Musical 'From Here' explores life before and after the Pulse nightclub massacre
Playwright Donald Rupe didn’t intend to write a musical about the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida
NEW YORK (AP) — Playwright Donald Rupe didn't intend to write a musical about the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Florida. What he wanted to write about was his friends. But the more he dug into it, the more he returned to his hometown's 2016 trauma.
“The Pulse connection really was not planned, but if I was going to write honestly about myself and about my friends around that time period, it would be false not to talk about how it affected us,” Rupe says from Orlando.
What the playwright has crafted is the powerful, moving “From Here,” which explores the complex feelings and community reactions in the days after a lone gunman killed 49 people at the gay-friendly club in Orlando.
The musical, making its off-Broadway debut this summer, centers on Daniel, a 30-something with a tight-knit group of queer friends navigating life, insecurity and relationships with humor and kindness. He also has a torturous relationship with his mother.
