The Glines

The Glines was an American not-for-profit arts organization founded in New York City in 1976 by John Glines, Barry Laine, and Jerry Tobin. Its central purpose was to create, develop, and present gay art, particularly theatre, as a means of affirming gay identities and countering the negative stereotypes that had often shaped mainstream cultural representations of gay people. The organization operated as both a producing body and a platform for playwrights, performers, directors, and other artists whose work addressed gay life and queer experience. The Glines became associated with a wide range of theatrical activity during a period when openly gay subject matter was gaining greater visibility but remained marginalized in much of American commercial theatre. Its work included new plays, revues, benefits, festivals, collaborations, and presentations by established and emerging writers. The organization’s programming encompassed subjects ranging from relationships and community life to sexuality, identity, performance, and the social consequences of stigma. Among the writers connected with its productions were Jane Chambers, Doric Wilson, Victor Bumbalo, Richard Hall, Sydney Morris, Arch Brown, Joseph Pintauro, Anthony Bruno, Robert Patrick, Tom Wilson Weinberg, Howard Crabtree, Harvey Fierstein, William M. Hoffman, and John Glines himself. The organization’s best-known theatrical achievement was its production of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy. The production won the 1983 Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor, helping demonstrate that gay-centered theatre could achieve major recognition within the American theatrical establishment. The Glines later co-produced William M. Hoffman’s As Is with Circle Repertory Company. That production won the 1985 Drama Desk Award for Best Play and received Tony nominations for Best Play, Best Director, and Best Actor. In 1994, a Glines/PSX production of Howard Crabtree’s Whoop-Dee-Doo! won Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical Revue and Best Costume Design. Beyond individual productions, The Glines organized the First and Second Gay American Arts Festivals in 1980 and 1981. It also staged a 1982 benefit at The Town Hall in New York City featuring three one-act plays: Jane Chambers’s The Quintessential Image, Harvey Fierstein’s Forget Him, and Arthur Laurents’s A Loss of Memory. In 1986, the organization expanded into television with Hero of My Own Life, an acclaimed documentary production about a person living with AIDS. This work reflected the organization’s broader engagement with the cultural and social realities facing gay communities during the AIDS era. The Glines’ repertory included plays such as Last Summer at Bluefish Cove, My Blue Heaven, The Quintessential Image, A Perfect Relationship, Forever After, Niagara Falls, Love Match, If This Isn’t Love!, The Wind Beneath My Wings, Newsboy, Sex Symbols, Wild Blue, Soul Survivor, T-Shirts, Untold Decades, and the musical Get Used to It! It also presented An Evening With Quentin Crisp and several works by John Glines, including On Tina Tuna Walk, Men Of Manhattan, Body And Soul, and Murder In Disguise. The organization’s archival legacy is represented in theatre and university collections, including the John Glines papers at the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Yale University Library records relating to The Glines and John Glines. The available reference material does not establish the organization’s current operating status, leadership, ownership, or an official active website.

The Glines was founded in New York City in 1976 by John Glines, Barry Laine, and Jerry Tobin as a nonprofit organization devoted to gay arts. Its stated mission was not simply to provide entertainment but to create and present work capable of fostering positive self-images and challenging negative stereotypes about gay people. Theatre was the organization’s principal medium, although its activities also included festivals, benefits, collaborations, and television work. During the late 1970s and 1980s, The Glines helped provide an institutional setting for openly gay playwrights and performers. Its programming included work by Jane Chambers, Doric Wilson, Victor Bumbalo, Richard Hall, Sydney Morris, Arch Brown, Joseph Pintauro, Anthony Bruno, Robert Patrick, Tom Wilson Weinberg, Harvey Fierstein, William M. Hoffman, and others. The organization also produced or presented several plays written by John Glines, including On Tina Tuna Walk, Men Of Manhattan, Body And Soul, and Murder In Disguise. Its repertory addressed relationships, sexuality, community, identity, and the pressures created by social prejudice. The Glines’ public profile grew substantially through Torch Song Trilogy, Harvey Fierstein’s landmark play about gay relationships, family, and self-definition. The production won the 1983 Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor. The organization subsequently co-produced William M. Hoffman’s As Is with Circle Repertory Company. That production, which dealt with the AIDS crisis and its human consequences, won the 1985 Drama Desk Award for Best Play and was nominated for three Tony Awards categories: Best Play, Best Director, and Best Actor. The organization also supported collective cultural programming. It presented the First and Second Gay American Arts Festivals in 1980 and 1981, creating broader showcases for gay artistic work. A 1982 benefit at The Town Hall in New York City brought together three one-act plays: Jane Chambers’s The Quintessential Image, Harvey Fierstein’s Forget Him, and Arthur Laurents’s A Loss of Memory. The event illustrates The Glines’ role as both a producer and a fundraising or community-oriented arts institution. In 1986, The Glines moved into television with Hero of My Own Life, described as an acclaimed documentary about a person living with AIDS. This expansion connected the organization’s theatrical mission with contemporary public discussion of AIDS, representation, and the lived experiences of gay people. Later, the Glines/PSX production of Howard Crabtree’s Whoop-Dee-Doo! won two Drama Desk Awards in 1994, for Best Musical Revue and Best Costume Design. The organization’s surviving cultural record includes numerous productions and references in theatre criticism and LGBTQ cultural history. Archival materials are held by the New York Public Library for the Performing Arts and Yale University Library, including papers associated with John Glines and records relating to The Glines. The available material does not document a current executive structure, ownership arrangement, operating budget, official website, or definitive closure date. Accordingly, its present status is recorded as unknown rather than active or defunct.

