The South long has known "bachelor uncles," "walkers," and other euphemisms for gay men who were part of families and social groups, but who remained closeted, even if their sexual preferences were known, if not discussed. "The Children of Tennessee Williams," a look at a half-century of gay participation in the New Orleans Mardi Gras scene, opens the Stella Artois Q Fest Thursday at the Hi-Pointe Cinema, beginning a weekend of fun and frolic and films featuring gay actors, directors, subjects and more.
It's overstating a little bit to either credit or blame the great St. Louis playwright for the film, which deals with the Krewe of Yuga, founded in 1959 as a social refuge for gay New Orleanians who wanted to participate in Mardi Gras activities. It looks as if director Tim Wolff, who will be at the opening, needed a title that would have a little impact, because there was little if any film presence for Williams.
Instead, with aging film clips ad recordings from a half-century ago, men in their 70s and 80s reflect on that time, with talk of police raids and rough treatment from the law. Things began to change in the 1960s and 70s, and the Krewe of Yuga became known for fancy-dress balls and complicated, highly decorated floats for the parades.
Wolff has done a great deal of work, and he has drawn some good stories from the men who stepped out of the shadows.
The Sons of Tennessee opens the Q Fest at the Hi-Pointe Cinema tonight (Thursday) at 7
—Joe