Max and I met at an NYU/Columbia Uptown/Downtown partnership event and bonded immediately over a shared obsession — musicals that actually sound like contemporary music. When he told me about the UpStairs Lounge, I was stunned. I had never heard the story. On Gay Pride Day, 1973, a fire broke out in a New Orleans bar that was a refuge for the city's gay community. Thirty-two people died. And in the days that followed, the tragedy was largely ignored — by the press, by politicians, by the church. No mayor sent condolences. No flags were flown at half-staff.

Max's musical fictionalized the patrons of the bar, but followed the arc of the real story — including the fire's mysterious origins and the terrible fact that the doors were locked and people were trapped. It felt like a story that demanded to be told. It was also my first production after graduating from Columbia's MFA program, and I threw everything I had into it.

From the beginning I knew the production had to be immersive. You can't tell the story of an extraordinary gay bar by keeping the audience at a safe distance. Working with my designers, we transformed the entire Lynn Redgrave Theater into the UpStairs Lounge. The audience walked directly onto the stage. There were tables and chairs all around them. The bar's decorations surrounded the more traditional seating. The line between audience and story dissolved — because that was the point. This forgotten history wasn't something happening to other people. It was ours.

For the ending, I made a choice I'm still proud of. Rather than staging the fire itself, we let a bright light pour through the doors. And the patrons — one by one — walked into it. Moments later, they returned: radiant, fabulous, idealized versions of themselves. It was also the moment the modern character Wes's future fashion show was revealed — the collection he'd been inspired to create by his journey back in time to meet these people, to learn their stories, and to understand something essential about himself and his history.

The production was nominated for three Drama Desk Awards, two Lucille Lortel Awards, and I received an Audelco nomination for Best Director. The cast included Jeremy Pope — who has since received a Tony nomination for Ain't Too Proud and an Oscar nomination for The Inspection — in the role of Wes.