Fellow Travelers (2016)

TIME and PLACE: September 1953 to May 1957, in Washington, D.C. Eisenhower is president. Senator Joseph McCarthy is stoking fears that the U.S. federal government is full of Communists, Soviet spies, and homosexuals.

PART ONE
Scene 1. Park in Dupont Circle
A fledgling reporter, Timothy Laughlin, sits on a bench reviewing his notes from McCarthy’s wedding when he is approached by State Department employee Hawkins Fuller.

Scene 2. Senator Charles Potter’s office

Timothy is hired as a speechwriter for Senator Charles Potter. Timothy meets Tommy McIntyre, who gives him unsolicited advice about Washington politics.

Scene 3. Hawkins’s office

Timothy stops by to drop off a thank-you gift. He meets Hawkins’s assistant and best friend Mary, and his secretary Miss Lightfoot, who mocks Timothy after he leaves.

Scene 4. Timothy’s apartment

Timothy is at home cooking soup and writing his sister a letter when Hawkins unexpectedly stops by to tell him about the delights of Bermuda, among other things.

Scene 5. St. Peter’s Church

In the afterglow of last night’s encounter with Hawkins, Timothy is torn betweenhis deep Catholicism and his blossoming passion.

Scene 6. The Hotel Washington

At a Christmas party, Timothy is approached by an Army general about enlisting; Mary warns Hawkins about his reckless behavior with Timothy; McIntyre tells Potter about McCarthy’s latest political troubles; Miss Lightfoot overhears an intimate exchange between Hawkins and Timothy.

Scene 7. Interrogation Room M304

An interrogator puts Hawkins through a series of humiliating tests in an attempt to determine whether or not he is a homosexual.

Scene 8. Timothy’s apartment

Timothy and Hawkins discuss the interrogation, McCarthy, and Hawkins’s illicit amusements in New York City.

Scene 9. McCarthy’s office

Senator Potter warns McCarthy that the “Adams Chronology,” which details how Roy Cohn and McCarthy pressured the Army to give Cohn’s friend David Schine special treatment, will be McCarthy’s downfall unless he gives up Cohn.

Scene 10. Mary’s kitchen/Timothy’s apartment

Mary invites Timothy over to warn him of Hawkins’s fickle nature. She tells Timothy she is pregnant from a one-night stand. In Timothy’s apartment, Hawkins rejoices that he’s been cleared of allegations of homosexuality. Timothy is shocked by how Hawkins wants to celebrate.

Scene 11. Roof of the Old Post Office

Timothy, in agony over his fraught relationship, tells Hawkins he’s decided to enlist in the Army.

Scene 12. Hawkins’s office

Mary tells Hawkins she is quitting, as she can no longer work in an atmosphere of panic and persecution.

Scene 13. Timothy in France/Hawkins in Chevy Chase

Three years pass. Timothy writes letters to Hawkins and Mary from France, where he is stationed. Hawkins is now married to a woman named Lucy, with a house in the suburbs, but would clearly like to rekindle his relationship with Timothy upon his return.

Scene 14. Brick House

In a house in D.C. that Hawkins has rented for his afternoon flings with Timothy, Hawkins expresses that he cannot be everything Timothy wants. Hawkins resolves to end the affair himself.

Scene 15. Mary’s kitchen/Brick House/Room M304

Mary is packing when Hawkins stops by, distraught. He confesses that in order to push Timothy away, he has given Timothy’s name to those investigating alleged homosexuals. He asks Mary to tell Timothy about this betrayal in hopes it will make Timothy hate him.

Scene 16. Park in Dupont Circle

His dreams dashed, Timothy decides to leave Washington, D.C., and Hawkins Fuller for good. Both heartbroken, they say goodbye.

Cincinnati Opera, 2016

Artists:

• Conductor - Mark Gibson
• Director - Kevin Newbury
• Timothy Laughlin - Aaron Blake, tenor
• Hawkins Fuller - Joseph Lattanzi, baritone
• Mary Johnson - Devon Guthrie, soprano
• Senator Charles E. Potter/General Airlie/Bartender - Vernon Hartman, baritone
• Estonian Frank/Interrogator/Senator Joseph McCarthy - Marcus DeLoach, baritone
• Potter's Assistant/Bookseller/Party Guest/Technician/French Priest - Christian Pursell, bass-baritone
• Tommy McIntyre - Paul Scholten, baritone
• Miss Lightfoot - Alexandra Schoeny, soprano
• Lucy - Tayla Lieberman, soprano