ACTIVISM, FAMILY, AND
A BACKYARD BATTLE

The new play at TOSOS revisits the legacy of
ACT UP and the uneasy quiet that followed

CJ DiOrio & Nancy Slusser

TOSOS, New York City’s oldest producing queer theater company—debuting in 1974—presents the world premiere of Our House by Barry Boehm. Set in Iowa in 2014, the year before marriage equality was recognized by the Supreme Court, the play unfolds in the backyard of an older gay couple, Andy and Stanley (Christopher Borg and Tim Burke). Their quiet life is disrupted when neighborhood kids throw large, in-shell black walnuts into their yard. A police officer (Jon Spano) dismisses the harassment as harmless—kids being kids. Meanwhile, the couple has quietly taken down their Pride flag that once hung outside their home, worried they may be targets. Though set 12 years ago, the conflicts that rear its ugly head are as timely and relevant today: homophobic slurs, the n-word, police pointing guns at innocent bystanders, white people who mean well but lack the best words to express themselves, anger management, questionable family support, and more.

When Andy’s nephew Brendan (CJ DiOrio) and his fiancé Eugene (Jalen Ford) arrive for their weekend wedding that Andy and Stanley are hosting, the drinks are served, bong hits lit, and joints rolled. The final character to arrive is Paula (Nancy Slusser), Andy’s sister and Brendan’s mother. Her rehearsal for a community theater production let out early and though one might expect the play being rehearsed is Mousetrap, Arsenic and Old Lace, or some other safe, usual choice, it’s Albee’s Who’s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? Doesn’t that say something progressive about Iowa? But apparently not.

Christopher Borg, Nancy Slusser & Tim Burke

Andy fled Iowa for college in New York City and became an influential member of ACT UP when life was passionate, gripping, and a matter of life and death. Eventually, he and his husband returned to Iowa, where Andy purchased and renovated his childhood home, hoping for a quiet, peaceful life. Whether he abandoned the fight too soon haunts him. The calm he sought now feels more like a cage.

When Brendan and Eugene—who is Black—volunteer to walk to a nearby liquor store for more needed vodka, the celebratory mood collapses. Not long after, they return shaken after being jumped by five teenagers who hurled homophobic and racial slurs at them and threatened them with a long stick.

Christopher Borg & Nancy Slusser

During the heated discussion, the police officer returns, this time with a complaint: the teenagers claim a Black man in a hoodie attacked them in the woods with a bat. Tensions escalate, Andy spirals into hysteria, a gun is drawn and pointed at Eugene, and he is taken to the police station to “set the facts straight.”

Act II takes place hours later, around 4 a.m., just before Eugene is released with charges dropped. The ordeal unravels the wedding entirely—until Andy reconnects with his long-dormant activist instincts and urges Brendan to stand up for the man he loves, to fight for the life he believes in.

Jalen Ford & CJ DiOrio

The Gural Theatre is an intimate space, placing the audience just feet from the action. The family drama demands no shortage of emotional release and the airing of long-simmering grievances. Much of the play’s tour de force rests solely on Andy. Act I ends with him grabbing a fistful of dirt and spit, and cursing both the police officer and his family—a moment rivaling Scarlett O’Hara’s famous vow of survival in Gone with the Wind. Borg delivers exactly what’s written. But then the playwright undercuts the moment just before the blackout with Andy’s sister’s dry remark, “Well, that was dramatic.” Whose side is the playwright on? When an actor is brave enough to go for it with 200% commitment and skill, the moment is turned into a laugh?

The cast of five remain fully committed throughout the evening, especially Andy’s blistering Act II confrontation with Paula over her questionable support. The argument is so raw and volatile, one half expects the police officer to return with complaints of domestic disturbance. In the play’s final moments, Andy reckons with the choice he made to leave behind the front lines of activism for a quieter life in Iowa. Again, the emotions are big and heartfelt—and Borg never hedges.

Tim Burke, Christopher Borg, Nancy Slusser, CJ DiOrio & Jalen Ford

Director Mark Finley, TOSOS’s artistic director, is similarly dedicated and faithful to the text, staging the play with skill while serving its warts and all. Evan Frank’s scenic design clearly outlines the backyard with fencing, artificial grass, and the back entrance to the house with suggested realism. In the back hangs a white canvas drop with a large abstract sky-blue splotch in the middle.

David Castaneda’s lighting appeared to be working through last-minute adjustments; some fixtures mysteriously turned on and brightened in what was meant to be the middle of the night, though his overall design remained serviceable. Ben Philipp’s costumes suited the characters well, particularly Andy’s weathered leather jacket and ACT UP T-shirt. Morry Campbell’s sound design was uneven: the passing train in the distance sounded truly authentic, while other cues arrived muffled or indistinct.

Christopher Borg & Tim Burke

As meaningful as it is to revisit the battles fought and victories won by queer activists in the 1980s and ’90s—and to encourage a younger generation to fight for what they believe—the evening’s central weakness remains in the playwriting. Exposition weighs heavily on the script, with characters frequently explaining their histories and off-stage action. The result is a drama that carries admirable intentions but often struggles to trust its own story. Our House clearly wants to connect the past struggles of one generation to the responsibilities of the next. Yet despite committed performances and relevant themes, the play ultimately feels more like an argument about activism than a piece of theater that fully dramatizes it.

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photos by Mikiodo

Our House
TOSOS (The Other Side of Silence)
Jeffrey and Paula Gural Theatre
A.R.T./New York Theatres, 502 West 53rd Street (off 10th Ave.)
1 hour 40 minutes with intermission
Wed-Sat at 7; Sun at 2
ends on March 21, 2026
for tickets ($45–$70), visit TOSOS

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Gregory Fletcher is an author, theater professor, playwright, director, and stage manager. His publishing credits include a craft book on playwriting entitled Shorts and Briefs, as well as a collection entitled A Playwright’s Dozen: 13 short plays. Other publishing includes two YA novels (Other People’s Crazy, and Other People’s Drama), 2 novellas in the series Inclusive Bedtime Stories, 2 short stories in The Night Bazaar series, and five essays. Website, Facebook, Instagram.