‘Perfect Arrangement’ and the Art of Queer Survival

By Dakota Parks for Inweekly

In 1950s America, being yourself could cost you everything.

That tension sits at the heart of “Perfect Arrangement,” the current Studio 400 production at Pensacola Little Theatre. Written by Topher Payne, the play offers a look at life during the Lavender Scare, when queer federal employees were deemed national security threats. Concurrent with the anti-Communist Red Scare, this government-led moral panic forced thousands of LGBTQ+ federal employees out of their jobs, shattering careers, families and lives, often followed by the threat of arrest. What unfolds onstage is part comedy, part cautionary tale—an exploration of love, fear and the elaborate performances required to survive when the truth is dangerous.

“I love stories that use comedy to reveal the truth, and I love stories that use history to show us what has changed, and, perhaps more importantly, what has not,” said cast member Laynie Gibson.

Gibson plays Norma Baxter, who, alongside Bob Martindale, works as a federal employee tasked with identifying homosexuals among the government’s ranks—despite the fact that both are gay and trapped in lavender marriages meant to shield them from suspicion.

“I think each of the characters in this play are confronting their own relationships to shame,” Gibson said. “The mainstream was heavily pushing a narrative that they were disgusting, immoral, sick people. Norma is a keenly intelligent woman, and it doesn’t take her long to see that there is no real difference between herself and the people being vilified around her.”

Gibson prepared for the role of Norma by exploring the character’s emotional world, including her frustration with constant self-monitoring, her pragmatism as a federal employee and the ever-present danger of living authentically during the rise of McCarthyism.

“I feel intensely empathetic toward Norma’s frustration with self-censorship and the pressure to perform for the comfort of other people,” Gibson said. “While I have had the privilege of living authentically in my personal and professional lives for some time now, I have known the pain of hiding or questioning where and with whom I was allowed to be my authentic self. Norma is my age, and we share many qualities, but while preparing I often had to remind myself that the life I get to live would have seemed wildly impossible to her.”

While “Perfect Arrangement” is set in the 1950s, its story of scrutiny, surveillance and the vilification of queer people resonates strongly today, amid nationwide rollbacks of DEI programs, bans on LGBTQ+ topics in classrooms, restrictions on gender-affirming care, renewed challenges to marriage equality and sustained attacks on transgender rights.

Director Renee Jordan explained that these undertones are precisely why plays on this theme are important.

“What I find to be the most powerful tool in times like these is storytelling,” Jordan said. “Audiences are filled with all walks of life, so it’s a way to get people in the door, no matter what their political opinions are, and get them to watch life unfold for someone that’s different than they are. Art, storytelling and plays are some of the best ways to reach people who you can’t reach with normal conversations about hot-button topics. It reminds people what happened during this time and how that absolutely cannot be repeated.”

Both Jordan and “Perfect Arrangement” take cues from 1950s slapstick comedies like “I Love Lucy,” with Jordan using precise lighting and sound design to give audiences the sense of being in a live studio audience. Jokes are accentuated with laugh tracks, applause marks key entrances and a few playful product placements even appear throughout.

“I’m constantly trying to remind the audience the exhaustion of how quickly these characters have to be completely different people in the blink of an eye,” Jordan noted. “Whenever we have characters on stage that are not aware of the situation, or in on the joke, the lights are really bright. Then, when anyone leaves the stage and we see real life again, those lights will be warmer. The lights are really showcasing the flip of the switch and keep our audience moving through it.”

When thinking of standout moments from the show, Jordan points to a line that captures both the stakes and the humanity of the story.

“There is one line in act one that always gives me chills,” Jordan said. “There’s a conversation [about] photos that they can’t keep displayed around the house, because it would destroy the image. Maureen McNeil, who plays Millie Martindale in the show, says, ‘They’re a reminder of who we are.’ Those photos are a reminder of who we are, that wants to hold on to what’s precious to you, even in the face of arrest, death, violence. It’s beautiful.”

Both Gibson and Jordan hope audiences leave the theater reflecting on the lives of others. Gibson wants viewers to consider not only their own safety, but also how they can support and protect community members in today’s world who are vulnerable to similar targeting and unable to hide in plain sight.

“You don’t know what people are dealing with. The faces we see when people smile or the faces we see on social media, those are not always showing what’s happening underneath,” Jordan said. “Having grace for your fellow man is the only thing that’s going to get us through our [inability] to see past our own biases and our own rose-colored glasses that we all have. We have to take those off to see full humanity and to know when to give grace, comfort and support.”

Pensacola Little Theatre’s production of “Perfect Arrangement”

WHEN: Friday, Jan. 30-Sunday, Feb. 8

WHERE: Pensacola Little Theatre, 400 S. Jefferson St.

COST: $25

DETAILS: pensacolalittletheatre.com