ATCA Helbing Program Publishes D.R. Lewis' Essays Considering Thornton Wilder Through A Queer Lens

Considering Our Town playwright Thornton Wilder's life and work through a queer lens is the theme of a new collection of essays by D.R. Lewis, the American Theatre Critics/Journalists Association and Foundation ATCA's 2024-2025 Helbing Fellow.

A Walk on the Wilder Side: A Queer Reading of Thornton Wilder — now available on the ATCA website and Lewis's Substack, The Sunday Critic — parses how Wilder's various biographers have addressed his rumored same-sex attractions and relationships. Lewis then explores how key characters from Our Town and The Long Christmas Dinner can be read as proxies reflecting Wilder's perceptions of himself. He also examines Wilder's relationship to gender expression and draws parallels between the playwright and Dolly Levi, the titular character in The Matchmaker and its musical adaptation, Hello, Dolly!  
The Helbing Mentorship Program was established in 2021 with funding from ATCA members and others who seek to honor the memory of ATCA member and LGBTQIA+ pioneer Terry Helbing, a theater critic, editor, and co-founder of the Meridian Gay Theatre Production Company. The year-long fellowship was established to promote and amplify the voices of LGBTIA+ art writers through scholarship, mentorship and professional development. The Helbing Fellow receives a $5,000 grant and works with ATCA members on a major project, which is published at the conclusion of the program. The 2024-2025 Helbing committee included Christopher Byrne (chair), Jay Handelman, Billy McEntee, Gerard Raymond, Frank Rizzo, and Martha Wade Steketee.
 
“When we created this award several years ago, it was important to us that it support projects that might otherwise be difficult to pursue,” said Foundation ATCA Treasurer and Helbing committee chair Christopher Byrne. “This project has been an exercise in discovery for D.R. and those of us on the committee who have mentored him through its progression. We're all walking away with a deeper admiration for, and understanding of, Thornton Wilder's extraordinary life and plays.”
 
“Fifty years after his death, Wilder's definitive appraisals of humankind in Our Town, The Skin of Our Teeth, The Matchmaker, and the beloved one-acts continue to devastate and inspire us,” said Lewis. “But even with a vast archive at Yale University and a handful of biographies at our disposal, plenty of questions about his life remain unanswered. While his biographers have mostly grappled with the question of whether Wilder experienced same-sex attractions, my guiding question through this critical assessment has instead been, 'what if he did?' Critics are often constrained by overnight deadlines. The Helbing Fellowship provides support and freedom to follow curiosity over an extended period. I'm acutely aware of how rare and special that opportunity is and am so grateful to ATCA, Foundation ATCA, and the Helbing committee for this opportunity and their mentorship.”
 
Lewis is a Washington, D.C.-based critic and the publisher of The Sunday Critic on Substack. He is a regular contributor to Washington City Paper and DC Theater Arts and was a Day Eight Arts Journalism Fellow. He is a graduate of The George Washington University, where he received the 2016 Astere E. Claeyssens Prize in Playwriting.
 
In the program's inaugural year, Helbing Fellow McEntee created a comprehensive history of the work of Terry Helbing, including extensive interviews with those who worked with Helbing, preserving a vital part of LGBTQIA+ history in the mid-20th century. The oral history is preserved on the ATCA website.
 
Applications for the 2026-2027 Helbing Mentorship Program will open January 21 and be accepted through April 30