New Hampshire Theatre Project Cleebrates Pride Month With ROMEO AND HER SISTER

New Hampshire Theatre Project will conclude its 2023-24 season themed “What’s Your Story?” and celebrates Pride Month with Romeo and Her Sister, a new work by Jillian Blevins that explores the rarely told story of Charlotte Cushman, one of the most famous American actors in the world in the mid-1800’s. 

Following the Saturday performance on June 15, NHTP will host a Community Connectors conversation The LGBTQ+ Landscape on the Seacoast: Past Present & Future. Facilitated by Angel Simone, the panel will feature a variety of guests and offer audience members a chance to ask questions and engage in the conversation.

Cushman was considered to be the “first American celebrity” and heralded for her brilliant performances in Shakespeare’s greatest works, particularly “breeches” roles, playing male characters like Hamlet and Romeo, opposite her sister’s performance of Juliet. What very few knew was that she was a closeted lesbian, constantly fearful of the scandal if her true story came out. 

Blevins asked herself, “Why hadn’t I heard of Charlotte Cushman? Why didn’t I know about a woman who made a fortune and achieved international fame performing my favorite Shakespeare plays, while exploding perceptions of gender? Here was a woman who played Lady Macbeth and Hamlet and Romeo.” 

“In her time, a limited understanding of female sexuality meant that her many ‘romantic friendships’ with women were perceived as just that,” Blevins continues. “Over her 40-year career, she was regarded as ‘the most spectacular (performer) in the history of American theatre. But after her death, the fact that Cushman had not been asexual but in fact, a lesbian, resulted in her erasure from history, at least for a while.”

NHTP Company Artist Amy Desrosiers returns to the stage, after her acclaimed performance in Collected Stories, to bring the role of Charlotte Cushman to life for Portsmouth audiences and to help share her story.  

“I'm so excited to share Charlotte Cushman with our audiences this Pride Month. She was an incredible artist, a true trailblazer, and one that everyone should know about,” says Desrosiers. “As a queer woman, it is an honor to bring Charlotte to life on the NHTP stage. Her struggles of sharing her authentic self will resonate with everyone, especially those in the LGBTQ+ community.”

Romeo and Her Sister runs June 7th at New Hampshire Theatre Project at 959 Islington St. #3 in Portsmouth’s West End. Performances run through June 23 on Friday nights at 7:30pm, Saturdays at 4:00pm, and Sundays at 2:30pm, with an additional performance Thursday, June 20th, at 7:30pm. 

For tickets and information: www.nhtheatreproject.org/onstagenow

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