A party and a parade

Closet Door Theatre Company, dedicated to works by and for the LGBT community, kicks off its second season with The Last Sunday in June, playwright Jonathan Tolins’ deconstruction of the “gay scene.”

Couple Tom (Rick Schlussel) and Michael (Corey Morris) have an apartment overlooking the route for New York’s gay pride parade. Ignoring his partner’s wishes, Tom invites a number of friends over to watch the parade, a gathering that moves from witty repartee to serious emotional baggage when one of the friends (Jason Vitaich) announces that, although he’s still gay, he’s marrying a straight woman.

He’s just “sick of it,” the whole “gay scene,” with its veneration of youth, physical beauty, and sexual gratification over emotional involvement.

It’s problematic that Tolins focuses on one aspect of the larger LGBT community that, like the straight bar scene, most people move through on their way to adulthood. Nonetheless, The Last Sunday in June takes a hard look at the loneliness experienced by anyone who doesn’t measure up to our culture—and media-fueled standards of attractiveness.

High notes for this production include nuanced performances by Dann Mead (Brad) as an unapologetic hedonist; David Borad (Charles) as a middle-aged man who understands all too well the premium placed on youth and beauty; and Daryl Clark (Scott) as a gym bunny who busts the stereotype. But the real gem is Susan (Maureen Gaynor, in a role usually played by Sandra E. Hill), an eyes-wide-open heterosexual woman quick to point out that gay men are not the only ones unsatisfied with the emotional options available to them.

Moving in real time with no intermission, director Bill Zarriello gives the show a slice-of-life feel. Zarriello, stage manager Andrea Slay and Kurt Kurtis designed the realistic set and deserve kudos for exceptional sound work, with crowd noises from the parade, a music mix certain to bring back memories, and a juicer that functions as a lie detector.

In all, The Last Sunday in June has some outrageously funny lines that are just enough to keep the tears at bay—like real life.