"Queer Street" is boxing slang for a fighter who has been knocked semi-conscious, but remains on his feet.  QUEER STREET the stage play is the metaphysical, symbolic journey of Kiki Diamond, an aging boxer who squares off in the ring with the world's toughest opponent... LIFE.  As Kiki is being pummeled in the ring, he slips in and out of consciousness and rages about the cards that LIFE has dealt him.  Realizing that his existence has been inconsequential, he decides to call it quits and chooses to retreat to "Queer Street".  "Queer Street" is a dream world, and at first it's bliss for the antiquated pugilist as he winds up in his old childhood hideout of a rooftop somewhere in the Bronx.

However, "Queer Street" is also that place between the living and the dead, and Kiki is haunted by his own ghosts and demons who try and drag him back to the real world or force him into the next.  But the stubborn boxer refuses to budge... That is until he is visited by another "Queer Street" wanderer who helps him re-discover the unbridled spirit and joy of living.  With that revelation, Kiki summons up his courage and returns to the ring to slug it out.  Only this time, he has learned to adjust... just enough to survive one more round. 

"Queer Street" comes at you from the angle of  "The Last of The Urban White Boys"-- a heterosexual, working class male.  Someone who was schooled & conditioned  by men from a world before Kennedy was shot... someone who had the best of intentions and is holding on to information and values that have become obsolete in the new millennium.  What becomes of such people?  Their numbers are dwindling and society casts a cold eye on them unless they are needed.  As we advance in education, technology and culture, these men are quickly becoming outcasts who don't fit in, that is until the next disaster... and there is always a next disaster.

"Queer Street" is a spiritual journey, but make no mistake... the ideas and language can be rough and harshly funny.  It is the poetic language of an old school, New York Irish/American street kid, who pulls no punches.  If it can be said that the current crop of plays being produced are sensitive explorations into human relations and psychology, "Queer Street" is just opposite.  It is an explosion of "in your face" ideas and opinions that are thought by many, but rarely expressed in a polite and politically correct society.

"Queer Street" is a full length original play with no act breaks.  It requires three actors (2 male/1 female).  It has two settings (a boxing ring and a tenement roof) which can be minimal to elaborate in design.  Sound and lighting are intricate and there are several (quick) costume changes for two actors playing many roles. 

Running Time Approximately:  1 hour/20 minutes

"Queer Street" Photo by Nicholas B. Daddazio