BEGIN:VCALENDAR
VERSION:2.0
PRODID:-//GayOut//Event Export//EN
CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
UID:406971@gayout.com
DTSTAMP:20261109T090330Z
DTSTART:20261108T150000Z
DTEND:20261108T163000Z
SUMMARY:Jerker
DESCRIPTION:JERKER - Chicago Social Butterflies\\n« All Events\\nThis ev
 ent has passed.\\nJERKER\\nNovember 8 @ 3:00 pm\\nEvent Series\\n(See All
 )\\n$25 – $30\\nFunny\\, sexually explicit\\, provocative\\, and unexpe
 ctedly tender\\, Robert Chesley’s JERKER remains one of the most remark
 able works to emerge from the AIDS era. First produced in 1986\\, the pla
 y begins with two men connecting through telephone sex. They have never m
 et. They know very little about each other. Their conversations are anony
 mous\\, imaginative\\, playful\\, and often outrageously erotic.\\nAs the
 y continue calling\\, however\\, something begins to change. Between the 
 fantasies and sexual games\\, the men reveal fragments of their everyday 
 lives\\, their insecurities\\, their humor\\, and their growing affection
 . Without ever sharing a physical space\\, they begin to create something
  that looks remarkably like a relationship.\\nAnd outside those conversat
 ions\\, the AIDS epidemic is transforming their world.\\nChesley\\, who d
 ied of AIDS-related complications in 1990\\, was an outspoken defender of
  gay sexuality at a moment when fear and shame dominated much of the publ
 ic conversation about gay men.\\nRather than retreat from sexual expressi
 on\\, he placed it at the very center of his work. He insisted that pleas
 ure\\, desire\\, laughter\\, and intimacy were essential parts of gay lif
 e and deserved to be celebrated\\, even in the shadow of death.\\nThat in
 sistence made JERKER controversial. It also made the play revolutionary.\
 \nBut what may surprise contemporary audiences most isn’t its explicit 
 language or sexual frankness. It is the tenderness of the relationship th
 at gradually emerges.\\nBeneath its provocative surface\\, JERKER is a pr
 ofoundly human story about loneliness\\, companionship\\, vulnerability\\
 , and the courage it takes to love another person.\\nRobert Chesley was a
 mong the first American playwrights to confront the AIDS crisis directly.
  His groundbreaking NIGHT SWEAT (1984) was one of the earliest full-lengt
 h plays about AIDS. Two years later\\, JERKER challenged censorship and c
 onventional attitudes toward gay sexuality\\, insisting that intimacy\\, 
 desire\\, and love remain essential even in the face of death. Chesley di
 ed of AIDS-related complications in 1990 at age 47. This 40th-anniversary
  production honors both his artistic legacy and the generation whose live
 s he documented.\\nFor this special 40th-anniversary production\\, Open S
 pace Arts brings together Jason Bowen and Joshua Bowen\\, who are husband
 s in real life. Jason’s Chicago theater career includes founding Quest 
 Theatre Ensemble\\, and his performance credits include the national tour
  of Golden Girls: The Laughs Continue. Joshua is an actor\\, producer\\, 
 and entertainment attorney.\\nTheir real-life relationship adds another d
 imension to Chesley’s exploration of intimacy and connection. And in a 
 theater where just 25 audience members sit only a few feet from the perfo
 rmers\\, every laugh\\, hesitation\\, confession\\, and moment of tendern
 ess becomes immediate and personal.\\nForty years after its premiere\\, J
 ERKER continues to challenge us. But it also offers something wonderfully
  simple: the chance to witness two people discovering that what began as 
 sex has become love.\\nJERKER contains explicit sexual language\\, mature
  themes\\, and partial nudity. Recommended for adult audiences.\\nAdd to 
 calendar\\nGoogle Calendar\\niCalendar\\nOutlook 365\\nOutlook Live\\nDet
 ails\\nDate:\\nNovember 8\\nTime:\\n3:00 pm - 4:30 pm\\nSeries:\\nJERKER\
 \nCost:\\n$25 – $30\\nEvent Category: theater-performance\\nWebsite:\\n
 https://openspacearts.org/before-we-are-history\\nVenue\\nOpen Space Arts
 \\n1411 W Wilson Ave.\\nChicago\\,\\nIL\\n60640\\nUnited States\\n+ Googl
 e Map\\nRelated Events\\nJERKER\\nNovember 9 @ 3:00 pm\\nJackalope Theatr
 e Company Presents “Engines and Instruments of Flight: A Fantasia in Th
 ree Acts\\,” November 11 – December 19\\nNovember 11 @ 7:30 pm\\nAdol
 escent Salvation\\nNovember 12 @ 7:00 pm\\nhttps://www.gayout.com/usa-can
 ada/united-states/chicago/events/jerker-2026-11-08
LOCATION:Open Space Arts\\, 1411 W Wilson Ave.
URL:https://www.gayout.com/usa-canada/united-states/chicago/events/jerker-2026-11-08
STATUS:CONFIRMED
END:VEVENT
END:VCALENDAR