Talking with Anthony Green, a Lambda Literary fellow and the writer-director of the play GAY Soul Food, is like chatting with a long-lost family member who immediately welcomes you into the fold.
We lost track of time, talked over each other and had to circle back to previous points because we went on several tangents. His affirming but no-nonsense nature was even more apparent as he kikis with his cast members–Green was as excited to share the spotlight with his talent, actors Jonas Davis and Christian Borden, as he was to talk about the Chicago debut of GAY Soul Food.Coming to Definition Theatre on Aug. 14, GAY Soul Food is an “original play about the people who feed our soul and the recipe that makes us family.” It’s a tribute to the 1997 classic film Soul Food, starring Vanessa Williams and Vivica A. Fox, with less of a focus on the effects of Big Mama’s diabetes and more on mental health through the lens of a new generation.
Many of Green’s plays pay homage to classic Black films like Love Jones and Set It Off, always with an important public health message around issues that disproportionately affect the Black LGBTQ+ community. In the past, he’s worked with sponsors like global pharmaceutical company ViiV Healthcare and HealthHIV in DC.
Green’s company, Cagedbirds Productions, “affirms the Black LGBT experience on screen and on stage,” amplifying marginalized voices and telling authentic stories that we don’t often get to see.
The production company came to be because of a promise Green made to a friend who passed away due to the complications of HIV: “His biggest fear was to be forgotten, so I wrote the story of his life, but through the lens of his favorite movie, Waiting to Exhale,” said Green.
Similar to the Soul Food film, GAY Soul Food follows the adult siblings in the Joseph family through a year’s worth of gatherings as they deal with their ailing mother, with themes around chosen family, unconditional love, and navigating generational trauma…with multiple LGBTQ+ relatives.
With Chicago family members planning to be in attendance for the upcoming show, Green has no qualms about “immortalizing” his family on stage: “A lot of the things I write are about friends and family…it’s always done with love; it’s also done with truth.”
Green, Davis and Borden easily drew inspiration from their own lives to bring the characters to life. Christian Borden, who plays Miles, revels in portraying a soft-natured, fragile character who is “not what you’d stereotypically see when you think about masculinity.”
As one of the only straight characters in the play, and also lovingly referred to as their straight man “DEI hire” off stage, Borden found it freeing to be his full self around cast members who champion love and acceptance versus the sometimes-expected performance of heteronormativity.
Green added, “I just love having Christian around with us in this strongly LGBT environment we have over at Cagedbirds. It’s really healing to have a straight man in that space, to be the minority, to engage with us in our lingo, and as we cut up as we do. He’s just been a very beautiful human for me. Especially since I’ve been someone who has not always been comfortable around straight men, and just working with Christian has healed that, and I’m thankful.”
New cast member Jonas Davis drew from his own brother’s passing to embody the character of the complicated, layered Maxwell.
Dealing with grief as he bonded with the cast, Davis found that, “Although you may struggle with some things, you’re not alone. You always have a community. Sometimes we don’t see it…but there’s a whole room of people that’s going to support you.”
“Any Cagedbirds show is like a family reunion of Black LGBT people who’ve never met before,” said Green. “But GAY Soul Food is even more so. Even before the show and during intermission, we play Black family cookout music; we have baby pictures of the cast and crew around; it’s a family vibe. The Cagedbirds rhythm is always very entertaining and funny, but you will feel something. I approach theater like ministry, so this show is definitely going to feed your soul. You will leave full.”
Cagedbirds Productions will be back in Chicago next year with The GAY Best Man. They also plan to produce How Steffon Got His Groove Back in 2027.
This interview has been edited for length and clarity.
GAY Soul Food will be at Definition Theatre, 1160 E. 55th St., Aug. 14-15. Tickets are available here.