Anti-gay bigots have harassed actors and vandalized the historic Nashville Dinner Theatre in Tennesse after recent performances of the hit Broadway musical RENT a rock opera with music and lyrics by Jonathan Larson[1] based on Giacomo Puccini’s opera La Bohème. It tells the story of a group of impoverished young artists and musicians struggling to survive and create in New York’s Lower East Side in the thriving days of Bohemian Alphabet City, under the shadow of HIV/AIDS.
Actors in the show have been subjected to anti-gay slurs and being pelted by eggs outside the theatre and started tossing eggs at them and shouting anti-gay slurs. The doors of the theatre have been papered with flyers and pamphlets for the local Church of Scientology and handwritten notes claiming “God Hates Queers” and RENT advertisements were ripped down.
“It’s a shame that anyone would target RENT for any type of protests based on hate, since the show’s main theme is love and acceptance” admits Kaine Riggan, the owner of the theatre. I wish I could offer the vandals some comp tickets to see the show, because I’m afraid they’ve missed the point.”