JUNE 5–15, 2025
SCANDALOUS CONDUCT WILL BE ON VIEW AT
STANLEY
494 Commercial Street / Provincetown, MA
DAYS / HOURS: June 11, 12, 14 & 15 / 11:00AM–4:00PM
OPENING RECEPTION: June 6 / 6:00–9:00PM
ARTIST TALK: June 14 / 1:00PM Click to Register on Eventbrite
Presented by TWENTY SUMMERS
A MUSICAL-DOCUMENTARY ABOUT THE NEWPORT NAVY SEX SCANDAL OF 1919
BY JASON TRANCHIDA & MATTHEW LAWRENCE
“Walking in at the middle of Scandalous Conduct, you could be forgiven for thinking you’d stumbled across Warhol screen tests from the 1960s intercut with scenes from W.S. Gilbert and Arthur Sullivan’s comedic operetta H.M.S. Pinafore (1878), but the film’s mood is ultimately more melancholy. It is a form of cultural restitution to unearth the Navy’s actions, bring the 1919 incident back for consideration, and mix artifacts of popular theater and police action.”
— Marcus Civin, Boston Art Review
Photo: John Hesselbarth
An Episcopal minister. 41 naval recruits. A zealous newspaper editor. A pandemic. A drag show. A beanstalk. The YMCA. A future president of the United States.
Scandalous Conduct: A Fairy Extravaganza
commemorates the Newport Naval Sex Scandal of 1919.
At the end of World War I, a Navy-sanctioned raid on homosexual activity in Newport, RI sparked national scandal, when sailors and civilian men alike were targeted in a covert operation against “immoral acts”.
Jason Tranchida & Matthew Lawrence
Scandalous Conduct: A Fairy Extravaganza
(Newport Version)
Three-channel video
2024
67 minutes
Photo: John Hesselbarth
Scandalous Conduct: A Fairy Extravaganza was first produced with support from Brown Arts Institute as part of the inaugural IGNITE Series. The project is made possible in part through funding support from Rhode Island Humanities, an independent state affiliate of the National Endowment for the Humanities, and support from Presenting Sponsor Newport Historical Society. Additional support from The Wilbury Theatre Group and Rhode Island State Council on the Arts.
