MJ Off Broadway

Y'all know I absolutely love MJ Rodriguez from POSE, and if you've watched seasons one and two of the show we've discovered that she has an amazing singing voice. 

Now that we're anxiously awaiting Season 3 of POSE,  until they start filming it Rodriquez is keeping herself busy with other acting projects like playing Audrey from Little Shop of Horrors
That Pasadena Playhouse production of the musical play started on September 25, and also stars George Salazar.  It's running through October 20 for you Cali folks who wish to see it. 

MJ and George Salazar were on CBS' The Late Late Show With James Corden performing the Suddenly Seymour song from the play, and here's the video from it to brighten your day

'Trans Scripts, Part 1 The Women' Now Playing Until February 5

While I was at Creating Change, the opening performance of the Paul Lucas written play Trans Scripts, Part 1:  The Women debuted on January 19.

It is an original play crafted by Lucas and directed by Jo Bonney from interviews conducted with 75 diverse people from six continents around the world who identify as trans.   Those 75 trans people varied in age, ethnicity, socioeconomic status, educational level  and age at transition and sheds light on our stories.

It's also wonderful to note that the American Repertory Theater is producing it.

The play also features several trans actors playing these roles that includes Eden Lane, Bianca Leigh, MJ Rodriguez, and Marlo Bernier just to name a few of the people in it.
For people who have seen the play at the Loeb Theater Center on the Harvard University Campus, , here are their reactions to it.



For of you in the Boston metro area, you still have time to see Trans Scripts and check it out before February 5

Alexandra Billings In Upcoming Performance Of 'I'm Still Here, Still'

For those of you in southern California, you'll have something to look forward to coming on January 26 in an upcoming Alexandra Billings cabaret performance.

'I'm Still Here, Still'  is a autobiographical show organized by the USC School of Dramatic Arts about moving forward while finding stillness based on the life of trailblazing actress Alexandra Billings.

It is the triumphant life story of a little boy from Inglewood who through a dark pathway of shame and self-hatred found the trans woman she was born to be and recognized her as the truest light and the most profound gift. It is a story of humor and pathos, of ease and stillness. It is a tale that insists: even in the greatest chaos, there can be beautiful peace. And it is stacked with show tunes and sequins—as is Alexandra Billings’s life. Still.

Billings has been acting since 1968, performing in hundreds of plays and musicals throughout the United States.  She became in 2005 the first out trans actress to play a transgender character on television and currently plays Davina on the show Transparent .  She has also appeared on the ABC television shows How To Get Away With Murder and Grey's Anatomy   A PBS documentary about her life entitled Schoolboy to Schoolgirl was nominated for an Emmy.

So if you want to check out Alexandra's cabaret show, won';t cost you any money, but you will have to RSVP for the performance starting on January 10 at 9:00 AM PST.

The show will take place starting at 7 PM  at the Bing Theater on the USC campus..  Address is 3500 Watt Way, Los Angeles, CA 90089.   The performance will be followed up by a Q&A session with Alexandra Billings.

Break a leg Alexandra, and I hope the theater is not only sold out, but the show is an unqualified success.

Scott Turner Schofield's 'Becoming A Man In 127 Easy Steps' Play Coming To Chicago September 12

I have much love for my fellow Texan Scott Turner Schofield (he was born in San Antonio), who last year made a little history by becoming the first out trans actor on daytime television as Maya Avant Forrester's friend Nick on the CBS soap the Bold And The Beautiful.

I had the pleasure of seeing Scott's humorous one act play Debutante Balls while I was in Provincetown, MA last year at Fantasia Fair to pick up the Virginia Prince Transgender Pioneer Award, and understand Scott has another one act play he is preforming called Becoming A Man In 127 Easy Steps.

So what's it about?  It's irreverent and dynamic, graceful and playful, Becoming A Man In 127 EASY Steps engages the deep questions and the locker room jokes about what it means to "become" a man.

Moving beyond the transgender narrative that focuses on the experience of transition, Scott Turner Schofield’s 127 stories explore the drama and hilarity of living a new life in the "opposite" gender. 

Becoming a Man in 127 EASY Steps has toured the world for nearly a decade to rave reviews, making a deep impact in every community in which it plays. It is an award-winning glimpse into the real life of one transgender man whose artistry as a writer and performer has achieved the highest critical acclaim. 

Becoming a Man in 127 Easy Steps will be in Chicago at the Center on Halsted's Hoover-Leppen Theater on September 12 starting at 7 PM.  Tickets are $25,but no one will be turned away for lack of funds if you wish to see it because it's only going to be in the Windy City for one night only.

Check it out.  You'll be glad you did.  Registering for seats is highly recommended and you can do that at this link.

Hope you peeps in Chitown pack the theater for it, and tell Scott i said hello when you do..