By Denny Patterson

Martin Sherman’s Bent, the Pulitzer and Tony-nominated drama that centered on the Nazi’s use of the Holocaust to wipe out gay people, will play at Empire Stage in Fort Lauderdale from September 1-25, 2022. 

This is the inaugural production of ArtBuzz Theatrics, created by South Florida actor Larry Buzzeo.

“During COVID, the opportunities for live theater dried up, and as actors age, fewer opportunities are for the taking,” he says. “I was talking to a few of my friends who were actors and directors, and we decided we wanted to work in the future to create our own opportunities. We also felt we wanted a voice in our community and a place to tell the stories we care about. Now that COVID is being managed, it appears that many people were hungry for live theater, and we thought this would be a good time to launch our inaugural production.”

Buzzeo and his team chose Bent because it had name recognition and was marketable. The title of the play refers to the slang word “bent,” which was used in some European countries to refer to homosexuals. 

When the play was first performed in 1979, there was only a trickle of historical research and awareness about Nazi persecution of homosexuals. In some regards, the play helped increase that historical research and education in the 80s and 90s.

“Even though the show is over 40 years old, we thought it was timely in this political climate and as a reminder that the loss of rights can be incremental and lead to tragic results,” Buzzeo says.  

“I find the show compelling with empathetic characters. The parallels between the 1930s and 2020s are frightening. The show can serve as a wake up call and a history lesson. You know the old saying: ‘Those who do not learn from history are doomed to repeat it.’”

Bent has also made a personal impact on Buzzeo since he has done the show a few times in the past.

“When I was younger, I was cast as the lead,” he says. “I have also previously directed a production. It enabled me to gain a deeper understanding of the horrors of the Holocaust and specifically how gay men were victimized. Playing the part of Max is an emotional rollercoaster. In the time span of the play, he evolves from a shallow playboy who doesn’t know how to love himself, much less another, to a fully formed human struggling through the horrors he is subjected to. Ultimately, he learns what it means to love.”

Since Bent is ArtBuzz Theatric’s debut performance, Buzzeo will be seeking feedback from audiences. He hopes the company will do at least three productions per year, which will include some LGBTQ-focused works, as well as others that he believes will have a message for the community. 

Buzzeo also envisions Empire Stage being their home base for the time being.

“Empire Stage has been supportive of providing us a venue to launch our production company, and we want this theater company to be professional, but not shy away from calling it a ‘community’ theater, where locals who may have other jobs and responsibilities can still engage in a meaningful artistic enterprise,” he says. “We can bring these fully formed projects to an audience, and we would also like to give our actors the opportunity to use our space as a way to promote themselves in their own professional endeavors. If you are committing your time and energy to us, then it’s only fair that we promote them in our posts and playbills. Hopefully, since we’re all artists and performers on this team, our sense of respect for the art and the actors will make us stand out as a venue.”