Darkhorse Theater in Nashville has a capability to foster cozy atmospheres. Formerly a Presbyterian church, it is an intimate proscenium theater with a welcoming vibe that seats less than 150 people. As I entered Darkhorse last Friday, a warm light was emitting; a jukebox was already playing music from the ‘50s, the round wooden tables and chairs were set, the bar had drinks arranged towards the audience, promising a mixture of flamboyancy and lethargy. 

I was about to experience Chinkapin Craftstead’s Bar Dykes, the staging of Merril Mushroom’s just about autobiographical play exploring the pre-Stonewall lesbian culture, relationships, roles, and courtship rituals. Not coincidentally, the staging took place on October 10th following with a matinee and an evening show on October 11th, celebrating the coming out day. Merril Mushroom, an 84-year-old lesbian today, came out during the Lavender Scare in her teenage years in 1950s Florida. 

Chinkapin Craftstead is a Queer non-profit arts organization located near Woodbury, Tennessee, a land project committed to uplifting queer, trans and BIPOC voices; incubating all art forms and creative expressions; and cultivating a safe space for artists and social activists in a beautiful natural setting. The artists engaged in maintaining the farm and the Chinkapin Craftstead organization live in proximity to each other. Both during the performance as well as after, one could capture the synergy between them by how they responded to each other. They also host an art residency covering a wide scope of artistic professions and crafts.

To ground the contextual relevance of this play, I will briefly run through the important historical moments. The 1950s in the United States were a time when the conflict between social and legal oppression and the persistence to claim the rights for the then LGBT+ community to exist intensified and surfaced in the public debate. A moral panic against the LGBT+ community called the Lavender Scare emerged and normalized their persecution through the bureaucratic institutionalization of homophobia. The civil rights movement, the counterculture of the 1960s and the antiwar demonstrations accelerated the clash between the government and the LGBT+ community, culminating with the Stonewall police raid in 1969 that backlashed with what is historically known as The Stonewall riots.

To stage this play at a time of recurrent persecution of what has grown into the LGBTQIA+ community is a brave attestation of the perseverance and the pliability of the community and the movement.

The one-act play takes place in a lesbian bar over the course of one night in the late 1950s. The performance is announced as a two parter. Part one or How to Engage in Courting Rituals, 1950s Butch-Style in the Bar is a rehearsal of courtship rituals interpreted in perfect unison between the instructor (played by Josefine) and the actors performing the courtship. The response through the looks or cruising, the body language, the acceptance or refusal of a drink, the offering of a cigarette, the acrobacy of the zippo lighter, the invitation to dance, the dance moves and the non-verbal agreement on who’s leading (the Butch, played by Vir ) and who’s following (the Femme played by Tomfoolery), the songs playing on the jukebox are all stages of a very precise ceremony that shines light on a thoroughly developed lesbian culture. The ritualistic prologue not only situates the second part of the play, but it also invites the audience to cheer, howl, catcall and laugh out loud in support and approval of what is being unveiled on stage. This vivid occurrence lasted throughout the whole performance, and I learned from friends that the performance received the same response on the second night of its staging.

A good chunk of the play elaborates on the intricacies of the butch or femme dilemma, touching on the assigned roles of pairing in the lesbian culture, however at a later point, this binary is broken and the possibility of fluidity between the two is laid out, thus broadening the mindset of the tradition. The dating drama and the gossip are paired by multiple drinks and the cigarettes that are never extinguished, alluding to the bar culture heritage of the era. 

The lightness of the performance is replaced by a heavier ambience when one of the bar customers, Joyce (played by Minha) comes in with the intention to get drunk, to deal with the punishing experience of coming out to her mom, hinting at one of the most rigid episodes in the lives of the queer individuals. However, to protect her customer, the bartender, Bo (played by Spice), enacting the genuine positive stereotype of a bartender, takes her keys away, and orders her a taxi instead. This gesture also indicates the importance of the element of care in protecting the members of an already persecuted community. When the police raid the bar, Bo bribes the officer and makes a phone call, utilizing her connections at the police station to release her arrested customers. The audience boos at the police officers. The arrests are made on the basis of ridiculous and instantly made-up excuses, and the three-piece clothing law which targeted gender-nonconforming individuals for wearing clothing other than of their assumed gender further grounds the play to the historical time it represents.

The ending of the performance with “No Regrets,” the English version of Edith Piaf’s song is a strong statement of perseverance. The only way to resist is by being resilient; to keep going, because there is no other way around it.

Chinkapin Craftstead states that “Producing this play is an act of strengthening intergenerational Queer community”. Most of the actors in the play are non-gender conforming. By playing lesbians from a few generations ago, they learn and draw courage from their queer ancestors’ struggles while at the same time honoring their lives and resilience. Thus, their acting has a deeply natural and embodied tone, even when their moves are performative. 

The staging by Director Hella is done very tactfully: even when modestly layering the cultural references, all the actors are given a moment to shine, share a glimpse of their character’s story and their favorite ‘50s song playing on the jukebox. Some characters like Rusty (played by Sweetie) are more thoroughly developed than others, but the point of the performance is to paint an organic portrait of a generation, more than to delve into individual stories. 

Chinkapin Craftstead’s prior season of Bar Dykes in their home premise was sold out while Darkhorse Theater was a full house both evenings, hosting the most evocative audience I’ve ever seen in Nashville’s theaters. This staging needs to tour, to be invited into your communes, towns, and cities, to encourage younger generations that they carry the legacy of a struggle that came before them.

The crew came out on stage immediately after the show, eager to connect to their audience and friends who had come to support their work. They were all so easy to talk to, excited about the opportunity to stage this play made with love, showing much respect to each other’s brilliance and efforts in their collaboration. Bar Dykes signifies the carved-out space to find friendship and love, despite the risks.