23 June 2021
Point of Pride: A drag show, a Holiday Inn, and a powerful story of allyship
"It's a terrible term, but it's what everyone was calling it then," says Foltz. "And we knew it was only a matter of time before it would show up in Harrisburg, so we wanted to do something to help."
That something was what Foltz knew best – putting on a show.
He founded Lily White & Company, a non-profit theatre troupe that was a mix of drag, musical theatre and comedy. He took on the role of the eponymous Lily White, his drag alter ego with big red hair and an even bigger personality.
"When I met Paul, he had this idea that we would do these drag shows to raise money for patients and work with a new, home-grown organization in town, SCAAN [South Central AIDS Assistance Network]," says Heidi Neuhaus, who served as Treasurer for the organization. "The term HIV did not exist. If you tested positive for AIDS – it was a death sentence."
By partnering with SCAAN, Lily White & Company made sure the fundraising went to the people who needed it the most – the patients. Whether it was for groceries or cab fare to the hospital, the money raised was critically important to the community.
Lily White & Company started out doing small shows and benefits at gay bars in Harrisburg.
"You have to understand that at that time, drag wasn't common – not even at the gay bars. So, we really had to convince the bar owners and our own community that they needed to help us with fundraising and not turn their backs on their own kind," says Foltz.
After the first few bar shows, people began following the troupe and coming to subsequent performances.
"I think people were surprised by how good the shows were," laughs Eric Selvey.
Another former member and performer, Selvey, recalls how fragile financial survival was for so many gay men.
"There would be these giant jars on the counters of gay bars and whatever money people put into that – that was the only money for gay men with AIDS," says Selvey. "There was no government funding, no big charity, at least not for the first few years."
The more the disease spread, the quicker those jars were being emptied, and it became apparent to all who worked in, and with, Lily White & Company that the need for fundraising was greater than what a few shows at gay bars could pull in.
By 1989, the virus causing AIDS was officially classified as HIV (Human Immunodeficiency Virus). It was in 145 countries, and the number of AIDS cases in the U.S. alone had reached 100,000. **
It was that year that Lily White & Company held its first hotel show for a night of epic fundraising. Dwight Dissinger, then catering manager of a Holiday Inn in downtown Harrisburg (now home to Crowne Plaza Harrisburg - Hershey Park), stepped in and opened the doors for the troupe to perform its biggest show.
"I wasn't involved with Lily White & Company, but they [Selvey, Neuhaus and Foltz] were my friends, and I just threw it out there that they could do the show at the hotel. I thought it would be a novel way to present the show to the general public," says Dissinger.
Foltz says Dissinger deserves far more credit than he gives himself.
"Dwight drove this idea and made it happen. He spoke to the General Manager before he ever came to us and got the okay to do the show at the hotel. The next thing I knew, we were getting ready to perform at the Holiday Inn," says Foltz.
Dissinger and the Holiday Inn staff went above anything Foltz and the members of Lily White & Company expected – even providing rehearsal times ahead of the big show.
"I'll never forget the way Dwight and his entire staff rallied and supported us," says Neuhaus. A big part of our success was the partnership with Dwight and the amazing way that his staff threw themselves 100 percent into making the night a success."
Selvey and Foltz also recall some of the waiters and bartenders donated their tip money.
"It was a packed house that night. We never thought we would fill one ballroom, let alone all three ballrooms of the hotel. Whatever the maximum capacity was, we hit it," says Selvey.
If the hotel's acceptance wasn't surprising enough for Foltz and his troupe, the reaction from guests certainly was.
"I'll never forget getting into my Lily White costume, the makeup and hair and then riding the elevator down with actual hotel guests," says Foltz. "A couple of them looked my way, and I just said – we are putting on a show. And then they asked about it, came down and even peeked into the ballroom."
The nostalgia also brought up some bleak memories – while the shows Lily White & Company performed brought much-needed joy and laughter, they are also intrinsically linked to the loss and fear of the time.
For Neuhaus, it's memories of getting calls from the hospital asking if she could sit at the bedside of dying men who had been abandoned by their families. For Selvey, it was going to the funerals – some of men he knew – some he didn't. And for all of them, it was the heartache of losing members of their troupe.
"Oh yes, we lost members to AIDS. I remember one of our performers – literally pulling her off the stage during the show she was so feverish. She died a week later," says Foltz. "We've all sat with friends and others in the company in hospices overnight."
In some ways, those frequent periods of grief served as a sobering reminder.
"The shows were our way of coping and being able to do something during a time that felt very hopeless," says Foltz. "Gay men were getting sick and being discarded – this was our way of dealing with it and doing something about it."
"We didn't do these shows just for ourselves – we did it to help people and raise money for those whom society cast out," adds Selvey. "To know that a hotel in a major chain would give us the opportunity to hold such an event was further validation of what we were doing."
Foltz agrees, saying the Holiday Inn shows gave the troupe visibility beyond just the gay community.
“Holiday Inn was the first ally we had that wasn’t from the gay community. They wanted to be acknowledged as sponsors and provided us with dressing rooms and the penthouse floor for after-show reception,” says Foltz. “Walking into that hotel was the first real allyship for us – they went above and beyond anything we expected.”
By 1997, UNAIDS (The Joint United Nations Programme on HIV/AIDS) estimated 30 million people around the world were living with HIV. With increased global public health awareness, new treatments and funding from public and private sectors, its perception as a “gay” illness was waning. ***
Lily White & Company was performing its final shows by then.
The former cast members reflect upon the defining decades of the ‘80s and ‘90s with a mixture of sadness and joy but also – pride.
Neuhaus continues doing non-profit work, focusing on volunteering and service, one of the many community heroes we find working tirelessly in neighborhoods around the world. “The Lily White shows – it's something I’ll never forget. We had fun, but we also did something that made a difference.”
"What came out of that period was the foundation of what we see as the LGBTQ community today," says Foltz. “For the first time, there was no me – there was we – and us – because no one else was caring for us. We all realized we were one family."
Lily White may be retired now, but Foltz and Selvey both hope that by sharing their story with The LGBT Center Central PA History Project, as well as donating some of their work to Dickinson College Archives, Lily can live on to educate future generations.
Yet it’s Dissinger, a man who fully admits he has not thought about the Lily White & Company Holiday Inn show in a long time, who calls the show one of the most memorable nights of his life.
"I never reflected on what a big deal it was, or whether they would have been able to put on a show like that if I hadn't offered Holiday Inn," he says. "Thinking about it all now – I guess it would be amazing if 34 years later it inspires other hotels. Sometimes you have to do something bold and that's what makes a difference."
SOURCES:
* https://www.cdc.gov/mmwr/preview/mmwrhtml/su6004a11.htm
** https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview
*** https://www.avert.org/professionals/history-hiv-aids/overview
Ends
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