Topher Payne cracks open the McCarthy-era closet in Perfect Arrangement.
By Brandon Voss
Back in the 1950s, communists weren’t the only ones who had alarmists like Senator Joseph McCarthy seeing red. The lavender scare, as it’s since been termed, was a fear and persecution of homosexuals that led to the dismissal of hundreds of gay and lesbian government employees. Making his New York debut with Primary Stages’ off-Broadway premiere of Perfect Arrangement, out Atlanta-based playwright Topher Payne exposes what he calls this “significant and often overlooked moment in our shared history.”
In the comedy, which opens October 15 at the Duke on 42nd Street, U.S. State Department employees Bob and Norma must identify closeted homosexuals within their ranks. The twist? Both Bob and Norma are gay, and they’ve married each other’s partners as a cover. If that sounds like a sitcom plot, it’s intentional. “The threat of ‘sexual deviants’ was on front pages during the same period we’re watching I Love Lucy and The Honeymooners,” Payne explains. “What happens when those two worlds collide?”
Payne adds that the fear-based resistance to social change his play explores is still all too relevant. “I long for the day when this is nothing more than a history piece,” he says. “I hope it inspires conversations on the way home: Yes, we’ve come a long way, but we’ve still got a long way to go.”
Next, October 2015.