The inspiration to write this play began, innocently enough, in the living room of the house I rent. If I can be noted for anything in my life, I would hope people would say: “Robert was a voracious reader!” I was reading Richard Evans’ second book of his trilogy on the rise of the Third Reich – “The Third Reich in Power” – when I came across a chapter on the Nazi’s resurrection of “Paragraph 175.” The Nazi’s decided to use this law (written in 1871) to arrest, imprison and ultimately destroy as many of the openly (and hidden) gay men of their epoch. As I was reading and studying this work by Evans, it suddenly dawned on me: “Can I turn this subject into a play about the lives of gay men during the Nazi regime?” Over three years, forty-five rewrites and too many sleepless nights later, I had my opus.
Other texts were also inspirational to me, in particular: “IBM and the Holocaust” by Edwin Black. This is a work I cannot recommend enough. Do you really want to know how corrupt corporations can be? You will dispose of all of your IBM equipment, sell your IBM stock and compose letters-to-the-editor long before you finish this book. “The Years of Extermination” by Saul Friedlander is a weighty tome on how insane, brutal, vicious and perverted the NAZI regime ultimately became. “Berlin” by David Clay Large gave me an incredible insight into Germanic culture and the architecture, spirit and grace of Germany’s capital city.
So please feel free to explore the site. Included are poster designs, poster prototypes, a set design, costume designs, the original and third rewrite of the ending of the play, along with a brief example of my decision to change dialogue. I have also included a blog for you to post comments, questions and opinions as well. My hope, of course, is for my work to be a fully-staged play. If you are interested in producing “Paragraph 175” or other aspects of the work, please email me at: