On Saturday, January 21, MCCC’s Kelsey Theatre presented Oscar Wilde’s An Ideal Husband, a Shakespeare 70 production. Approximately 30 minutes into the performance, a man in the audience heckled the actors in response to a kiss between two men.
According to the producer of An Ideal Husband, Lili Timmes, “A gentleman in the third or fourth row of the theater yelled in a very loud voice, ‘Oh, that’s disgusting!’ Several people looked at him but didn’t say anything. The two men on stage kissed again, and then he yelled again, ‘You need to stop this!’ and then at some point he also said, ‘Oh, come on!’”
Sheron Williams, the House Manager of the Kelsey Theatre and Kitty Getlik, the Artistic Director and Manager, both stated that the men wore undergarments typical of the late 19th century, which resembled rompers, and that the scene was not overly sexual.
In addition to the heckler, another couple walked out during the same scene on opening night, Friday, Jan. 20. Kelsey Theatre also received multiple complaints from other attendees who had seen the play staged by different production companies without the kiss shared by two men.
According to Williams, some of the opinions expressed by patrons included, “That [the kiss] was inappropriate, that the actors were actually in their underwear – which they were not – and that it wasn’t what they expected.”
Getlik said, “Mostly their complaint was not so much that it was about it being a homosexual relationship, but it was about it not being the way they’d always seen it.”
An Ideal Husband, first produced in 1895, was written by Wilde as a reflection of his own life as a gay man leading a double life. Strict laws against homosexuality during the 19th century in the U.K. resulted in much of his work, including An Ideal Husband, containing subtle depictions of same-sex relationships.
More recent productions of Oscar Wilde’s plays have chosen not to hide this content, but rather portray the characters as overtly gay.
Timmes, speaking on behalf of Shakespeare 70, said, “[Wilde] had several moments of sort of homosexual subtext in the play that the director chose to really play upon and make text.”
In response to the heckler’s homophobic remarks, Shakespeare 70 posted a statement on its social media pages on Jan. 24 to inform people as to what happened, and, according to Timmes, that “we don’t stand for it and we think it is disgusting.”
“We have many members of our company that are members of the LGBTQ community and we never want people to feel unsafe doing shows with us,” said Timmes.
Mercer’s Kelsey Theatre shared Shakespeare 70’s post on Jan. 26 and added an additional statement. The post described the situation as “deplorable” and called for discussions “around visibility and acceptance for all in live theater.”
The statement concluded that, “Homophobia has NO place in a civilized society. It will not be tolerated at the Kelsey Theatre or at MCCC.”
It also included the disclaimer: “Please be advised that An Ideal Husband contains adult themes, including sexuality.”
Marvin Carter, director of Mercer’s Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) did not attend the performance but was made aware of the incident.
“I think situations like this cause us to reflect wholeheartedly on ways that we could be better,” said Carter.
Carter also said that the heckling provided an opportunity for Mercer to discuss new policies to deal with similar homophobic or otherwise hateful incidents.
Dr. Deborah Preston, Mercer’s new President, attended the play on opening night. When asked about the scene in question, Dr. Preston remarked that it was tastefully done. She said it bothered her that the incident happened and she is glad that they put on this production.
“You know, as the college president, I think to myself, we’ve upset that person, but look at all these people we didn’t upset, look at all these people who enjoy the play,” Dr. Preston continued, “I think that matters. That’s something for me to remember.”
Both the heckler and the couple that left quietly were refunded.
