Fellow Travelers

Love in the time of the Lavender Scare

February 21, 22, 25, 27, & 28, 2026
March 1, 2026
McCaw Hall

Overview

A gay La bohème”

– Opera News

Music by Gregory Spears
Libretto by Greg Pierce
Based on the novel by Thomas Mallon

Recent college graduate Timothy Laughlin arrives in 1950s Washington, D.C., ready to join the fight against Communism. A chance encounter with the handsome State Department official, Hawkins Fuller, results in Tim's first job and his first romantic relationship with a man. As Tim struggles to reconcile his newfound love with his political, personal, and religious beliefs, Hawkins comes under the watchful eye of McCarthyism and faces charges that could cost him his job and his freedom. Both men must make impossible choices as they struggle to survive the Lavender Scare.

One of the most frequently performed contemporary operas, this "striking" (American Record Guide) opera with its "ravishing musical score" (Cincinnati Enquirer) makes its Seattle premiere. A powerful piece of historical fiction, this production launches a national project to bring this story to opera stages across the country and speaks to the experiences of those who were banned from government employment and subject to humiliating investigations because of their sexuality.

Available now with 2025/26 season tickets.
Individual tickets will go on sale to the general public on Tuesday, June 17.

Performance Information

McCaw Hall

In English with English subtitles

Evening performances at 7:30 PM. Sunday matinees at 2:00 PM.

Performance Time: 2 hours and 15 minutes including 1 intermission

Movie-Style Rating: R

Accessibility Offerings

Audio Described Performance: Sunday, March 1

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Cast

Amber R. Monroe

Mary Johnson

Soprano

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Mary Johnson, Fellow Travelers (‘26)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: Youngstown, OH

Engagements: Serena, Porgy and Bess (Washington National Opera); Lucienne, Die Tote Stadt (Boston Symphony Orchestra); Soloist, Verdi’s Requiem (National Philharmonic); Nedda, Pagliacci (Glimmerglass Festival); High Priestess, Aida (Baltimore Symphony)

Last updated: January 2025

Amber R. Monroe

Mary Johnson

Seattle Opera Debut

Andres Acosta

Timothy Laughlin

Tenor
At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Timothy Laughlin, Fellow Travelers (‘26)

Hometown: Miami, FL
Seattle Opera Debut: Nemorino, The Elixir of Love (‘22)
Engagements: Tony, West Side Story (Teatro Lirico di Cagliari); Edgardo, Lucia di Lammermoor (Madison Opera); Jasper, Snowy Day (Houston Grand Opera); Herald, Don Carlos (The Metropolitan Opera); Timothy, Fellow Travelers (Florida Grand Opera); Mr. Rodriguez, Awakenings (Opera Theatre of Saint Louis)

Last Updated: June 2022

Andres Acosta

Timothy Laughlin

Colin Aikins

Timothy Laughlin

Tenor

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Timothy Laughlin, Fellow Travelers (‘26)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA

Engagements: Prologue/Peter Quint, The Turn of the Screw, Gherardo, Gianni Schicchi, Jimmy O’Keefe, Later the Same Evening (Julliard Opera); Fenton, Falstaff (Aspen Opera Center); Alfredo, La traviata (City Lyric Opera); Soloist, Trouble in Tahiti (Curtis Opera Theater)

Last Updated: February 2025

Colin Aikins

Timothy Laughlin

Seattle Opera Debut

Joseph Lattanzi

Hawkins Fuller

Baritone
At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Hawkins Fuller, Fellow Travelers (‘26)
Hometown: Atlanta, GA

Previously at Seattle Opera: Steward, Flight (‘21); Kuligin, Katya Kabanova ('17); Assan, The Consul (’14); Registrar, Madama Butterfly (’12)
Seattle Opera Debut: Moralès, Carmen (’11)

Seattle Opera Young Artist: 2011/12

Engagements: Silvio, Pagliacci (Atlanta Opera); Count Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro (Cincinnati Opera); Hawkins Fuller, Fellow Travelers (Arizona Opera, Des Moines Metro Opera); Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni (Jacksonville Symphony)

Last Updated: January 2021

Joseph Lattanzi

Hawkins Fuller

Jarrett Ott

Hawkins Fuller

Baritone

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Hawkins Fuller, Fellow Travelers (‘26)
Seattle Opera Debut
Hometown: Penn Argyl, PA

