It was 1973 and Harvey Milk was giving a speech to the International Longshoreman & Warehousemen’s Union of San Francisco, “We don’t have to wait for budgets to be passed, surveys to be made, political wheeling and dealing. For it takes no compromising to give people their rights…. It takes no money to respect the individual. It takes no political deal to give people freedom.” After three failed campaigns, Harvey finally won a seat on the Board of Supervisors in January 1978. Eleven months later he was assassinated in City Hall.

Harvey Milk was the first openly gay elected official in California. His vision, his passion, his joy and his death were all to become legend through various films, plays, musicals, operas and books.

In December 2007, Diversionary Theatre commissioned Patricia Loughrey to write a new play about Harvey Milk. After dozens of interviews with community leaders and Harvey’s friends and family, the play Dear Harvey will be given its world premiere at Diversionary April 18-25.

“These stories about Harvey Milk are from the people he knew and the lives he changed,” said playwright Loughrey. “I’ve had the remarkable privilege of talking with people close to him, and it’s exciting to be able to share these intimate, sometimes surprising, stories with our community. We lost Harvey too soon, but in these stories, we get to hear the impact of his love and courage.” The play is based on interviews with Tom Ammiano, Toni Atkins, Jackie Grover, Cleve Jones, Christine Kehoe, Anne Kronenberg, John Laird, Stuart Milk, Nicole Murray-Ramirez, Daniel Nicoletta, Mary Stockton, Robin Tyler, Dottie Wine and others.

“I think the message of the play is to show what one life can do,” Stuart Milk, Harvey Milk’s nephew, told the Gay & Lesbian Times. “The message is to say, here is a man with amazing gifts, openness, authenticity, who was willing to embrace being different.”

The play also uses historical materials (with permission, from the Harvey Milk Archives-Scott Smith Collection, James C. Hormel Gay and Lesbian Center, San Francisco Public Library) and materials and excerpts (used with permission) from the Bay Area Reporter, including Milk’s weekly column, the “Milk Forum,” published from the summer of 1975 until his death in November 1978. Loughrey has also secured permission to use many photos by San Francisco GLBT photographer Daniel Nicoletta.

Diversionary’s Executive & Artistic Director, Dan Kirsch, will direct the tribute. “It’s been very humbling to work on this project,” said Kirsch. “Harvey’s legacy has been far-reaching and incredibly impactful to the GLBT community, and we are very proud to share this play with our audience.” For the first time, Diversionary will present a school-morning performance of the play for local GLSEN and GSA students.

“One of my hopes for this performance – and the reason I agreed to be interviewed for the piece – is that it is going to be produced and used to educate youth about the importance of authenticity and celebration of diversity,” Stuart Milk said. “This isn’t just about being tolerated. My uncle was not about just being tolerated, be was about celebrating his diversity.”

Dear Harvey is a Diversionary special event with limited previews and performances from April 18-25. Public performances are Monday, April 20 at 7:30 p.m.; Thursday, April 23 at 7:30 p.m.; and Friday and Saturday, April 24 and 25 at 8 p.m. All tickets for public performances are $24 and are now on sale. For information, call the Diversionary box office at 619-220-0097 or visit www.diversionary.org.