‘Voices from Stonewall’ performances set at CAMP Rehoboth

“Voices from Stonewall” will be on stage for shows at 7 p.m, Friday and Saturday, June 28 and 29, at CAMP Rehoboth, 37 Baltimore Ave., Rehoboth Beach.

The 1969 uprising and riot at the Stonewall Inn in New York’s Greenwich Village has been officially recognized as the launch of the modern gay rights movement in the United States. The site on Christopher Street is now a National Monument, and the story of Stonewall is a touchstone of LGBTQ history.

Written by playwright Michael Gilles and author Fay Jacobs, and directed by Jacobs, “Voices from Stonewall” premiered at CAMP Rehoboth in June 2019 on Stonewall’s 50th anniversary. There were two sold-out performances and plans to bring the production back in 2020. Following a pandemic postponement, it was on stage in 2023 for two sold-out shows and is back again this year for Pride Month, with actors Matty Brown, Gwen Osborne and Eric C. Peterson.

Jacobs said, “Did you know that police barricaded themselves inside the Stonewall Inn? Did you know that the building was set on fire and doused just in time to save it? Did you know that reporters were inside the bar? You’ll hear the story through the actual words of the people – the rioters, the police, the journalists who were there, 54 years ago on June 28, 1969, voiced by a trio of dynamic actors re-creating the event. You’ll hear the words from inside and outside the Stonewall when bottles flew, paddy wagons arrived, and young drag queens, homeless kids, transgender youth, some butch lesbians, and a collection of gay people surprised the police and finally fought back.”

Born and raised in Delaware, Brown is communications manager at CAMP Rehoboth, where his theater company credits include “Tiny Beautiful Things,” “Ponce de Leon Is Dead,” “Auto-Erotic Misadventure” and “The Weir.”

Originally from Maryland, Osborne moved to Delaware over 20 years ago with her then partner and now wife Katie Handy, to open a sign business. Having retired in 2021, she is active in the community and Epworth United Methodist Church in Rehoboth Beach. Osborne has appeared in productions including “Last Summer at Bluefish Cove,” “In the Wake,” and “Five Lesbians Eating a Quiche.” In the winter months, she enjoys singing with the CAMP Rehoboth Chorus.

Peterson is an actor, novelist and playwright. His plays have been performed in New York, across the country and internationally. At the beach, he appeared in “Love Letters,” “I Do! I Do!” and CAMP Rehoboth Follies.

Jacobs has almost 50 years of professional theater experience in Washington, D.C., and at the beach. 

Tickets are $25. To purchase, go to camprehoboth.com.