Comets 'Bent' on remembering Holocaust

The UTD Theatre production brings to life play exploring WWII-era homosexuality, humanity and hope on stage when a Stormtrooper opens the door instead of the couples’ expected nagging landlord is palpable. That wasn’t the first time I was lulled into a false sense of security by lighter scenes, either; by the end of the show, jokes just made me more nervous for the other shoe to drop. Still, the levity provided a powerful contrast to the show’s darker themes.

“Martin Sherman… hooks you in with the romantic comedy at the beginning, and then slaps you in the face with the end of that,” Underwood said. “From there, you've already grown attached to Rudy and Max and their dynamic and you have to witness everything that happens to them as the people in their life make their choices around them and what they're forced to do. I…it's just a whole deal.”

Gay men during the Holocaust isn’t an easy subject to cover. Moreover, Tthis play, furthermore, was one of the first to do so, originally opening in 1979, so it’s of historical note itself. Some of the revolutionary nature of , debuting at a time when homosexuality in the U.S. itself wasn’t yet decriminalized—let alone accepted—is lost to time, but the context remains all-too-relevant. Director Chris Trevino worked with the cast to fully research and understand the show’s historical background before performing.

“We did a couple weeks of table work on the show, wWe watched ‘Paragraph 175,’ ” a documentary interviewing gay Holocaust survivors, Trevino said. “My assistant director, Hayden Lopez, did a compendium, a lot of research…so we're saying it the right way and we know who we're talking about.” Trevino said.

Trevino, Thompson, Underwood, and other cast members all commented on the enduring relevance of the play. Murder rates of transgender BIPOC in particular are “alarming,” Trevino said, and anti-gay legislation such as Florida’s “Don’t Say Gay” law is a persistent problem.

“I've heard a lot of people talk about how heavily timely it is because of what we're dealing with,” Thompson said. “And they seem surprised by it, but for a lot of queer people, this has always been the reality…I It's very real, and it's gratifying to have other people finally take it seriously.”

SEE BENT, PAGE 8

Comets report alleged food poisoning at Dining Hall West

A Richardson health department inspection in early April found no major health violations in the facility

Several Comets reported becoming ill after eating at Dining Hall West. UTD denied food poisoning allegations, however, and campus facilities passed the City of Richardson’s subsequent health inspection.

The Mercury spoke with three students who became ill after eating at Dining Hall West on March 29, though many more filed reports of sickness. The source of the illness is not clear, but all three became ill within 12 hours of eating either the chicken or the pasta. Computer science freshman Jack Hoggard attributed his sickness to the pasta.

“I had pizza, and pasta and some garlic bread, I think it was,” Hoggard said. “It started around midnight. I remember kind of an uneasy, like queasy feeling, and I thought: ‘Oh, I’ll just go to bed, it’ll go away.’ And I remember waking up at probably three in the morning, and I was just in and out of the bathroom—throwing up and then turning around immediately and having diarrhea.