Engagements: Samson, Samson (Festival d’Aix en Provence); Colonel Álvaro, Exterminating Angel (Opéra national de Paris); Agrippa, Antony and Cleopatra (Metropolitan Opera); Aeneas, Dido and Aeneas (Grand Théâtre de Genève); Riff, West Side Story (Gran Teatre del Liceu Barcelona); Count Almaviva, The Marriage of Figaro (Teatro Regio di Torino)

Last updated: January 2025

Jarrett Ott

Hawkins Fuller

Seattle Opera Debut

Marcus DeLoach

Senator Joseph McCarthy/Estonian Frank/Interrogator

Baritone

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Senator Joseph McCarthy/Estonian Frank/Interrogator, Fellow Travelers (’26)

Hometown: Andover, MA
Seattle Opera Debut: Schaunard, La bohème (‘07)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Kurwenal (cover), Tristan und Isolde (‘10)

Engagements: Don Giovanni, Don Giovanni (Syracuse Opera); Sam, Trouble in Tahiti (Boston Lyric Opera); David, L’amico Fritz (Teatro Grattacielo); Minister, Breaking the Waves (Opera Philadelphia); Senator Joseph McCarthy/Estonian Frank/Interrogator, Fellow Travelers (Cincinnati Opera); Joseph De Rocher, Dead Man Walking (Opera Ireland)

Last updated: March 2025

Marcus DeLoach

Senator Joseph McCarthy/Estonian Frank/Interrogator

Elisa Sunshine

Lucy

Soprano

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Lucy, Fellow Travelers (‘26)

Hometown: San Clemente, CA
Seattle Opera Debut

Engagements: Flower Maiden/Esquire, Parsifal, Page (cover)/Gilda (cover), Rigoletto (San Francisco Opera); Iris, Semele (The Atlanta Opera); Juliette, Die tote Stadt (Boston Symphony Orchestra, Boston Lyric Opera); Susanna (cover), The Marriage of Figaro, Gilda (cover), Rigoletto (Lyric Opera of Chicago)

Last Updated: March 2025

Elisa Sunshine

Lucy

Seattle Opera Debut

Kyle Pfortmiller

Senator Charles Potter/General Arlie/Bartender

Bass-baritone

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Senator Charles Potter/General Arlie/Bartender, Fellow Travelers (‘26)

Hometown: Elgin, IL
Seattle Opera Debut

Engagements: Marquis d’Obigny, La traviata, Brian’s Father, Two Boys (Metropolitan Opera); Mr. XE, Angel’s Bone (Prototype Festival, Beijing Music Festival); Musiklehrer, Ariadne auf Naxos (Arizona Opera); Silvio, Pagliacci (De Nederlandse Opera); Figaro, The Barber of Seville (Florida Grand Opera)

Last Updated: March 2025

Kyle Pfortmiller

Senator Charles Potter/General Arlie/Bartender

Seattle Opera Debut

Jeremy Weiss

Senator Potter's Assistant/ Bookseller/Priest/ Technician/Party Guest

Baritone

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Senator Potter's Assistant/Bookseller/Priest/Technician/Party Guest, Fellow Travelers (‘26)

Hometown: Charlottesville, VA
Seattle Opera Debut

Engagements: Harry Easter, Street Scene (Opéra national de Paris); Manuel, La Vida Breve (Opéra-Théâtre de Metz); Himself, Infinitesimal (Paradiso Pure Italia); Schaunard, La bohéme (Charlottesville Opera); Street Singer, Berstein’s Mass (Ravinia Festival, Chicago Symphony Orchestra); Lifeguard, The Good Swimmer (Brookyln Academy of Music)

Last Updated: March 2025

Jeremy Weiss

Senator Potter's Assistant/ Bookseller/Priest/ Technician/Party Guest

Seattle Opera Debut

Creative Team

Gregory Spears

Composer

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Composer, Fellow Travelers (‘26)

Hometown: New York, NY
Seattle Opera Debut

Gregory Spears is a New York-based composer who has been commissioned by the New York Philharmonic, Lyric Opera of Chicago, Santa Fe Opera, Cincinnati Opera, Houston Grand Opera, and more. His opera, Fellow Travelers, written in collaboration with Greg Pierce, premiered at Cincinnati Opera in 2016 and has been produced at many companies across the country. The premiere was featured in The New York Times’ The Best Classical Music of 2016. His latest opera, The Righteous, written in collaboration with former U.S. Poet Laureate Tracy K. Smith, was commissioned by Santa Fe Opera and premiered there in 2024. Castor and Patience, also written in collaboration with Smith, was commissioned by Cincinnati Opera for their 100th Anniversary and premiered in 2022. Both operas were named “Critics Pick” by The New York Times. For the 2021-2022 season, the New York Philharmonic commissioned and premiered Love Story, an orchestral song cycle for countertenor and orchestra.

