Jonny Stax
A rock n' roll ride with the real-life gay bikers who kickstarted the sexual revolution in 1950s Chicago.
Acclaimed theatre artist Scott Bradley and recording artist Mercy Bell are creating a musical experience based on the Chuck Renslow biography Leatherman by Tracy Baim and Owen Keehnen. Jonny Stax and About Face Theatre lead the commissioning team behind the effort to bring these trailblazers to life in an immersive transmedia experience honoring the power of LGBTQIA+ individuals.
LEATHER DADDIES recounts the adventures of artist-entrepreneur-outlaws Domingo Orejudos (pictured left) and Chuck Renslow (pictured below) as they lead a pack of leather-clad rebels, pushing the boundaries of art, activism, and sexual exploration at a time of crushing conformity and persecution. They dreamt of a world where interracial same-sex love could be expressed without shame or hiding. That world didn’t exist, so they turned their dream into an underground empire that would grow into a global community.
LEATHER DADDIES
Meet the creators of LEATHER DADDIES
Theatre artist Scott Bradley &
Recording artist Mercy Bell
Watch the making of
the Musical
Through their residency, a creative idea becomes reality
Leather Salon - Chicago - Nov 7, 2022
Leather Stories
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LEATHER DADDIES illuminates the ingenuity and resilience in LGBTQIA+ communities. Given the current backlash to civil rights progress, we need powerful stories of our brave forebears and contemporaries to guide and inspire us as we fend off attacks on young people and communities of color.
In partnership with the Leather Archives & Museum, LEATHER DADDIES will be working with queer and sex-positive communities across the country to collect and share intergenerational stories that amplify our rich diversity of voices and histories.
Support the birth of this exciting project.
It takes a village to make Leather Daddies!
Pictured: Artist Dom "Etienne" Orejudos with his mural at the Gold Coast Bar.
JOIN THE LEATHER DADDIES WORLD
The LEATHER DADDIES musical experience and story collection are made possible through the support of the following individual donors and organizational partners.
Producers
About Face Theatre & Jonny Stax
Partners
Authors Tracy Baim & Owen Keehnen
Leather Archives & Museum
Commissioners
Up to $10,000
Rob & Libby Mayor
John Sanders & Jason Held
Up to $5000
Todd Buchacker
Cassandra Damm
$1000
Carolyn Grisko
Michael Leppen
Scott Smith
Champions
Up to $1000
Roberta Mayor, Christopher Okiishi
Up to $500
Karen A. Reitan, Jack Jetmund
Up to $250
Heather Bailey, Tracy Baim, Owen Keehnen, Benjamin Sprunger
Up to $100
Greg Armknecht, Michelle Bagshaw, Ian Bell, Jeff Berry, Sue Carrier, Andrea Cedusky, Susan Fritz, Hilary Holbrook, George Lynch, Michael McAdams, John Peller, Michael & Maria Roloff, Jane M Saks, Gwen Senio, Jen Shook, Daniel Smith, Michael Warren
Support art = equity projects
Jonny Stax provides development assistance to creative ventures that progress justice, equity, and diversity. Each project is given resources, time, and space supported by contributions and grant monies working with non-profit partners in their home state.