An ecstatic “documentary concert” shot through with true-life narrations, historical films, and images of the time, THERE’S A RIOT GOING ON!: The Real Music & True Story Of Stonewall tells the story of why and how the Stonewall uprising– by no means the first of its kind in queer history– was the one to bring about seismic change in our national and global culture. With every day we see more evidence of our current political regime’s intention to erase and demoralize queer culture and its LGBTQ+ citizens. It is a very real thing and, frankly, it’s scary as hell. The show, like the events it honors, is a clear and powerful rebuke to this.
Built around the fantastic late-60s songs that were actually on the bar’s jukebox in June of 1969, the show shines a light on the lives of the real people who changed the world for the better. It was their determination, passion, and action–along with a surprising set of fortuitous events– that created the potent recipe for queer empowerment that we’ve come to know as Stonewall.
THERE’S A RIOT GOING ON! includes songs originated by Stevie Wonder, Sly & the Family Stone, Judy Garland,The Flirtations, Petula Clark, Gladys Knight & the Pips, Lesley Gore, Harry Nilsson, Diana Ross & The Supremes, Frank Sinatra, Shirley Bassey, and The Beatles, among others.
Performers have included Michael Musto, Stew, Castrata, Everett Bradley, Machine Dazzle, David Driver, Kevin Smith Kirkwood, Maggie Moore, Nicki Richards, Tigger!, and Lenny Zenith. More to come!
No one knows exactly what happened on the night of June 28, 1969.
Many people claim to have been at The Stonewall Inn when the uprising took place — so many, in fact, that if everyone who claims to have been there were actually there, the bar would have needed to be the size of a stadium.
One thing that we do know is the music that was played regularly on the bar’s two jukeboxes during that time. It’s no surprise that it’s some of the best pop, R&B and Soul music ever recorded. And with time, it’s become apparent that a lot of the songs speak directly, or indirectly, to the experiences of the bar’s patrons, and of the LGBTQ+ community at that time.
