Moms in America is the current pride and joy of playwright J. Marcus Newman. He’s producing and directing this show as an official LGBT Pride month event.

This world-premiere event will play from July 6 through July 30 at a new space located at 2790 Lytton St. in Loma Portal (just around the corner from The Hole). Don’t be shy about asking for an S.D. Pride discount.

The play, which features a gay character, is about finding the means to fill an empty spot in your heart and soul. Son, Dad and Pop meet head-on for a confrontation over a family burial. Each generational member of the family has a survival story to tell – think Cossacks, Woodstock and HIV. In the end, that dreaded love word pops up.

Newman, formerly Nonnie Vishner, has directed plays all over the San Diego theaterscape, including at North Coast Rep (Isn’t It Romantic and The Sisters Rosensweig), the La Jolla Stage Company (Picnic) and the Coronado Playhouse (The Zoo Story), to name a few.

I visited Newman at this newfound theater space and chatted with him about his latest “coming-out party.” I’m not speaking about coming out in the gay sense. Newman doesn’t have any problems being gay; he fully embraced that aspect of his life a long time ago. I’m talking about his re-emergence in the San Diego theater scene, where before many simply called him Nonnie.

Gay & Lesbian Times: What were some of the circumstances that kept you in hiding for some seven-odd years?

J. Marcus Newman: To say it succinctly, it had less to do with burnout and more to do with full participation. I had been doing theater nonstop – directing, acting and producing – for a long time, and it just reached a point where it wasn’t paying the bills, so I had to walk away from that life for awhile.

GLT: You’re re-entering the theater scene full throttle, as a playwright, director and producer.

JMN: Yes. After having shopped Moms in America at the Mark Taper Forum and a number of New York venues, I decided that I would produce it in San Diego. It seemed a perfect fit for San Diego Pride month. And it doesn’t hurt that it has a full-frontal nude scene as well.

GLT: Some in San Diego remember you as a director and actor called Nonnie Vishner. Any comments?

JMN: Yes; it’s a long story. Let’s just say I changed my name to accommodate my new self.

GLT: You have the distinction of being part of the historical birth of gay theater in San Diego.

JMN: I was one of the actors in the very first gay theater production of what is now Diversionary Theatre. Tom Vegh [founder] directed me, Devlin and others in a show called Lunch and Dessert at the West Coast Production Company.

GLT: You’ve had a bit of experience in directing new works in the San Diego theater community, as I understand it.

JMN: For a time I had directed all of the new works in the Streisand Festival of New Jewish Plays and participated [as director] with eight award-winning plays by young writers for Playwrights Project.

GLT: Apart from a new world-premiere play, what do you bring to the San Diego gay community?

JMN: I believe, since I have been a successful director, actor, portrait photographer and administrator – I think I remain a positive role model in the gay community.

GLT: Tell me a little bit about the cast of Moms in America.

JMN: Jay Michael Fraley plays the son; he has acting experience in venues such as the Rude Guerrilla Theatre Company and South Coast Rep. Paul Halem [Dad] is a New York-trained actor with numerous off-Broadway credits and Ed Eigner [Pop] is an actor and playwright.

GLT: I hear that your theater training began in New York at a fairly young age.

JMN: I attended the High School of Music and Art in New York and then studied at Syracuse University and Cal Arts, where I received my MFA in theater.

GLT: Is this your first experience writing a play?

JMN: Yes, this is my first play, but I have another in the works. I’m back in the San Diego theater community and [am] ready to act, direct, write and produce, as often as I am able.

Newman has been involved in 35 theater projects in San Diego. Coming back from his self-imposed hiatus, he hopes to log in many more successful shows, starting with the world premiere of Moms in America. He’s revitalized and ready to go. Newman has rubbed shoulders with the likes of Craig Noel (founder of the Old Globe Theatre) and other luminaries in San Diego, and I have the feeling that this second time around he’s back to stay – and ready to rub a lot more shoulders.

After our conversation, on my way out of the theater space, I looked at the stage in progress. The walls were painted lavender and the stage-floor rug had dark purple notes. Newman excused himself to chat about technical matters with stage manager and lighting designer Becky Pierce. I thought at that moment that it doesn’t matter that he was formerly known as Nonnie; he’s still the same talented actor/director of years gone by; ready, able and willing to contribute to the GLBT community as well as the theater community at large.

Moms in America will play July 6-30 at 2790 Lytton St. in Loma Portal. Showtimes are 8:00 p.m. Thursday through Saturday and 2:00 pm on Sunday. Call (619) 683-2256 for reservations.