DANBURY, CONN. — Homosexuality has always had a place in the history of American drama — from the veiled themes of the 1940s to the awakening of the 1960s. Then there were the dark days of HIV and AIDS, followed by a celebration of freedom.

A new course offered this spring at Western Connecticut State University, “Queer Drama,” will explore the past 60 years by reading and discussing plays that incorporate homosexual themes. Assistant Professor of English Dr. Donald Gagnon hopes to elicit strong reactions that will open the doors to a wider discussion of the issues surrounding the gay community.

English 453 is a “special topics” course that changes to meet student special interests, and Gagnon thought gay drama was an unexplored and rich topic for discussion, especially in his role as adviser to WestConn’s Gay/Straight Alliance, a student organization.

The course will examine the history of homosexual populations through the drama of the mid-20th century to the present starting with plays from the 1940s and 1950s that used coded references to “gayness.” By “coding” a play in the 1940s, for example, playwrights could appeal to the community at large with a veiled theme on homosexuality. “We can see the clues in there,” Gagnon said.

From this era, students will be reading “Come Back Little Sheba,” by William Inge. At the time these plays were written and performed, the nuances regarding homosexuality seemed generally subtle, but they were there, said Gagnon.

Gagnon said writers really began to throw open the closet door with the awakening of the 1960s with plays such as “The Toilet” by Leroi Jones. “Playwrights started making bold statements about being gay,” Gagnon said. In this play, a teenage boy is beaten up in the high school bathroom by students who didn’t accept his homosexuality. “The Boys in the Band” also was penned during this time. “There’s no coding here. It’s just gay men being gay — but onstage, where everyone could see,” Gagnon said.

That era is followed by the “sad 1980s,” Gagnon said, where AIDS/HIV had a tremendous impact on the gay community and thus altered the course of gay expression on the stage. “Plays such as Tony Kushner’s award-winning ‘Angels in America’ exemplified much of the sense of loss and fear in the gay community, as well as its resilience,” Gagnon said.

The course will conclude with an examination of the post-AIDS era beginning in 1996, after the breakthrough of drugs that slowed the progress of the virus. “We realized we can do something very effective. And queer drama started to change. Being gay could be fun again. Though the specter of HIV/AIDS never dissipated, it ceased to be the sine qua non of the homosexual experience and queer drama began to extend its reach again. It became more about casting gay issues back into contemporary society,” Gagnon said.

Students will read “Take Me Out,” a more recent play about a gay ballplayer who opens up about his homosexuality, and watching film dramas.

For more information, contact the Office of University Relations at (203) 837-8486.

Western Connecticut State University offers outstanding faculty in a range of quality academic programs. Our diverse university community provides students an enriching and supportive environment that takes advantage of the unique cultural offerings of Western Connecticut and New York. Our vision: To be an affordable public university with the characteristics of New England’s best small private universities.