• 1994

  Whoop-Dee-Doo! wins two Drama Desk Awards

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  The Glines/PSX production wins awards for Best Musical Revue and Best Costume Design.

• 1986

  Hero of My Own Life reaches television

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  The Glines produces a documentary television work concerning a person living with AIDS.

• 1985

  As Is receives Drama Desk and Tony recognition

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  The Glines/Circle Repertory Company co-production of As Is wins Best Play at the Drama Desk Awards and receives three Tony nominations.

• 1983

  Torch Song Trilogy wins Tony Awards

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  The Glines production of Torch Song Trilogy wins Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor.

• 1982

  Town Hall benefit

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  The Glines holds a New York benefit featuring three one-act plays by Jane Chambers, Harvey Fierstein, and Arthur Laurents.

• 1981

  Second Gay American Arts Festival

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  The organization presents the second Gay American Arts Festival.

• 1980

  First Gay American Arts Festival

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  The Glines presents the first of two Gay American Arts Festivals associated with the organization.

• 1976

  The Glines is founded

  [1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  John Glines, Barry Laine, and Jerry Tobin establish the New York City nonprofit organization to create and present gay art.

A pioneering nonprofit gay-arts producer and presenter using theatre, festivals, benefits, and related media to support positive queer representation and challenge cultural stereotypes.

• Theatre production · 1983

  Torch Song Trilogy

  Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy was one of The Glines’ defining productions. Its success helped bring openly gay subject matter into the center of American theatrical recognition. The Glines production won the 1983 Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor, making it the organization’s most prominent award-winning production.

• Theatre co-production · 1985

  As Is

  The Glines co-produced William M. Hoffman’s As Is with Circle Repertory Company. The play addressed gay life and the AIDS crisis and received substantial critical and industry recognition. It won the 1985 Drama Desk Award for Best Play and was nominated for Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Director, and Best Actor.

• Musical revue · 1994

  Whoop-Dee-Doo!

  The Glines/PSX production of Howard Crabtree’s Whoop-Dee-Doo! represented the organization’s involvement in exuberant musical and revue forms as well as dramatic theatre. The production won the 1994 Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical Revue and Best Costume Design.

• Arts festival · 1980

  Gay American Arts Festivals

  The First and Second Gay American Arts Festivals, presented in 1980 and 1981, extended The Glines’ mission beyond individual plays. The festivals provided a broader setting for gay artistic expression and reinforced the organization’s role as a cultural platform for queer artists.

• Television documentary · 1986

  Hero of My Own Life

  Hero of My Own Life was an acclaimed documentary produced by The Glines in 1986 about a person living with AIDS. It marked the organization’s move into television and connected its representational mission with one of the most urgent issues affecting gay communities at the time.

• 1986

  Expansion from theatre into television documentaryProduct launch

  Background

  After years of producing and presenting gay theatre, The Glines broadened its media activity during the AIDS era.

  Action taken

  The organization produced Hero of My Own Life, a documentary about a person living with AIDS.

  Aftermath

  The production extended The Glines’ work in gay representation beyond the stage, although the available material does not document its broadcast details or longer-term institutional impact.

  Source

• 1994

  Whoop-Dee-Doo! earns two Drama Desk Awards[1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Glines/PSX production of Howard Crabtree’s Whoop-Dee-Doo! won Drama Desk Awards for Best Musical Revue and Best Costume Design.

• 1986

  The Glines enters television with Hero of My Own Life[1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  Product launch · Other

  The organization produced Hero of My Own Life, a documentary about a person living with AIDS, marking an expansion of its work beyond live theatre.

• 1985

  The Glines and Circle Repertory Company production of As Is receives major theatre recognition[1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The co-production of William M. Hoffman’s As Is won the Drama Desk Award for Best Play and received Tony nominations for Best Play, Best Director, and Best Actor.

• 1983

  The Glines production of Torch Song Trilogy wins two Tony Awards[1]The Glinesen.wikipedia.org

  Other

  The Glines production of Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy received Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor.

1. 1The Glinesen.wikipedia.org
2. 2John Glines papers, 1971–1998archives.nypl.org
3. 3The Glines Records, MS 1920archives.yale.edu