Upcoming Programs

These four brand-new 30-minute Stonewall-inspired operas are written and composed by alums of Tisch's Graduate Musical Theatre Writing Program, as part of the Advanced Opera Lab led by Randall Eng, Associate Arts Professor of Graduate Musical Theatre Writing, and Sam Helfrich, Associate Arts Professor of Design for Stage & Film (both Tisch School of the Arts). The operas are designed by students from the Dance Department (both Tisch School of the Arts), directed by students from the New School, and performed by professional opera singers from American Opera Projects. CLICK FOR FULL PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE.

Perry Mason (1957–1966, CBS-TV) is known for its formulaic plots—attorney Mason (Raymond Burr) defends an innocent client and forces the real murderer to confess in a courtroom finale. With its stylish noir filming, outdoor locations, and deep background characterizations, the series arguably also featured a prescient queer subtext. Burr was a gay man who led a covert life, but on the show, Mason is consistently paired with his investigator, Paul Drake (William Hopper), in harmonious, sometimes domestic contexts—especially notable in the episode we'll screen: The Case of the Borrowed Baby (1962).

In 1983, television producer and journalist Joseph Lovett successfully pleaded with ABC's 20/20 executives to create the first investigative reports on AIDS for network TV. He will show selected video clips (50 min.) and discuss the responsibility and the difficulties of reporting on a plague during a decade of discrimination.