LAVENDER MEN by Roger Mason

Taffeta, a self-proclaimed "fabulous queer creation of color," invades the private life of Abe Lincoln to uncover truths about contemporary queer loneliness, invisibility, the myth of America's "great" men.
  • Recommend
  • Download
  • Save to Reading List

LAVENDER MEN

Recommended by

  • Emma Goldman-Sherman:
    11 Apr. 2021
    “ Gorgeous and breath-taking! I love Lavender Men beginning to end. It's theatricality and historical immediacy thrill me, and Mason is always aware of the physicality, the bodies onstage. Such a moving dance at the end. This play lets us see what is always hidden - the myth of masculinity - a beautiful freedom lives here. ”
  • Olivia Tessin:
    12 Nov. 2020
    “ Lavender Men, while at a first glance may seem over the top, actually surprised me. This play was one of the best I had read and depicted the struggle in finding and accepting yourself and your identity, while also coming to terms with the past and accepting things that are out of your control. This play is written in a way that ties comedy with a serious subject so well, I couldn't stop reading it. ”
  • Nick Malakhow:
    10 Jul. 2020
    “ Exquisite! This explosion of history, spectacle, and satire both makes one reconsider their understanding of Lincoln's public persona and legacy while also contemplating dynamics of race, gender, gender-presentation, self image, and body image in contemporary queer culture. Taffeta is a perfectly rendered, compelling POV from which to view this story. The stage images within this piece are mind-blowing, evocative, and gorgeously figurative. How I'd love to see this on its feet, as this theatrical event definitely belongs on the stage. ”

Taffeta - 20s-30s - A person of color, gender non-binary but assigned male at birth, our fabulous plus-sized narrator and subject; Abe - 40s-50s - White, male, America's daddy, the attractive fantasy version of our 16th President; Elmer - 20s - White, male, a young army sergeant with dreams of being a "great man" one day, if only his short height would allow him

Development History