Date of Award
5-2026
Degree Type
Thesis
Degree Name
M.A.
Degree Program
History
Department
History
Major Professor
Mary Niall Mitchell
Second Advisor
Andrea Mosterman
Third Advisor
Max Krochmal
Fourth Advisor
Jessica Dauterive
Abstract
This thesis explores how the Faerie Playhouse became a space of community gathering, community activism, and community memorials through its functions as a residential, gathering, political, and memorial space. Nicknamed the “House with the Hearts,” the Faerie Playhouse was purchased in 1979 by Stewart Butler (1930-2020) and his partner Alfred Doolittle (1936-2008) as their permanent residence. In 1980 at the age of fifty, Butler quit his job and became a full-time activist, dedicating the rest of his life to LGBTQ+ rights in New Orleans and Louisiana. The Faerie Playhouse became a place of refuge for Butler, Doolittle, their loved ones, and many members of the New Orleans queer community, and, through events in this space, a community of chosen family members formed. Additionally, this thesis argues for the importance of domestic spaces in the queer history, as the history of the Faerie Playhouse parallels the LGBTQ+ rights movement of Louisiana.
Recommended Citation
Lanoux, Shelby K., "The “House with the Hearts”: The Faerie Playhouse, a Space of Community, Activism, and Memory" (2026). University of New Orleans Theses and Dissertations. 3372.
https://scholarworks.uno.edu/td/3372
Included in
Other History Commons, Public History Commons, Social History Commons, United States History Commons
Rights
The University of New Orleans and its agents retain the non-exclusive license to archive and make accessible this dissertation or thesis in whole or in part in all forms of media, now or hereafter known. The author retains all other ownership rights to the copyright of the thesis or dissertation.