The LGBTQ+ community has always been fortunate in that it has had—and still has—a large number of artists whose work has helped document the community’s history. Our city is particularly fortunate to have Philadelphia native songwriter Tom Wilson Weinberg, whose musical career of more than 50 years has told very personal stories of LGBTQ+ life from the time of Stonewall to the present day.
And now, with his most recent work, Weinberg has reached back to a time long before Stonewall to tell the story of a real-life gay couple who first met in 1929. “Sixty Years with Bruhs & Gean” is an intimate portrait of Bruhs Mero and Gean Harwood who met in New York in 1929, and were together until Mero died in 1995 at the age of 84. Harwood lived until 2006, when he died at the age of 97.
Weinberg will be performing a one-man cabaret version of “Sixty Years” on Oct. 20 at the William Way LGBT Community Center. The show had a previous life as a fully staged musical revue with a cast of three, with runs in Philadelphia, New York and Fire Island.
The show had its genesis decades ago when Weinberg first met Harwood in the early ’90s. Harwood had attended a performance of Weinberg’s then-current show “Get Used To It” during its run in New York. Harwood was so moved by the show, he invited Weinberg for coffee, and a friendship was born.
As time passed, Weinberg learned the story of what it was like to live as a gay couple in the early 20th century. They had trouble finding an apartment, since landlords at the time didn’t want to rent to two men. Keep in mind, during the Great Depression, World War II and McCarthy era, being gay was a crime. LGBTQ+ people had to go through complicated deceptions even to socialize privately.
But the end of Mero and Harwood’s story was both a happy one and a tragic one. Because they lived so long, they were able to witness the strides toward acceptance made by the community in the ’70s and ’80s. Weinberg recounts the story of how, in observance of their status as LGBTQ+ elders, they were invited to be grand marshals at the New York Pride parade.
“Can you imagine how proud they felt?” Weinberg said. “To have lived so much of their lives secretly, furtively, in such an oppressive world. And then to be publicly celebrated and lionized as heroes?”
In his last years, Mero suffered from dementia, and when Harwood could no longer care for him, he had to be placed in hospice care, where he died. Harwood lived on for more than 20 years, writing the biography of his and Mero’s life together. And, thanks to Tom Wilson Weinberg, their story will live on in song.
“Sixty Years with Bruhs & Gean,” written and performed by Tom Wilson Weinberg, will be presented at 4 p.m. on Oct. 20 at the William Way LGBT Community Center, 1315 Spruce St. Suggested donation is $20 with proceeds going directly to benefit William Way. For more information, visit tomwilsonweinberg.com.