A secret arrangement. Two seemingly ordinary marriages. Four people trying to protect their identities while working for the very government determined to expose them.
That’s the premise of Perfect Arrangement, the comedy-drama scheduled for Thursday through Sunday at Kalamazoo College’s Festival Playhouse. Set in spring 1950 at the precipice of the Korean War, the play explores the Lavender Scare, a lesser-known chapter of American history in which the federal government targeted gay and lesbian employees and forced many from their jobs because of their sexual orientation.
The story follows two same-sex couples who enter opposite-sex marriages to protect their careers and reputations. Their carefully constructed arrangement begins to unravel when two of them are assigned to a government task force charged with identifying and removing people like themselves from federal service.
For the student cast and crew, staging the play has meant balancing its humor with the responsibility of portraying a painful and often overlooked period of American history.
Hannah Haines ’27 plays Barbara Grant, a highly educated translator for the U.S. Department of State whose strength and complexity extend beyond her carefully maintained public image.
“I think she’s one of my favorite characters that I’ve ever played,” said Haines, an English major from Grand Rapids who has extensive theatre https://www.kzoo.edu/academic/programs/theatre/experience in high school and at K. “She definitely has faults, like everyone else, but she’s very strong and proud in her identity.”
Although the story takes place more than 70 years ago, Haines sees plenty of reasons for contemporary audiences to connect with its themes.
“It’s written well, and there’s a lot of relevant content to it, even though it’s a historical play,” she said. “I think we’re all proud to be in a play that is highlighting serious stuff that happened through a comedic and enjoyable lens.”
A History Worth Remembering
“When I mention the Lavender Scare, most people haven’t really heard of it before,” Haines said. “I think it’s going to be good for a lot of people to see it.”
That unfamiliarity gives the production its urgency. The Lavender Scare unfolded alongside the more widely recognized Red Scare, the Cold War-era campaign to identify and remove suspected communists from American government and society.
Beginning in the late 1940s, federal officials increasingly treated gay and lesbian employees as security threats. The prevailing justification was that their sexual orientation made them vulnerable to blackmail and therefore unsuitable for positions of public trust. Those claims fueled investigations, interrogations and a widespread effort to remove LGBTQ+ people from government service.
Thousands of federal employees were fired or pressured to resign because of their actual or perceived sexual orientation. The U.S. Civil Service Commission ended its ban on gay employees in the federal civil service in 1975, and the State Department ended its Foreign Service ban in 1977.
The historical setting also brings responsibilities for the cast and production team. Stage manager Gracie Burnham ’27 said the subject matter requires an intentional approach, especially when the script uses language that reflects the prejudice and discrimination of the era.
“There is quite a bit of language that is harder to use, and you have to be careful and intentional about working that in,” Burnham said. “We always need to be aware of how everyone’s feeling in general, especially with the content.”
Bringing the Story to the Stage
Guest director Miriam Thomas, associate curator of adult programs at the Kalamazoo Institute of Arts, leads the production. Haines praised Thomas’ ability to balance constructive feedback and direction with encouragement.
Tickets Available
The Festival Playhouse will stage Perfect Arrangement at 7:30 p.m. Thursday, November 5–Saturday, November 7, and at 2 p.m. Sunday, November 8, at the Nelda K. Balch Playhouse, 129 Thompson St. Thursday’s show will include a cast talkback after the performance. Sunday’s performance will feature American Sign Language interpretation, made possible by The Jim Gilmore Jr. Foundation in conjunction with Theatre Kalamazoo. Tickets are available at festivalplayhouse.ludus.com and cost $25 for adults, $20 for seniors, $15 for non-K students and $5 for children 12 and younger. K students, faculty, staff and theatre alumni are admitted free.
Burnham, an English and theatre arts double major with a minor in history, discovered stage management after arriving at K. Earlier this term, she led the stage management team for Face Off Theatre Company’s production of Harlem Duet at the Festival Playhouse. She hopes to pursue additional theatrical opportunities after K.
“I wasn’t planning on studying theatre when I came to K,” Burnham said. “I then had two classes in my first term at K with Dr. Quincy Thomas, who is now my advisor, and I quickly realized that I wasn’t going to stay away. The rest of my life is still very much up in the air, but I know theatre will always be a part of it.”
Audiences rarely see a stage manager’s work, but every performance depends on it. From the booth, Burnham calls lighting, sound and scene-change cues while coordinating with the backstage crew. The production’s emotional demands add another responsibility as she checks in regularly with cast members throughout rehearsals.
For Burnham, the willingness to take on challenging material makes Perfect Arrangement a strong fit for the Festival Playhouse.
“One of the best things about K is how willing we are as a campus and as a community to address those stories that sometimes can be a lot more daunting because they can be a lot more intense to work on in general,” Burnham said. “But that’s what makes them stories that matter so much.”
Through its combination of comedy, tension and history, the production offers audiences a chance to encounter a significant period in American history while experiencing the humanity of live theatre. Haines also hopes audiences recognize the work that goes into telling a story like this. The cast and crew have spent hours rehearsing and preparing, investing considerable time and energy in emotionally demanding material. But the result, she said, is a production that offers more than a history lesson.
“It’s a great opportunity to learn about that time period through a fun story,” Haines said.