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Dachau for Queers

The LAB

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DACHAU FOR QUEERS


Workshop Production of a New Play by Daniel Neer


Directed by Ted Gorodetzky


Produced by The LAB 


It’s 1970, and runaway Jonah Goodson is confined at California’s notorious Atascadero Psychiatric Hospital. His “sickness”? Homosexuality. Navigating a psychotropic maze of barbaric treatments, he encounters the most unlikely guides – but are they real or imagined?


Gruesomely referred to as Dachau for Queers, the maximum-security forensic institution Atascadero Psychiatric Hospital was widely renowned for its experimental therapies of electrical and pharmacological shock treatments subjected upon inmates to "cure" them of their perceived sexual deviations. The fictional Jonah Goodson, estranged from his family and adrift in 1970’s San Francisco, gets caught in the belly of that beast and wrestles with his jumbled mind to carve a journey out. At times shockingly brutal and at others comically surreal, Daniel Neer’s new play is an innovative odyssey punctuated by surprising characters, leaps of fantasy, and heartfelt truths.


Written by Daniel Neer
Directed by Ted Gorodetzky
Cast:  Tristan Jenis, Lois Sach*, Neena Boyle, Ted Gorodetzky*, Avery Leach
(*appearing courtesy AEA)


Runtime: 80 minutes with no intermission.  

Details
Run Time: 80 mins
Ticket Price: $25

PWYC Options $10+

Venue: Theatre Exile

Dates: September 25, 2025 - September 28, 2025

September 25, 2025 7.00pm

1340-48 S. 13th Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 26, 2025 7.00pm

1340-48 S. 13th Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 27, 2025 7.00pm

1340-48 S. 13th Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options

September 28, 2025 3.00pm

1340-48 S. 13th Street

General Admission: $25

PWYC Options


About the Artist

The Lab, a collaboration of Ted Gorodetzky and Daniel Neer, is a multidisciplinary development and production company creating new works in visual and performing arts. (http://thisisthelab.com/) 


Daniel Neer is a playwright, librettist, and lyricist based in Philadelphia. PLAYS: The Interview (Richmond Shepherd Theatre NYC), Trope Topaz (Dramatists Guild Footlights). OPERA LIBRETTI: Independence Eve (UrbanArias, Opera Birmingham, American Opera Projects), And Here We Are (Experiments in Opera, National Sawdust, Merkin Concert Hall), Mercury Falling (Long Leaf Opera Festival), Odes to Earth and Air (Adelphi University). CHAMBER MUSIC: BQE (Queens New Music Festival), Bruce Bailey (Brooklyn BEAT Festival). His lyrics to art song and vocal chamber works have premiered with the United Nations Chamber Music Society, Banff Center for the Arts, Bar Harbor Music Festival, Ensemble Pi, Phoenix Festival (Nyack, NY), Two Sides Sounding (Brooklyn), The Camarata Trio (Columbus, OH), and Morse Recital Hall (Yale University).


Ted Gorodetzky enjoys a diverse career as a performer, director and writer. With roles ranging from musical comedy to independent film, he has performed on stage and onscreen across the US and overseas, as well as directing numerous plays, musical productions and creating filmed media works.

  • Daniel NeerWriter & Producerdanielneer@gmail.com
  • Tristan JenisCasttristanjenis0313@gmail.com
  • Lois SachCastloissach@comcast.net
  • Avery LeachCastaveryoleach@gmail.com
  • Neena Boyle Cast
  • Ted GorodetzkyProducer & Director & Casttedgoro@gmail.com

Accessibility & Content Considerations

Contact the Fringe Festival Box Office for up to date accessibility information.

This event is appropriate for ages 13+

Covid-19 Safety policy

This event does not require masks to be worn


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