Ain Gordon
217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous
“Ain Gordon haunts the margins of history...conjur(ing) the sort of distant lives that don’t make it into textbooks, processed into oblivion by what he calls history’s ‘ruthless editing machine.’” —The New York Times
217 Boxes of Dr. Henry Anonymous tells the largely unknown story of a courageous gay psychiatrist whose activism made a profound and lasting impact on LGBTQ civil rights. Disguised in a mask and using a voice modulator, John E. Fryer testified as Dr. Henry Anonymous on a homosexuality panel at the 1972 Annual Meeting of the American Psychiatric Association (APA). Facing the loss of his medical license should his identity be discovered, Fryer’s testimony resulted in the APA’s removal of homosexuality from its Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (DSM) in 1973. Drawn from 217 boxes of Fryer’s personal papers, Obie Award-winning writer/director Ain Gordon re-imagines this historic moment through the eyes of three key figures in Fryer’s life, bringing it to UCLA to coincide with the 50th anniversary of the Stonewall riots. Featuring Laura Esterman, Derek Lucci, and Ken Marks.
This event is presented by UCLA's Center for the Art of Performance in association with the UCLA School Of Theater, Film And Television.
Event Date: Oct. 11 & 12, Friday, Oct. 11, 8 p.m.; Saturday, Oct. 12, 3 p.m. & 8 p.m.
Venue: MacGowan Hall, Freud Playhouse
Price: $41–$56 General Admission, $15 UCLA Students
The Freud playhouse is located in the northeast corner of campus, next to the Broad Art Center, off of Sunset Boulevard and Hilgard Avenue.
Parking is available in Lot 3.
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