Arts & Entertainment
Strongly brewed ‘Tea’
Black gay performance piece gives author one-man tour de force
‘Sweet Tea’
Through Oct. 9
Signature Theatre
4200 Campbell Avenue, Arlington
703-820-9771
signature-theatre.org
E. Patrick Johnson in ‘Sweet Tea,’ a pastiche-based performance piece on stage now at Signature. (Photo by Scott Suchman; courtesy Signature)
As a chubby little gay boy growing up in Hickory, N.C., E. Patrick Johnson staved off bullies by making them laugh. His specialty was imitations. The moment would-be tormentors planned to attack, Johnson typically averted imminent pain by breaking into an uncanny impersonation of a less-than-loved teacher.
Today Johnson, a performance artist and professor of performance studies and African-American studies at Northwestern University in Chicago, is neither class clown nor chubby, but mimicry remains an integral part of his skill set. In his one-person performance piece “Sweet Tea” — now in production at Signature Theatre — Johnson portrays himself as well as a dozen other gay black characters drawn from real life interview subjects. With names like Countess Vivian, Chaz/Chastity and D.C., the men Johnson brings to life are a part of the South that sometimes goes unnoticed.
Amiable and soft spoken offstage, Johnson says, “I can assure theatergoers that they haven’t seen this play before — these kind of gay black experiences have never been shared before in a theater. LGBT audiences in particular will connect with these men’s stories in ways that may even surprise themselves.”
Johnson’s desire to record black gay men’s stories was sparked on a visit to Washington back in 1995. “I was at a cookout for Us Helping US, and I became engrossed with a group of African-American gay men who were sitting around a table sharing experiences about growing up in the day in the South. Then and there, I vowed that when I had the time and the resources to collect these stories I would. I feel it’s important to create an archive of these never-before-documented lives.”
Eventually, Johnson followed through: In 2004, he took a sabbatical from Northwestern and began collecting narratives from 77 African-American gay men ages 19 to 92 from all the southern states as well as Oklahoma and Missouri (both of which had been slave states). In 2008, he published an oral-history anthology titled “Sweet Tea: Black Gay Men of the South.”
It was about a year into the project when Johnson realized that in addition to making a book, the interviews would also make a great performance. The material is rich and covers a wide range of topics: coming out, love and relationships, HIV/AIDS, bullying (Freddie recounts carrying a razor blade for protection), religion, mama drama, and of course sex (another character had sex with the entire football team in high school). Full of humor and poignancy, the tales are ultimately universal.
“In the past,” says Johnson, 44, “I’ve done staged readings of collected monologues in which I’d sit on a stool giving vocal impressions of different characters. But with ‘Sweet Tea’ it’s different — it’s a play and I fully embody the characters.”
“From the start, I intuitively knew that I was part of the ‘Sweet Tea’ story but it took me a while to understand that it’s my story too. While we were workshopping the play in Chicago, the show’s producer Jane Saks and others involved in the project agreed that I needed to interject my own story into the work. As it turned out, my own experiences are a through line: I’m in search of something and the other men help me to find it.”
Johnson has enjoyed electrifying rapport with audiences. He remembers a specific sold out performance of “Pouring Tea” (an earlier performance piece also comprised of gay black men’s stories) at the University of Pennsylvania.
“The crowd was mostly black and gay, and they were identifying with the show’s coming out stories, the church stories. The energy was unreal. We were levitating.”
His audiences at Signature will most likely be drawn primarily from a different demographic. Does that worry Johnson?
“I’ve been schooled about Signature’s blue-haired crowd, but I learned long ago never to make assumptions about audiences. I remember performing at the main library in downtown Mobile, Alabama, for a mostly white, straight crowd. During the post-show Q&A session, a minister thanked me for bringing the show to town. He approved of open talk about sexuality. After all, he said, God was there for the first wet vagina and the first erection. A hush fell over the room, and after what felt like an endless silence, I offered up an ‘Amen!’ It seemed right.”
History
Julius’ Bar ‘sip-in’ laid groundwork for Stonewall
Tuesday marked 60 years since four gay activists held protest
While Stonewall is widely considered the birthplace of the modern LGBTQ rights movement in the U.S., a lesser-known protest inside a Greenwich Village bar three years earlier helped lay critical groundwork for what would follow.
Tuesday marked 60 years since the Julius’ Bar “sip in.”
On April 21, 1966, four gay rights activists — Dick Leitsch, Craig Rodwell, John Timmons, and later Randy Wicker — walked into Julius’ Bar and staged what would become known as a “sip-in” to challenge state liquor regulations on serving alcoholic beverages to gay men — with a drink.
Modeled after the sit-ins that challenged racial segregation across the American South, the protest was designed to confront discriminatory practices targeting LGBTQ patrons in public spaces.
At the time, the Mattachine Society — one of the country’s earliest gay rights groups — was actively pushing back against policies enforced by the New York State Liquor Authority. One of those policies could have resulted in the loss of liquor licenses for serving known or suspected gay men and lesbians. The participants had visited multiple establishments, openly identified themselves as homosexual, and requested a drink — with the anticipation of being denied.
Their final stop was Julius’, where reporters and a photographer had gathered to document the moment. When Leitsch declared their identity, the bartender covered their glasses and refused service, reportedly saying, “I think it’s against the law.” The next day, the New York Times ran a story with the headline, “3 Deviates Invite Exclusion by Bars,” cementing the moment in the public record.
Though initially framed with disrespect — the term “sip-in” itself was coined as a play on civil rights protests — the action marked a turning point. It brought national attention to the systemic discrimination LGBTQ people faced and helped catalyze changes in how liquor laws were enforced. In the years that followed, the protest contributed to the emergence of licensed, more openly gay-friendly bars, which became central social and organizing spaces for LGBTQ communities.
The Washington Blade originally covered when the bar was officially added to the National Park Service’s National Register of Historic Places in 2016.
Today, historians and advocates increasingly recognize the “sip-in” as a key pre-Stonewall milestone. According to the New York City LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, the protest not only increased visibility of the early LGBTQ rights movement but also exposed widespread surveillance and entrapment tactics used against the community.
Marking the 60th anniversary of the event, commemorations have taken place in New York and across the country. Reflecting on its enduring legacy, Amanda Davis, executive director of the NYC LGBTQ Historic Sites Project, spoke about the event.
“Julius’ Bar is a place you can visit and viscerally connect with history,” said Davis. “We’re thrilled to have solidarity locations across the country join us in commemorating the ‘sip-in’’s 60th anniversary and the queer community’s First Amendment right to peaceably assemble.”
For current stewards of the historic bar, the responsibility of preserving that legacy remains front of mind.
“It’s a privilege and a responsibility to be the steward of a place so important to American and LGBTQ history,” said current owner of Julius’ Bar, Helen Buford. “The events of the 1966 Sip-In here at Julius’ resonated across the country and inspired countless others to stand proud for their rights.”
The timing couldn’t have come at a more important moment, Kymn Goldstein, executive director of the June L. Mazer Lesbian Archives, explained.
“At a time when our community faces renewed challenges, coming together in resilience and solidarity reminds us of the power in our collective resistance,” Goldstein said.
The American Civil Liberties Union, an organization dedicated to defending rights and liberties guaranteed by the Constitution, is currently tracking 519 anti-LGBTQ bills across the U.S. The majority are targeted at restricting transgender rights — particularly related to gender-affirming care, sports participation, and the use of public bathrooms.
Some additional groups and bars that held their own “sip-in” as solidarity events to uplift this historic milestone are from across the country include:
Alice Austen House at Steiny’s Pub, Staten Island, N.Y.
Bellows Falls Pride Committee at PK’s Irish Pub, Bellows Falls, Vt.
Brick Road Coffee, Mesa, Ariz.
Brick Road Coffee, Tempe, Ariz.
Dick Leitsch’s Family at Old Louisville Brewery, Louisville, Ky.
The Faerie Playhouse & LGBT+ Archives Project of Louisiana at Le Cabaret, New Orleans
Harlem Pride & John Reddick at L’Artista Italian Kitchen & Bar, New York
JOYR!DE KiKi at Loafers Cocktail Bar, New York
Matthew Lawrence & Jason Tranchida / Headmaster at Deadbeats Bar, Providence, R.I.
Mazer Lesbian Archives at Alana’s Coffee, Los Angeles
New Hope Celebrates at The Club Room, New Hope, Pa.
Queer Memory Project at the University of Evansville Multicultural Student Commons / Ridgway University Center, Evansville, Ind.
Sandy Jack’s Bar, Brooklyn, N.Y.
St. Louis LGBT History Project at Just John Club, St. Louis
The LGBTQ+ Victory Fund National Champagne Brunch was held at Salamander Washington DC on Sunday, April 19. Gov. Andy Beshear (D-Ky.) was presented with the Allyship Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
The umbrella LGBTQ sports organization Team D.C. held its annual Night of Champions Gala at the Georgetown Marriott on Saturday, April 18. Team D.C. presented scholarships to local student athletes and presented awards to Adam Peck, Manuel Montelongo (a.k.a. Mari Con Carne), Dr. Sara Varghai, Dan Martin and the Centaur Motorcycle Club. Sean Bartel was posthumously honored with the Most Valuable Person Award.
(Washington Blade photos by Michael Key)
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