Theater

June in Theatre History: Hamilton's Tony Sweep, Queer Theatre's Rebirth, and More

This month in theatre history saw the creation of the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities, the revival of queer theatre's The Other Side of Silence, and Hamilton's 2016 Tony Awards sweep.

American Theatre·Jun 3, 2026·via American Theatre

Artistic director Mark Finley, Michael Michelle Lynch, Rollerena, Chris Andersson, and playwright Doric Wilson after a performance of Wilson’s 'Street Theater' at the Eagle NYC in 2002—its first mainstage production after reviving The Other Side of Silence. (Photo courtesy of TOSOS)

Theatre History

June 3, 2026 The Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History and Criticism Leave a comment

This Month in Theatre History

June highlights include the birth of the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities, the rebirth of queer theatre The Other Side of Silence, the 2016 ‘Hamilton’ Tonys sweep, and more.

By The Oscar G. Brockett Center for Theatre History and Criticism

1971 (55 years ago)

On June 25, The New York Times published coverage of a conversation between American playwright Arthur Miller and revolutionary Brazilian theatre practitioner and theorist Augusto Boal . The coverage of their meeting followed a letter-to-the-editor Miller had co-signed in April, advocating for Boal’s release from prison. Boal had been arrested in his home country of Brazil in February due to his outspoken criticism of the country’s military dictatorship, and 15 members of the New York theatre community signed the letter as part of a larger campaign for Boal’s release spearheaded by Theatre of Latin America founder Joanne Pottlitzer. But only five names—Miller, Joseph Papp, Richard Schechner, Harold Prince, and Robert Anderson—were printed with the New York Times letter, with Miller’s name bringing international attention to the cause. Following his release, Boal went into exile in the United States, during which time he sat down with Miller. In their June conversation, the artists discussed newspaper theatre, a newly developed satirical genre Boal had developed with O Teatro de Arena in São Paulo, and compared notes on government censorship. Boal was set to be tried in absentia the following Monday and would go on to be acquitted.

1981 (45 years ago)

President Ronald Reagan established the Presidential Task Force on the Arts and Humanities on June 5. Functioning as a short-term advisory committee, the task force was created to increase private sector support for the arts and humanities, in addition to evaluating the management and structure of key funding bodies like the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA) and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH). The Task Force advocated for the continuance of government support for the arts and humanities, motivating President Reagan to establish the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities (PCAH) a year later. Building on the work of the Task Force, the PCAH continued looking for ways to bolster private sector support, managed the integration of the arts and performance into relevant national events, and promoted education and the recognition of excellence in the fields of arts and humanities amongst other functions. The PCAH remained a longstanding advisory council until 2017, when President Donald Trump disbanded the committee following the mass resignation of its members in protest of the President’s response to the deadly white nationalist Unite the Right rally in Charlottesville, Virginia. President Joe Biden reinstated the PCAH in 2022, but President Trump once again disbanded it via executive order on the first day of his second term.

2001 (25 years ago)

In June, playwright and gay activist Doric Wilson, alongside artistic director Mark Finley and managing director Barry Childs, resurrected The Other Side of Silence (TOSOS). A Caffe Cino regular and a participant in all three days of the Stonewall uprising, Wilson originally conceived of TOSOS in 1974 alongside cabaret performer Billy Blackwell, writer-actor-director Peter del Valle, and producer John McSpadden as a theatre company dedicated to building a queer theatrical canon and to the representation of LGBTQ+ lives and communities. But TOSOS became inactive just three years after its founding when the tips Wilson made bartending were no longer sufficient to support the venture. Nearly 25 years later, Wilson returned to his brainchild, reinstated the organization as “TOSOS II,” and began producing work alongside Childs and Finley in 2002. TOSOS has remained active since then, and today is considered New York’s oldest and longest-producing LGBTQ+ theatre company.

2016 (10 years ago)

On Sunday, June 12, Hamilton took home 11 Tony Awards out of a record-breaking 16 nominations. Narrowly missing out on breaking the record of 12 Tony awards held by The Producers , Lin-Manuel Miranda’s hip-hop retelling of the founding of the United States swept in major categories. At the end of the night, Hamilton took home awards for Best Book of a Musical (Miranda), Best Original Score (Miranda), Best Direction of a Musical (Thomas Kail), Best Actor in a Musical (Leslie Odom Jr.), Best Featured Actor in a Musical(Daveed Diggs), Best Featured Actress in a Musical (Renée Elise Goldsberry), Best Costume Design of a Musical (Paul Tazewell), Best Lighting Design of a Musical (Howell Binkley), Best Choreography (Andy Blankenbuehler), and Best Orchestrations (Alex Lacamore). The economic and critical success of Hamilton served as a watershed moment for the musical theatre genre, bringing new audiences to Broadway and radically expanding popular understanding of what musical theatre can look, sound, and feel like.

2016 (10 years ago)

Martyna Majok’s Cost of Living premiered at Williamstown Theatre Festival (WTF) on June 29. Playing for 11 days on WTF’s Nikos Stage, it was directed by Jo Bonney and featured performances by Rebecca Naomi Jones, Gregg Mozgala, Wendell Pierce, and Katy Sullivan. The play follows four characters of differing circumstances: Eddie, an unemployed truck driver, Eddie’s ex-wife, Ani, who has recently been paralyzed in a car accident; John, a doctoral student with cerebral palsy; and John’s caretaker, Jess. Following its WTF production, Cost of Living would go on to a five-week Off-Broadway run in the summer of 2017, a Pulitzer Prize in Drama in 2018, and a month-long Broadway production in 2022. Sullivan —an actress, producer, writer, athlete, and bilateral above-knee amputee, who played the role of Ani—and Mozgala —an actor and writer with cerebral palsy, who played the role of John—would continue to perform in Cost of Living from the WTF premiere through the 2022 Broadway run, during which Sullivan became the first amputee to star on Broadway.