Gregory Spears

Composer

Seattle Opera Debut

Greg Pierce

Librettist

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Librettist, Fellow Travelers (‘26)

Hometown: Shelburne, VT
Seattle Opera Debut

Greg Pierce is a playwright, librettist, and lyricist based in New York City. He wrote the libretto for Fellow Travelers with composer Gregory Spears, which premiered at Cincinnati Opera, and the libretto for the Grammy-nominated opera The Hours with composer Kevin Puts, commissioned by the Metropolitan Opera and The Philadelphia Opera. He also written a variety of musicals and plays, including The Landing, Kid Victory, Slowgirl, Her Requiem, The Quarry, The Wind-Up Bird Chronicle, and Cardinal. Pierce frequently collaborates with singer and actor Mare Winningham, who has recorded many of his songs, and he has received fellowships from the Edward F. Albee Foundation, Yaddo, The Djerassi Institute, the New York Public Library, and the Baryshnikov Arts Center.

Greg Pierce

Librettist

Seattle Opera Debut

Patrick Summers

Conductor

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Conductor, Fellow Travelers (‘26)
Seattle Opera Debut: Conductor, La bohème (‘98)
Hometown: Loogootee, IN

Engagements: Conductor, The Marriage of Figaro, Il trovatore (Houston Grand Opera); Adriana Lecouvreur (Gran Teatre del Liceu); Hansel und Gretel (Aspen Opera Theater)

Last updated: February 2025

Patrick Summers

Conductor

Kevin Newbury

Stage Director

At Seattle Opera in 2025/26: Stage Director, Fellow Travelers (‘26)
Hometown: Auburn, ME

Previously at Seattle Opera: Director, The (R)evolution of Steve Jobs (‘19)
Seattle Opera Debut: Director, Mary Stuart (‘16)

Engagements: Director, Castor & Patience (Cincinnati Opera); Creative Director, Liz Phair: GUYVILLE Tour; Director, The Righteous (Santa Fe Opera); Director, SOUL(SIGNS): Making Music Visible (PBS); Director, Fellow Travelers (National Tour); Co-Founder, Up Until Now Collective

Last updated: January 2025

Kevin Newbury

Stage Director

Staging Staff

Jonathan Moore

Production Stage Manager

Production Stage Manager

Hometown: Houston, TX
Seattle Opera Mainstage Debut: Les Troyens in Concert (’25)
Jonathan Moore (he/him) is thrilled to be a part of the Seattle Opera Production Team as Production Stage Manager. He has primarily worked in opera and ballet, including, most recently, a 4-season stint at the Houston Ballet. He has also stage managed for plays, musicals, a Fringe Festival, concerts, and a drag show. Favorite projects include a tour to Tokyo, an opera in a hot spring, and several operas in barns. He has worked across the country, including in New York, San Diego, San Antonio, Steamboat Springs, and Logan, UT.

Last Updated: February 2025

Jonathan Moore

Production Stage Manager

Quinn Chase

Assistant Stage Manager

Assistant Stage Manager
At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Pagliacci, Jubilee, The Magic Flute, Tosca

Hometown: Coventry, RI
Seattle Opera Debut: Il trovatore ('19)
Previously at Seattle Opera: Jubilee (‘24); Pagliacci (‘24); X: The Life and Times of Malcolm X ('24); Das Rheingold ('23); A Thousand Splendid Suns ('23)
Engagements: Blithe Spirit, Sanctuary City, Selling Kabul, Teenage Dick (Seattle Repertory Theatre); A Christmas Carol (ACT Contemporary Theatre); Everything is Illuminated (Book-It Repertory Theatre)

Last Updated: January 2025

Quinn Chase

Assistant Stage Manager

Mike Egan

Assistant Stage Manager

At Seattle Opera in 2024/25: Video Stage Manager, The Magic Flute

Hometown: Pittsburgh, PA
Seattle Opera Debut: Salome ('02)
Previously at Seattle Opera: A Thousand Splendid Suns (‘23); Ring cycle (‘05, ‘13); Lohengrin (‘04); Parsifal (‘03)

Last Updated: October 2024

Mike Egan

Assistant Stage Manager