“Giovanni’s Room," the groundbreaking novel by Black activist, author and intellectual James A. Baldwin, unleashed a firestorm of controversy when first published. Now through June 29, Mt. Airy’s Quintessence Theatre Group presents the first stage adaptation of this seminal work approved by his estate.
The story examines one American expat’s struggle with sexual identity and social conformity while living in 1950s Paris. Debate raged around “Giovanni’s Room” even before its 1956 publication. A year earlier, Baldwin’s publisher, Knopf, …
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“Giovanni’s Room," the groundbreaking novel by Black activist, author and intellectual James A. Baldwin, unleashed a firestorm of controversy when first published. Now through June 29, Mt. Airy’s Quintessence Theatre Group presents the first stage adaptation of this seminal work approved by his estate.
The story examines one American expat’s struggle with sexual identity and social conformity while living in 1950s Paris. Debate raged around “Giovanni’s Room” even before its 1956 publication. A year earlier, Baldwin’s publisher, Knopf, not only turned down the book because it depicted gay life, but also advised him to burn the manuscript.
After Dial Press published “Giovanni’s Room,” Baldwin endured scathing reviews, like one mockingly titled “The Faerie Queen” in The Crisis, the official magazine of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP). Its author, James W. Ivy, blasted Baldwin for presenting “the scabrous subject of homosexual love.”
On the other hand, Alexander Burns, Quintessence cofounder and artistic director, believes the publication of “Giovanni’s Room” was an affirming event. “This novel and its characters played a significant role for me and for generations of Americans looking to find themselves and better understand their identity and sexuality,” Burns said.
“Giovanni’s Room” weathered the times well. It appeared on the BBC News’ 2019 list of 100 most influential novels and ranked second in the Publishing Triangle’s 100 best gay and lesbian novels. The book’s title also serves as the name of Philadelphia’s landmark Gayborhood bookstore. (Founded in 1973, it’s now called Philly AIDS Thrift @ Giovanni’s Room.)
Third time’s the charm
This production has been 17 years in the making, according to Benjamin Sprunger and Paul Oakley Stovall, co-adaptors of Baldwin’s novel. Sprunger read “Giovanni’s Room” in college and loved it. “In 2007, I began experimenting, pulling out parts of monologues, looking at characters, seeing how they might work onstage,” said Sprunger, a playwright and actor. Sprunger approached the Baldwin estate about the possibility of a theatrical production back then, but they turned him down.
Sprunger adjusted the script over several years, but the Baldwin estate again said no. Next, Sprunger and veteran playwright Paul Oakley Stovall, both artistic associates of Chicago’s About Face Theatre, teamed up to rework the adaptation.
In the meantime, Oakley, and Marilyn Campbell-Lowe, both actors, directors, and cofounders of Chicago’s New Classics Collective, penned “Written by Phillis,” about the life of the enslaved American poet. The play had its world premiere at Quintessence in 2023.
Oakley and Sprunger kept at the story throughout. “We continued to take swings at it over time,” Sprunger said. The retooled “Giovanni’s Room” script had readings in Chicago and New York. Finally, in 2024, Burns requested, and gained, limited stage rights for its world premiere.
The adaptation’s slow ripening worked in its favor. The story became more nuanced. “Our lives changed,” Stovall said. “We both dealt with tragedy.” The script reflects those experiences.
Staging the mind
Stovall and Sprunger faced the complex task of bringing the interior monologue of the novel’s main character, David, to the stage. They used as much of Baldwin’s text as possible. “We couldn’t have words going through David’s mind, but we could have other characters speak them,” Stovall said. Sprunger and Stovall hinted that the set shows a room from the 1950s but with special effects to conjure David’s memories.
“The novel consists of David’s memories, and certain moments stand out,” Sprunger said. He is “a wrecking ball. Terrible things happen to people who get close to him.”
Baldwin’s story remains pertinent today. Stovall and Sprunger said censorship is soaring and voices are being silenced, with many recent book bans focusing on LGBTQ+ content or people of color. That narrowing vision makes this moment perfect for this production. “You have a trans character, gay characters, people of other nationalities,” Sprunger said.
“Staging this production is a way of saying, ‘We’re here. We’re not going away,’” said Stovall, who also directs the adaptation.
Inspired casting
The cast features Dito van Reigersberg, winner of a Barrymore Award and co-founder of Pig Iron Theatre Company. Reigersberg, famous for his drag queen alter ego Martha Graham Cracker, plays both Jacques, an older gay businessman, and David’s father.
“Both, in a way, are father figures for David,” Reigersberg said. “Jacques basically tells David, ‘You’re lucky right now. Go ahead and love [Giovanni] as scary as it may be.’” David’s dad, on the other hand, has tried — and perhaps suspects he has failed — to instill a traditional view of masculinity in David.
Reigersberg, also a singer (and dancer), aims to vocalize the difference between Jacques and Dad. “I want Jacques to be comfortable in English, to give him the lightest possible [French] accent,” Reigersberg said.
The cast, the play’s dreamlike atmosphere, and dialogue developed from the novel allow one, as Stovall put it, “to get in bed with Baldwin and stay there.”
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Giovanni’s Room runs through June 29 at Quintessence Theatre, 7137 Germantown Ave., Mt. Airy. The show is recommended for audiences ages 13 years or older. Tickets are $30 to $60. Multiple discounts, group sales, event details are available at BoxOffice@QTGrep.org or by calling 215-987-4450.
Special programming includes Cast Talkback Night Thursday June 12, 7 p.m.; Post-Show Convos on Sunday, June 15, 3 p.m.; Industry Night Wednesday, June 18, 7 p.m.; Queer Affinity Night Thursday, June 19, 7 p.m., and Teen Night – featuring free food, non-alcoholic beverages, and meeting with theater professionals, Friday, June 20, 7:30 p.m.