Despite the lingering gloom left over from the results of the 2024 presidential election two days before, a near sold out crowd of LGBTQ+ community leaders, supporters, artists and well-wishers found plenty of joy at About Face Theatre’s 30th anniversary party.
The event, which took place at Venue West, 221 N. Paulina St. on Nov. 7, featured a dinner buffet, hors d’oeuvres, a fundraising segment, live performances and many many happy tears.
Entertainer Honey West served as emcee, with Jyreika Guest performing a portion from “On the Record” by the late Vernita Gray, and Will Willhem closing the evening with a disco free-for-all.
The evening also served as an awards presentation with Tony “La Tony” Alvarado-Rivera and Moises Villada accepting the inaugural Brian Goodman Shooting Star Award from Zahra Baker and Scott Duff. The Leppen Leadership Awards were given by Ben Sprunger, Jojo Brown and Michael Leppen to a tearful Steven Solomon and to Slo’Mo Events. Slo Mo’s founder, Kristen Kaza, brought her entire creative team onstage to accept the award.
After thanking Michael Leppen in his speech, Solomon said, “I got this fortune cookie over the weekend, and it reads, ‘You will be awarded a great honor.’ Four days later here we are…”
Solomon, who currently serves as community impact officer at Howard Brown Health and has volunteered at About Face Theater in the past, also said, “The disparities in resources and opportunities that impact LGBTQ+ individuals continue to drive my work and the news this week has been heavy on us all. But as often happens, hope appears when it’s needed most. Just yesterday, we received nine volunteer applications from people of all backgrounds—trans, nonbinary, gender non-conforming individuals, a medical professional from Sudan, an actor—all reaching out to help the LGBTQ+ community.”
Villada, who serves as the associate director of the University of Illinois at Chicago’s Gender and Sexuality Center said on his Facebook page, “As I mentioned in my remarks (at the anniversary party), people and community are crucial during challenging times. Showing up for each other in meaningful ways makes a difference.”
In a Windy City Times interview, About Face Theater Artistic Director Megan Carney called the theater, “a dedicated space where LGBTQ folks can let their guard down and be truly themselves, bring the fullness of their vision and talents and ideas into the space and to push the form of what theater can be.”
Established in 1995, About Face Theatre has been a national leader in creating theater by LGBTQ+ artists that tell queer stories. It aims to advance LGBTQ+ equity through inclusion, education, performance and community building.
