UNDER A RAINBOW FLAG Celebrates Gay Veterans

One of the best things about doing theatre in Chicago is the support given to new work. It's built into the mission of big boys Goodman and Victory Gardens and the storefronts are following suit. Many of the non-commercial theatres put forth efforts at supporting new works at various stages of development. Chicago theatre veteran David Zak has championed the development of new gay work since founding Pride Films and Plays a couple years back. Starting with staged readings and workshops, this season brings on their first season eligible for Jeff Awards. Their current production Under a Rainbow Flag is Jeff-recommended. Exploring the lives and loves of four gay soldiers in World War II, Under a Rainbow Flag is a heartwarming and bold new work. The production closes this weekend and I was able to catch up with three of the show's stars about the show:

Danny Bernardo (DB): Tell me about your character?

Nick Stockwell (NS): I play the character of Paul Gibbs, a man who has a large capacity for love but in the world that he lives in is afraid to express how he really feels fearing that it will destroy his chance at a good career. He hides his fear by conforming to the social norms of others which causes him to inadvertently hurt people who he cares about.

James Nedrud (JN): Russell is very outspoken and a true flaming queen. He is by far the most flamboyant in the group and, in the words of the writer, is a moral compass. Although he gets extremely excited over pretty things, such as jewelry, he is the first to come to his friends rescue.

Jordan Phelps (JP): My character Stefano is the dramatic belly of UNDER A RAINBOW FLAG. He is a young physician drafted to the Army and shipped out to Okinawa. He makes friends and even a few enemies while overseas but ultimately finds love among the battle and blood. Stefano exemplifies the strength of the man who can embrace having loved just once, and only needing once.

DB: What is your favorite part of the piece?

JN: In the second act, Russell sings a song to Gibbs called "You Can't Run Away From Gay, Baby!", and it has become one of my favorite numbers in the show. It shows the depth of the character and is his "moral compass" song.

JP: My favorite part of this piece is watching every character weave and bob throughout the time-frame of the show. The play covers just about 10 years of these relationships and so much change ensues over the years and between the characters. Not one of them ends up in the same place that they started. It also helps to be working with an insanely talented cast and crew!

DB: Are you guys as close offstage as you are on?

JN: Yes, we have grown very close as a group. Once the show opened and became Jeff recommended, we really bonded over the fact that we had something very special and unique on our hands. It is a wonderful and talented cast!

JP: I think it's always interesting when originating a role in a new work because I begin to see how much of myself and each of us is reflected in our characters. It's also a mixture of great casting via David Zak and Leo Schwartz, but I would say that my cast and I all interact similarly to the way our characters would. With Sam [Button-Harris who plays the protagonist Phillips], I feel this brotherly sort of bond and reliance; with James, a silliness and sassiness; and with Nick, a sort of distant admiration and respect. Everyone in this cast has been blessed with the ability to get along and work together. Not all new works that I've done have had such well functioning cogs.

DB: How does the show reflects how times have changed for the gay community?

NS: For me one of the biggest things that I saw from this show is that there was no large scale national outspoken political opposition towards the gay community. People had their individual and even group bias' but it wasn't something that laws were being written against.

JN: Although this is a period piece and doesn't reflect the current situation of the gay community, it is wonderful to be able to look back and see how far we've come. Learning about the struggles and survival tactics of gay soldiers in World War II has been extremely eye-opening and made me appreciate the freedom to be who I am, which is so easy to take for granted.

JP: So much has changed in our community since the time of this play to now, but the issues that 'Rainbow Flag' touches on are still relevant today. Men still hide in the closet and marry under the false pretense of "security". Some men still don't know enough about their community and have to learn from harsh realities and broken hopes how to cope. And some men are working tirelessly to pave the way in their fabulousness and let their flame burn bright- I think the main difference between then and now is that we've learned to speak out. We can't be silenced anymore like we used to. Homosexual men and women and fathers and mothers and children are learning to not give so much of a damn about what the hetero-normative past has lead us to feel about one another. As long as we remain vocal and optimistic and love with all we know how to love as humans, our future will remain bright.

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Based on the real-life story of a WWII naval corpsman (who still lives in Evanston, Illinois), "Under A Rainbow Flag" is an upbeat work about a group of soldiers who meet on a transport train heading west from Chicago and about the choices they make during and after the War.

"Under A Rainbow Flag" runs through April 21 at the Main Stage, 4139 N. Broadway, Chicago, IL.
Performances are Thursday, Friday, and Saturday at 7:30 and Sunday at 2:30 through April 21.
There are also 7:30 Wednesday performances on April 3, 10, and 17.

Tickets available here. Discounts available for veterans, students, and seniors. For more info, visit the Pride Films and Plays website.