The Expiration Date

April 2nd, 2024 | Judah Leblang

Clockwise from the upper left: Judah at a house retreat in the 90s; Judah and fellow housie at a house retreat in 2022; Judah’s room when he lived at BHFH in the 90s; postcard for Judah’s show “Its Now or Never” for the BorderLight Festival; friends visiting Judah when he lived at BHFH in the 90s; Judah and fellow housie on the T in the 90s; flyer for Judah’s show “Finding My Place”. Photos courtesy of Judah Leblang and BHFH.

Dear Friends,

Back when I lived at BHFH for the first time, in 1994-96, I dreamed about performing a one-man show. After all, I’d taken improv classes, and dabbled in creative writing. When I watched my improv teacher perform her one-person shows in Boston, I noticed a hard knot of envy form in my gut. But I lacked confidence, and in my thirties, I didn’t know what I had to share with a potential audience.

Fast forward ten years, or twenty. After I left the House in the mid-‘90s I began to write, mining my life experience and discovering that I had accumulated some material for memoir writing. This led to storytelling, and in the 2010’s, my first show, “One Man’s Journey through the Middle Ages,” a humorous look at a single gay man’s search for love and connection while navigating middle age, therapy, and times when ‘man planned, and God laughed.’

Coming back to live at the Friends House in 2021 has led me to reflect on my current stage of life as a sixty-something man who is closer to the end than the beginning. At 67, I’m aware that aging often involves loss: of one’s parents, one’s friends, and sometimes—one’s health.

And yet, there are gifts embedded in the passing years: an appreciation of life’s fragility, an ability to express one’s beliefs and values, and in my case – the joy of sharing stories through writing and performance.

Over the past year, I’ve written a new show, “The Expiration Date,” an exploration of life as a “Junior-Senior,” of a man still trying to grow, try new things, and make the most of the time he has left, while wondering what, if anything, comes next.

I’m excited to be performing my show at the Friends House, which has been, and continues to be, a special place in my life and in the lives of all the members of our BHFH community. You’ll be entertained, but beyond that, it may get you thinking about the preciousness of your life and a chance to reflect on your own personal and spiritual journeys. I hope you’ll join me for this BHFH community and alumni event on April 7.