A State Department official, Hawkins Fuller (Erik Nordstrom), meets a young congressional staffer, Tim Laughlin (Logan Wagner), and sparks fly; unfortunately, their chance encounter occurs in Washington, D.C., at the height of Senator Joe McCarthy’s Red Scare in “Fellow Travelers,” where the two men risk everything to be together in a time when being accused of homosexuality could get you blacklisted or worse.
The story, based on Thomas Mallon’s sizzling bestseller “Fellow Travelers,” has been adapted into a television miniseries and an opera by Gregory Spears and Greg Pierce, and will make its Pittsburgh premiere under the direction of Brian Staufenbiel.
Christian Cox, Director of Marketing and Communications at Pittsburgh Opera, said, “We are in a vibrant period for opera, especially in North America. There are a huge number of modern stories being told.”
The LGBTQ+ theme of the story isn’t new to opera. Cox said, “Opera has been telling stories about forbidden love for hundreds of years. ‘Fellow Travelers’ is very relatable, regardless of your orientation.”
Logan Wagner plays a variety of roles as an artist in Pittsburgh Opera’s Resident Artist Program, which provides professional development during a two-year session. He is wrapping up a small role in “La Boheme” before moving into his leading role in “Fellow Travelers,” where he will play Tim Laughlin, a young man struggling to reconcile his homosexuality with his chosen career, working alongside Senator Joe McCarthy to stamp out Communism.
Wagner has sung opera in English, Italian, German, French, Russian, and Czech.
Wagner has performed the role of Tim Laughlin before in 2023 in Cincinnati. Wagner first saw the show in 2016 at the Cincinnati Opera. He said, “I was eighteen years old, and it was the first opera I ever saw. I went while attending the Cincinnati Conservatory of Music. I didn’t realize that stories like this could be performed on stage.”
Wagner came out of the closet shortly after seeing the performance. He resonated with Tim Laughlin. He said, “I grew up Irish Catholic, like Timmy. The church told us how to live our lives. There were constraints that I felt growing up. What I found fascinating about him is that after he has his [first sexual] encounter with Hawk, he goes to church to ask God to accept him, not change him.”
He said, “As an out gay man, it’s not often I get to perform a role with another male love interest. Most of the roles are generally male/female relationships, but this show taught me that love is universal. This show allows me to play a very open and vulnerable man.” He added, “This is a role that needs to be seen on stage.”
Wagner believes “Fellow Travelers” to be an extremely accessible and approachable opera. The opera will be presented in English with supertitles projected above the Byham stage.
He said, “While the play is set in the 50s, the opera reflects modern times and should resonate with audiences today.”
Wagner will face new challenges on the Pittsburgh Opera stage. He will play a woman, the Madwoman, in Benjamin Britten’s “Curlew River,” in an all-male, Japanese Noh-style theatrical performance opening in January 2026.
“Fellow Travelers” will run November 14th through the 16th at the Byham Theater.
