Queer, Bold, and Resilient: Diversionary Theatre Turns 40
By Cesar A Reyes
This year, Diversionary Theatre celebrates an extraordinary milestone: forty years of boldly telling LGBTQ+ stories in San Diego. For Executive Director Jenny Case, this anniversary is deeply personal. “Forty years means we’ve endured, we’ve evolved, and we’ve remained rooted in our purpose: to create a brave space where our community can see itself fully and truthfully reflected onstage,” she says. “I feel enormous gratitude and responsibility. I’m standing on the shoulders of visionaries who believed queer stories deserved a permanent home in San Diego.”
The story of Diversionary began in 1986 as Tom Vegh Productions at WCPC, a small but determined effort to bring queer stories to the stage. By 1987, Diversionary had achieved nonprofit status and formed its first Board of Directors, laying a foundation for growth and longevity. Two years later, the theatre produced its first show in a dedicated space, presenting all-woman productions like Coming Soon and A Late Snow, which drew packed houses and revealed a deep hunger for stories that reflected real LGBTQ+ lives. “Theatre has always been about connection, even when the world made us feel invisible,” Jenny reflects. “Forty years later, that feeling hasn’t changed. It’s still about telling stories that say: you belong, you matter, your love matters.”
This year’s season carries a theme that feels both urgent and celebratory: love. Under the guidance of Artistic Director Sherri Eden Barber, the season is framed around “love as a revolution.” For Sherri, and as Jenny explains, love isn’t passive or sentimental—it’s a force. “It’s the radical act of choosing empathy over fear. It’s the courage to tell stories that affirm LGBTQ+ identity in a world that doesn’t always make space for it. In that way, love becomes revolutionary because it resists erasure. It builds bridges. It insists that we belong.” Each production explores a different facet of love: romantic love, self-love, communal love. More importantly, the season challenges audiences to see love as an action, a commitment, and a choice. “Theatre itself is an act of collective love,” Jenny says. “We gather in a room. We listen. We witness. We expand. And when we do that together, something shifts. That shift is revolutionary.”
Forty years in, Diversionary is also expanding its Mainstage offerings for the first time to four productions, creating opportunities for more stories and more voices to be seen. “The LGBTQIA+ community is beautifully expansive,” Jenny explains. “Each letter represents lived experience, culture, history, and identity. With four Mainstage productions, plus cabaret offerings and Gay Play Tuesdays, we are very intentionally striving to share the mic with as many voices as we can.” This growth allows the theatre to hold complexity, to celebrate joy alongside challenge, and to honor legacy while uplifting emerging voices. Yet it also comes with challenges: producing four shows requires financial investment, expanded staffing, and careful logistical planning. “Producing one show is a marathon; producing four is a relay race that never really stops,” Jenny laughs. “We’ve had to be thoughtful about sustainability, making sure our ambition matches our resources.”
Representation and community resonance have always been at the heart of Diversionary’s work. Programming focuses on centering BIPOC voices, trans and nonbinary artists, and stories that intersect queerness with culture, faith, and identity. Inclusive hiring practices ensure diversity is reflected in every aspect of production, from directors and designers to stage managers and front-of-house staff. Community partnerships, talkbacks, educational programs, and initiatives like $10 tickets help break down barriers to attendance. “Resonance isn’t something you declare; it’s something you cultivate,” Jenny says. “We seek feedback. We adjust. We grow. Our goal isn’t to check boxes—it’s to build authentic relationships so that when we tell a story, it feels alive and grounded.”
Over the decades, Diversionary has weathered both cultural and literal storms. In 2006, former board member Fritz Klein left the theatre the building at 4545 Park Boulevard, ensuring a permanent home. In 2020, the pandemic forced the stage dark, but resilience meant refusing to let the story end. By 2021, the theatre reopened, reimagined, and stronger. Jenny describes the one WORD that defines the theatre’s journey: resilience. “Resilience is what it takes to found a queer theatre in 1986. Resilience is what it takes to tell LGBTQ+ stories during the height of the AIDS crisis. Resilience is what it takes to survive economic downturns, leadership transitions, and a global pandemic. And resilience isn’t just survival. It’s transformation. It’s building, again and again, a place where queer stories aren’t marginal—they’re central.”
Looking ahead, Jenny envisions a future where Diversionary deepens artistic ambition, expands accessibility, and strengthens community connection. Under the leadership of Jenny and Sherri, Diversionary becomes one of the few professional theatres in the country led by two women—a milestone of both representation and leadership. “We want Diversionary to be more than a performance venue. We want it to be a cultural home,” Jenny says. “Theatre is one of the last places where strangers sit shoulder to shoulder and share a live experience. That act alone is radical.” Investments in accessibility, partnerships with underrepresented communities, and commissioning new works will continue. “Love and inclusion aren’t just thematic ideas—they’re operational commitments. Forty years in, we are not defined by what we have survived. We are defined by what we continue to build.”
This spirit of celebration culminates on March 28 with The Ruby Anniversary Ball, an evening of performances, dancing, food, and joy. Tickets are available at www.diversionary.org, and fans can follow @DiversionarySD on Instagram and Facebook for updates and sneak peeks. “Whether you’re a longtime patron, an artist, or someone who believes in the power of LGBTQ+ stories, this is a moment to gather, celebrate, and toast the future,” Jenny invites.
From its beginnings as a small production company to a permanent home in University Heights, Diversionary Theatre has told stories that matter, nurtured artists, and offered a space for connection across generations. It has survived crises, cultural shifts, and the weight of invisibility, and it has done so with joy, courage, and love. As Jenny reflects, “Forty years later, Diversionary is still here. We are still creating. We are still necessary. And that’s the celebration. Not just of a theatre, but of a community that refuses to be erased, that insists on joy, truth, and love as revolution.”