By Mary Damiano

Bruno Vida as Angel in Slow Burn Theatre Company’s production of Rent

Two entertainment events that explore the evolution of LGBT characters and how they are presented are on the calendar this week at Stonewall Gallery in Wilton Manors.

Slow Burn Theatre Company opened their production of Rent this past weekend, and tonight, you can get a sneak peak of that show when the company presents “Songs from Rent” at the Stonewall Gallery. Meet the actors, hear the songs and learn how Rent changed the way LGBT lives are portrayed on stage.

The event will take place tonight, April 14, 7-9:30 p.m. Complimentary refreshments will be provided.  Attendees will have the opportunity to purchase discounted tickets to Rent and Little Shop of Horrors, Slow Burn’s last show in West Boca. In October, the company moves to Broward Center’s Amaturo Theatre, where their season opener will be Big Fish.

For more information, visit SlowBurnTheatre.org.

Tomorrow night, the Lavender Salon presents “Change the Channel: Television and the Emergence of LGBTQ Media” a panel discussion about the evolution of gay characters in the first three decades of TV.

Archie Bunker finds out his macho buddy is gay on an episode All in the Family

The event is in conjunction with the gallery’s exhibition, As Seen On TV: An Exploration of LGBT Characters: 1954-1979, now on display through April 26.

Presented by Stonewall National Museum & Archives and Florida Atlantic University, the Lavender Salon is an ongoing series of panel discussions dedicated to LGBTQ issues, topics, thought leaders and scholarship. The panelists are Matt Kane, Programs Editor in Entertainment Media from the Gay and Lesbian Alliance Against Defamation (GLAAD); Wanhsiu Sunny Tsai, Ph.D., Strategic Communication, University of Miami; and Charles L. Ross, curator of the exhibit. The discussion will be moderated by Fred Fejes, a professor in the School of Communication and Multimedia Studies at Florida Atlantic University.

The panel will take place tomorrow night, April 15, 7-8:30 p.m. For more information, visit Stonewall-Museum.org.

Both events take place at the Stonewall Gallery, 2157 Wilton Drive in Wilton Manors.