage.

Says event Co-Chair and Diversionary Trustee Jodi Graber, "This year's event is going to be special. It represents the decade Diversionary Theatre was founded and LGBT theatre was propelled forward in San Diego. I can't think of a better way, than a party, to recognize and celebrate those accomplishments."

Diversionary Board President Scott Williford agrees, "Our event celebrates the 1980s, undoubtedly the most pivotal decade in LGBT history. Filled with tremendous adversity and the darkest days of a crisis, but also radiating the neon bright colors, and quintessential pop music of Madonna, Prince, Michael Jackson, and Whitney Houston. It was out of this complex decade that rose Diversionary Theatre, which has grown to be a shining light in both the LGBT community, and the San Diego theatre community."

You can learn more about attending Decades of Diversionary by visiting www.diversionary.org or by calling David Shorey, Development Associate at 619-220-0097x104. Sponsorships and program advertisement opportunities are available.

IF YOU GO:

Diversionary Theatre, the nation's 3rd oldest LGBT Theatre presents

DECADES OF DIVERSIONARY, a celebration of the 1980's - the decade that birthed Diversionary!

On Friday, June 16th, 2017 from 6pm-9:30pm.

Where: Moniker Warehouse, 705 16th St, San Diego, CA 92101.

How: Single Tickets are $150 each ($75 of each ticket is tax-deductible) or $2,000 for a VIP Table of 8 (prime seating location, wine service, $1,300 tax deductible). Festive 80's attire is encouraged.

Tickets are available online at www.diversionary.org/2017benefit or by calling 619-220-6830x104.

ABOUT THE HONOREES:

Rob Granat was elected to the Board of Trustees of Diversionary Theatre in January 2015. Rob holds a B.A. from the University of Pennsylvania-Philadelphia and two MBA's from Columbia University-NYC. His work experience has been in the travel industry; first as a marketing analyst for TWA and then Eastern Airlines; then chiefly in the cruise industry - marketing and sales. He retired in 2003 as Vice President of INTRAV; a tour operator offering private jet tours, riverboat cruises in Europe; upscale tours all over the world and four small expedition ships cruising from the Arctic to the Antarctic and all the oceans in between. Since 2003 he does some outside sales for Ft. Worth travel agency Cruises Etc and hosts the consortium to which he and partner Al belong on luxury ships with Regent, Crystal, & Seabourn.

Al Mazur was born in the early 1950's in a small city in upstate New York. He grew up there with close ties to a very loving family. After High School graduation, he pursued his dream of a career in architecture by attending Syracuse University. After graduating with a Bachelor of Architecture, Al remained in the Syracuse area for another five years, where he acquired the necessary professional experience and took the exams to achieve his first Architect's license in New York State. Licenses in Texas and California followed in the years ahead. Wanting to further his career, he headed for Houston, Texas, which was the hottest place for young aspiring architects in the late 1970's. Al spent 25 years in Houston, working on large corporate and institutional projects for Skidmore, Owings and Merrill and the Leo A Daly Company. His variety of projects included large office buildings across the U.S., the new National Weather Center at the University of Oklahoma, the new office for the FBI in Houston and several projects in California. In addition, Houston is where he met his husband Rob 25 years ago. He and Rob's work in California brought them to San Diego individually and together on several occasions and that's when they fell in love with this wonderful city. In 2004, they both decided to retire and live the good life in San Diego. Life has never been better for them. Being an architect, Al took on the work of restoring and improving their home in Marston Hills. Small projects continue and as Rob says "He just can't leave it alone". Being an avid gardener, Al became a certified Master Gardener and volunteers through many of the organization's volunteer opportunities. Working in their own garden is some of the most rewarding time for Al. He's a member of Mission Hills United Church of Christ and participates in many of the church's good works. Couple all of this with Rob's travel bug and you have a life that's full of the best.

Shana Wride has performed at Diversionary in 2.5 Minute Ride, Baby with the Bathwater, The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, Next Fall and A Late Snow. Other acting credits include- Faded Glory and Broken Glass (North Coast Repertory Theatre); Much Ado About Nothing (Intrepid Theatre); Private Lives (Cygnet Theatre); Women Who Steal, A Christmas Carol, Suds, Working, Six Women with Brain Death (San Diego Repertory Theatre); A Midsummer Night's Dream, Twelfth Night, Merry Wives of Windsor (Shakespeare Festival Los Angeles); Indoor/Outdoor (The Colony Theatre); Macbeth, Fen, Wooden Breeks, Measure for Measure (Open Fist Theatre); Heidi Chronicles and Lips Together, Teeth Apart (Gaslamp Theatre); Henry IV Parts 1 & 2, Love's Labor's Lost (Idaho Shakespeare Festival); New, Shadowy Waters, No Time Like The Present (Sledgehammer Theatre). Directing credits include: The Whale, Mistakes Were Made (Cygnet Theatre), Walter Cronkite is Dead (San Diego Repertory Theatre), Boys & Girls and Anita Bryant Died for Your Sins (Diversionary Theatre), Or (Moxie Theatre) and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? (Compass Theatre). She co-hosted the nationally syndicated radio show, "Women Aloud" with actor/comedienne Mo Gaffney.

ABOUT THE EMCEE:

Mo Gaffney gained national attention when she wrote and starred, with Kathy Najimy, in the Off-Broadway comedy sensation, The Kathy and Mo Show: Parallel Lives. Her critically acclaimed performance earned her an Obie Award. After the show ended its sold-out engagement, HBO taped the comedy and aired it as an hour-long special which went on to win two Cable Ace Awards, "Best Comedy Special" and "Best Performance in a Comedy Special."

Mo wrote, produced and starred in her second HBO special, Kathy and Mo: The Dark Sidewhich went on to win two Cable Ace Awards for "Best Comedy Special" and "Best Performance in a Comedy Special." Mo has appeared in the films Drop Dead Gorgeous, Happy, Texas, Other Peoples' Money, State Of Grace, The Shot, Bogus, The Wedding Band, Inconceivable, The Out-Of-Towners, Adventures in Home Schooling, Jailbait, Christmas in L.A., God Bless America, A Better You and Ab Fab: The Movie among others. On television Mo was a regular in the John Goodman sitcom Normal, Ohio on Fox, and on the WB sitcom Run of The House. She also appeared as Bo in the BBC sitcom, Absolutely Fabulous(1992, 1994, 2000 and 2011), in the two hour special The Last Shout, and in the Absolutely Fabulous: New York 2003 Christmas special. She has been seen on Friends, Eight Simple Rules, Tracey Takes On, Veronica's Closet, Roseanne, The Naked Truth, Judging Amy, Without A Trace, State of Mind, Justified, Good Luck Charlie, Shameless, Hart of Dixie, Super Fun Night, Mike and Molly, Bad Teacher, Melissa & Joey, Burning Love, Marry Me, 2 Broke Girls, Heartbeat, Brooklyn Nine-Nine, Devious Maids, VEEP, Adam Ruins Everything and The Mick among others.

Mo hosted and co-produced the ground breaking half-hour comedy/talk show, Women Aloud! on Comedy Central -- earning her two Cable Ace Award nominations, and produced and hosted the Fox talk show, The Mo Show. She was also co-host and producer of the syndicated radio show, Women Aloud, on Greenstone Media founded by Gloria Steinem and Jane Fonda. She lost three times on Celebrity Poker Showdown, the first to ever do so.

To post a comment, you must register and login.