Three Queer Plays

Collected for the first time find three original full-length plays showcasing LGBTQA+ characters and themes. "The Tragedy of Doctor Gnosis," originally published in 2005, retells the Faustian bargain in modern gay terms; Gnosis, a self-absorbed Medieval history and literature professor, risks life and career in order to remain in the glow of Nicholas Bell, an otherworldly young man-with apocalyptic results. "Still the Parade" parodies John Webster's "Duchess of Malfi" and sets Leon and Nick inside a tempestuous and comic war-of-wills that uses satire to insist on the universal sanctity of marriage. And "Who Killed Martini Olive?" is a raucous and raw whodunit drag murder mystery with alternate endings that follows Inspector Bottom as he investigates a gaggle of jealous stage queens for clues in the death of silicon-deep San Francisco nightclub performer Martini Olive, a campy drama that plays out through direct and hilarious interactions with the audience. Steve Cirrone holds a PhD in English from the Claremont Graduate School (1997) and is published in several genres, including fiction (Angel's Trumpet), memoire (Natural Venus) and philosophy (Secular Morality). He has won national awards for his magazine journalism (QSF) in San Francisco where he also bartended regularly in the Castro district. He currently lives with husband Charley and their beloved doodle Isabel in Sacramento where he teaches English literature, composition and creative writing at City College.