Photo by Henry Perez
Text by Mary Damiano

The past and present came together in a theatrical way on Thursday, November 20 at the Carnival Studio Theatre at the Arsht Center, when local playwright Michael Yawney saw the premiere of his play 1,000 Homosexuals. The play took a an over-the-top look at the Save Our Children campaign spearheaded by orange juice spokeswoman Anita Bryant in the late 1970s in Dade County, a campaign that cost gay citizens their rights. Afterwards drag queens, FernandDCute and Geraldine from the Queen Cabaret at Boy Bar in North Beach greeted Merry Jo Cortada, who played Anita Bryant. FernandDCute and Geraldine looked especially fresh in green dresses and necklaces of oranges, and especially sweet in hats tops with elaborate pies, a sly reference to the infamous incident when a man shoved a pie in Bryant’s face during a press conference. But for all the whimsy, the evening had a bittersweet tinge to it, coming just barely two weeks after gay rights in Miami were once again defeated. Perhaps one day, Yawney’s play will be performed in Miami and the idea of gay people having lesser rights than other citizens will be a memory rather than a fact.