Extended!! Greek Active Presents: The Childryn's Hour at Re-Bar, Seattle, WA, 1995
This handbill advertises the extended run of the play “The Childryn’s Hour” in the summer of 1995, performed by Greek Active, a “Queer Theatre for Queer People,” which performed frequently at Seattle’s Re-Bar. This was a parody of Lillian Hellman’s (1905 – 1984) 1934 play, The Children’s Hour, which screenwriter John Michael Hayes (1919 – 2008) adapted into a 1961 film of the same name.
Dan Savage (b. 1964), the sex columnist for The Stranger since 1991, is also credited as Keenan Hollahan, one of the founders of Greek Active, which often performed queer interpretations of classic plays. Savage directed “The Childryn’s Hour,” starring Mia Levine (b. unknown), David Morden (b. unknown), Bruce Hamilton (b. unknown), Doug Lotz (b. unknown), Jennifer Jasper (b. unknown), Roger Downey (b. unknown), and Charles Smith (b. unknown), with music by Sara DeBell (b. 1963), scenery by Gregory Morsick (b. unknown), and costumes designed by Joe Featherston (b. unknown). The premise of the original play, and very loosely that of Greek Active’s comedic rendition, involved two women who owned a boarding school and were rumored to be lesbians, the accusation and ensuing trial shattering their careers and lives.
Steve Wells and Patrick “Pit” Kwiecinski opened Re-Bar in January 1990 at 1114 Howell Street, which had long been a safe space for Seattle’s LGBTQ community. The Night Hawk Tavern (or Nite Hawk) opened in the 1930s, creating a center of gay nightlife featuring cabaret, followed by Thirsty’s in the 1970s, which then became Axel Rock, a dance-focused venue, in the 1980s, and finally Sparks Tavern, which added full-length stage plays, before Re-Bar moved in. Until 2020, when Re-Bar, like many venues, closed indefinitely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, they hosted disco nights, art exhibits, theatre, drag, burlesque, and live bands, supporting generations of LGBTQ patrons and performers. At Re-Bar, KEXP’s Riz Rollins got his start as a DJ, becoming a big part of Seattle’s Black music scene, David Schmader put on his first three plays, and drag performer and comedian Dina Martina was born. The venue also hosted one of the longest running poetry nights in the West, Seattle Poetry Slam, and a weekly Sunday dance night, Flammable. On September 13, 1991, Re-Bar also hosted the infamous release party for Nirvana’s second album, Nevermind.
