Campaign: Help Chicago LGBT Theater Group Mount 'Angry' Play

Chicago's Pride Films and Plays, an LGBT-focused theater group, is going to mount a production this spring at one of the city's most prestigious theaters -- but it needs a little fundraising help to make it happen.

Steppenwolf Theatre Company's Garage Rep, which allows innovative storefront theater groups from around the city to present work under the Steppenwolf banner, has scheduled Pride Films and Plays' production of Atlanta playwright Topher Payne's Angry Fags to run February 22 through April 26. It will be the Chicago premiere of Angry Fags, which the playwright describes as "an Oscar Wilde-meets-Fight Club fever dream" about how a couple of gay men respond to a hate crime against one of their friends.

The Steppenwolf space means has twice as many seats to fill as Pride Films and Plays' usual venue, so the company has launched an Indiegogo campaign to raise $5,000 to go toward production and marketing expenses. On the campaign page, Pride Films and Plays notes that the show "is controversial and will get some people upset," and the Chicago Tribune, the city's largest newspaper, won't even print the play's full title. Angry Fags is also "funny," "dark," and "the most important show you'll see next year," the company adds.

Steppenwolf is the Chicago theatrical home of many nationally famed actors, directors, and writers, including John Malkovich, Laurie Metcalf, Joan Allen, William Petersen, John Mahoney, Randall Arney, Frank Galati, and Tarell Alvin McCraney. Many of them got an early boost to their careers from Steppenwolf, which had its start in a church basement.

To boost the production of Angry Fags, you can donate as little as $10, although Pride Films and Plays will of course welcome larger contributions. The Indiegogo campaign goes through January 18; find out all about it here.