about guise gallery

guise gallery is a creative platform dedicated to showcasing original artistic work across photography, theatre, and visual storytelling. Founded by New York-born and trained, now San Diego–based photographer and theatre artist Mr. J Marcus Newman, the guise gallery serves as a home for new projects and productions, including the World Premiere stage play Moms in America in 2006 and now the original stage play Retribution.

About The Play

The developing evolution of the title Retribution is illuminating about the entire play.

For over a decade, 40+ year resident San Diego playwright/actor/director/instructor J Marcus Newman (the erstwhile Nonnie Vishner) has been refining his second play to explore the intersection of "relationship" and "marriage."

Originally, with inspiration from the Divine (Miss M), Newman’s work strove to examine what could finally happen when a young gay couple, shepherded by their older community friends, say Gee I Really Love You on their way to a small-town chapel to get legally married.

Then, drawing deeper inspiration from Jerry Herman, Matt realizes [I] Got Lost in [his] arms of the high school musical lead in “Annie Get Your Gun”/star quarterback and find that comfort and security of home not only for their first dance, but forever more.

As the world turns and old wounds are re-opened, Ben, the one non-local resident among this octet of gay and lesbian friends, breaks his back figuring out how best to help them understand that, having promised his Holocaust survivor father and his AIDS victim husband, he would Never Again allow them to do that to us.

Sometimes, during refinement, practicality informs change. In this case, the focus zoomed in on just the two male couples.

Retribution became the answer. The play is ready.

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