Description
This collection, consisting of Montwill's records as artistic manager of the Rose, contains a variety a materials on just
about any event occurring in its performance space. These ranged from musical reviews, plays, stand-up comedy, political meetings,
rallies, slide lectures, films and photography exhibits. Promotional materials compose most of this collection. Other items
include business documents, correspondence, and performance reviews from the local press.
Background
Valencia Rose, located at 766 Valencia Street in San Francisco, opened its doors in January 1982 largely through the efforts
of Ron Lanza, an actor, theatre lover, and business entrepreneur. With co-owner and partner Hank Wilson, Ron turned a funeral
parlor into one of the city's most prominent cabarets. Lanza and Wilson heavily subsidized the Rose for the first two years
of its existence, from 1982 to 1984, bringing various theater productions to the Rose and offering full- course dinners through
the culinary talents of chef Ward Smith. In 1983, the life of this cabaret really took off, when Lanza hired Donald Montwill
as talent scout and Dennis Powers as publicist. By March of 1984, writing a feature for the San Francisco Chronicle, Randy
Shilts announced that the Valencia Rose had become "an epicenter of gay comedy." Many up-and-coming performers began their
careers at the Rose, including Whoopi Goldberg, Doug Holsclaw, Lea Delaria, and Marga Gomez and local politician, the then
"mother of gay comedy" Tom Ammiano.
While much performance came and went at the Valencia Rose, the cabaret also became a community resource. Donald Montwill,
who is largely responsible for the stellar performances there, solicited academics, politicians, and artists to give presentations
on the history of the gay and lesbian community. The series, entitled "Gay and Lesbian Pioneers," ran successfully during
1984, including presentations on lesbian subculture in Paris in the early twentieth century to lectures on the history of
the local leather culture. Montwill also turned the Valencia Rose into a public space for various community organizations,
encouraging political rallies and other kinds of organizing to take place there, as well as hosting educational evenings on
spirituality or holistic living.