A Very Different Kind Of Opera…”Fellow Travelers, A Gay Love Story” At Seattle Opera

Fellow Travelers is a title familiar to many in the LGBTQ+ community. Originally a novel by out gay author Thomas Mallon published in 2007, it’s a historical gay romance about two young men who meet in 1950’s Washington DC and begin a complex relationship that lasts for decades. The acclaimed book eventually became an 8 part Showtime cable network series in 2023 starring out gay actors Matt Bomer and Jonathan Bailey which earned raves and acclaim. Now, the story has been adapted into…an opera!

First created a decade ago by composer Gregory Spears, librettist Greg Pierce, and director Kevin Newbury, the production will debut at the Seattle Opera February 21st for a six show run before embarking on a nationwide tour that will include Portland Opera immediately following the Seattle run, March 7 -15 then to San Diego Opera (July 10–12) and New York’s Glimmerglass Festival (July 18–Aug. 16). The tour is being co-produced by the Up Until Now Collective and is one of the largest group projects ever put together by national opera companies.

It’s being billed as a “gay love story set during the Lavender Scare era of the 1950s where gay and lesbian government employees were hounded from their jobs for being queer. It’s a must see experience for anyone interested in LGBTQ history, theater, and opera.

Tickets for Fellow Travelers, with all performances at McCaw Hall at Seattle Center are available at https://www.seattleopera.org/fellowtravelers/

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SEATTLE—This February, Seattle Opera presents the trailblazing opera Fellow Travelers, a gay love story set during the Lavender Scare, a McCarthy-era witch hunt that ousted thousands of gay and lesbian employees from the federal government. Created by composer Gregory Spears, librettist Greg Pierce, and director Kevin Newbury, and based on Thomas Mallon’s best-selling 2007 novel, Fellow Travelers is one of the most critically acclaimed and widely produced operas of the past fifty years, selling more than 25,000 tickets over 14 productions across the United States.

Called “a deeply human love story” by the Chicago Tribune, the opera portrays the experiences of government employees who were subject to humiliating investigations because of their sexuality. In 1953, the young, idealistic Timothy Laughlin arrives in Washington, DC, eager to join the fight against Communism. A chance encounter with Hawkins Fuller, a State Department official, results in Tim’s first job and his first romantic relationship with a man. As Tim struggles to reconcile his newfound love with his beliefs, the baleful force of McCarthyism threatens to cost Hawkins his job and his freedom.

“There’s a reason Fellow Travelers has proven to be so popular with audiences all across the country,” said General and Artistic Director James Robinson. “It’s a compelling love story with an emotionally trenchant score that audiences connect to on a deep emotional level. I am honored for Seattle Opera to be the first stop on the tenth-anniversary tour celebrating this beautiful and impactful work.”

“At a time when living ‘in the closet’ is becoming increasingly rare, it seems important to put characters like Tim and Hawk on stage,” said composer Gregory Spears and librettist Greg Pierce. “Not just as historical victims struggling against homophobia, but also as ordinary people fighting through life in an era where a public expression of love could threaten to destroy one’s world. Our hope is that the nuanced machinery of opera might play some small part in reminding us of this history, while also preserving onstage the dangerous counterpoint that so often defined the gay experience in the mid-20th century.”

To explore the opera’s broader impact, the Fellow Travelers tour consortium is partnering with the American LGBTQ+ Museum on the Lavender Names Project, a nationwide, grassroots archival research and community outreach initiative that will share the stories of LGBTQ+ community members who were fired by or faced discrimination at the hands of local and federal governments. Photos will be included in an ever-growing visual archive that will appear on stage at the end of each performance of Fellow Travelers.

Cast and Creative Team

Double-cast in the principal roles are a pair of singers making both their role and company debuts, tenor Colin Aikins as Timothy Laughlin and baritone Jarrett Ott as Hawkins Fuller, and a second pair returning to Seattle Opera who have appeared in Fellow Travelers together many times, tenor Andres Acosta (Nemorino, The Elixir of Love ’22) and baritone Joseph Lattanzi (Steward, Flight ’21). Soprano Amber R. Monroe makes her Seattle Opera debut as Tim and Hawk’s trusted friend Mary Johnson while soprano Vanessa Becerra, who appeared this fall as Mabel in The Pirates of Penzance, returns as the conspiring Miss Lightfoot.

The cast also features baritone Marcus DeLoach (Schaunard, La bohème ’07) as Senator Joseph McCarthy/Estonian Frank/Interrogator and the Seattle Opera debuts of soprano Elisa Sunshine as Lucy, baritone Randell McGee as Tommy McIntyre, bass-baritone Kyle Pfortmiller as Senator Charles Potter/General Arlie/Bartender, and baritone Jeremy Weiss as Senator Potter’s Assistant/Bookseller/Priest/Technician/Party Guest.

Conductor Steven Osgood, General and Artistic Director of the Chautauqua Opera Company and assistant conductor at The Metropolitan Opera, makes his Seattle Opera debut on the podium. Joining stage director Kevin Newbury (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs ’19) on the creative team are Associate Director & Intimacy Director Sara E. Widzer (SO debut), Scenic Designer Vita Tzykun (The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs ’19), Costume Designer Devario Simmons (SO debut), Lighting Designer Thomas C. Hase (The Elixir of Love ’22), and Wigs, Hair, and Makeup Manager & Designer Ashlee Naegle (The Pirates of Penzance ’25).

·        Opera Talk: Thomas Mallon, Author of Fellow Travelers

Friday, February 20, at 7:30 PM, Town Hall Seattle

Hear from acclaimed author, essayist, and critic Thomas Mallon, whose novel Fellow Travelers (2007) inspired the opera. Reporter Katie Campbell, creator and host of the KUOW Book Club, will join Mallon for a lively discussion on this important book and the lessons it holds for our own time. Tickets at seattleopera.org/mallontalk.

Performance Information: Fellow Travelers

• In English with English subtitles

• Run time: approximately 2 hours and 15 minutes including one intermission
• Tickets start at $39

McCaw Hall (321 Mercer Street, Seattle, WA 98109)

Saturday, February 21, at 7:30 PM

Sunday, February 22, at 2:00 PM

Wednesday, February 25, at 7:30 PM

Friday, February 27, at 7:30 PM

Saturday, February 28, at 7:30 PM

Sunday, March 1, at 2:00 PM