NY Gay Marriage Law Spurs Broadway Events for Same-Sex Couples

Broadway theatre to mark same-sex marriages

By R. Leigh Coleman, Christian Post Reporter Saturday, July 16, 2011

Perched on the steps of the well-known St. James Theatre on Broadway will be a host of same-sex couples who will soon exchange wedding vows following an evening performance of the hit show “Hair.”

New York recently became the sixth state in the U.S. to grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples. Pride Weekend in New York City will kick off on the evening of July 24 when clerk's offices will begin issuing marriage licenses to same-sex couples.

The public wedding ceremonies will be held on July 25 and among the first in New York will be on Broadway.

“It’s not just a summer of love,” Rory O’Malley, a star of “The Book of Mormon” and a co-founder of the gay-rights group Broadway Impact, said at a press conference Wednesday in front of the St. James Theater. “It’s a summer of equality.”

Other Broadway celebrities attended the press conference this week including Joel Grey from “Anything Goes,” the cast of “Hair,” and Will Swenson from “Priscilla Queen of the Desert, the Musical.”

Jordan Roth, president of Jujamcyn Theatres and the owner of St. James, said he was proud to be able to host some of the first same-sex weddings in New York state. He said there was a natural connection between the theater and weddings.

“The theater is the place where we come together to celebrate and affirm who we are as a people,” Roth told reporters.

“It is the place where we stand in front of our community on a stage and we speak our truths. That’s what theater is and that's what a wedding is."

While the passing of the new same-sex legislation to many represents unity and equality, there are many others that say the Senate’s decision has negative moral consequences.

"I am deeply disappointed and troubled by a measure that will alter radically and forever humanity's historic understanding of marriage," Roman Catholic Archbishop Tim Dolan told reporters after the passing of the bill.

Recent polls suggest that Americans are still divided over same-sex marriage. With support steadily increasing, it is forcing some Republicans to reconsider their strong views.

The cast of "Hair" will also take part in a special performance on July 24 at 9 PM at Rockwood Music Hall to mark the official start of same-sex marriage in New York state.