One of the constraints of growing up in a Methodist Orphanage was the constant reminder from those in authority that I had “to know my place.”  It wasn’t until I was in my 20s and was reconciled with a woman claiming not only to be my mother but also Jewish to boot,  that all had to change. It was the latter part that I actually related to most, as suddenly I could rethink the whole question of what/where was ‘my place’.  

As my life and career have taken me on a roller coaster ride, I think I stretched the concept of what ‘my place’ was to accommodate my general trajectory, which thankfully has always moved me forward.  The only reason I question it now, as this is what is politely termed ‘the advanced stage of my life‘, is because of the discovery of a good friend who has the audacity (or big balls?) to ignore it completely.

Adam Weinstock has been an incredibly prolific theater and film producer for the past 29 years.  His company has created entertainment globally across multiple media, including film, albums, one-person shows, and Tony- and Olivier Award-winning plays and musicals.  Home for this mover and shaker is Broadway, The West End, and Provincetown, and we first met as he has always been so supportive of queer artists, and he introduced me to Bruce Vlanch and Margaret Cho among others.

But Adam does not know his place.  After all these years in the wings, he is aiming to be center stage now, but rather than just strolling on quietly, he shocked us all by going back to school to learn a new craft. Typical Adam, this was, however, no ordinary school, but none other than London’s prestigious Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts  (RADA) where people like Sir Anthony Hopkins, Sir Kenneth Branagh, Tom Hiddleston, Phoebe Waller-Bridge, and Alan Rickman trained.

Now graduated, he’s earning his living as a working actor.  But Adam being Adam, there is nothing straight about that, as in a production of Christopher Durang’s Beyond Therapy, he’s playing a bisexual!  Which I know he’ll forgive me for saying is a stretch of (our) imagination. But there’s no need to take my word; you can see for yourself at the Modern Classics Theatre Company of Long Island—running this July at the BACCA Arts Center. 

I may make fun of him, but you are allowed to do that with friends, and I am actually indebted to him for finally showing me that all those Methodists years ago were so wrong. ‘Your Place’ is where your heart is, and it’s a journey we should all embrace.  Especially all of us in the queer community.