Windy City Media Group Frontpage News

THE VOICE OF CHICAGO'S GAY, LESBIAN, BI, TRANS AND QUEER COMMUNITY SINCE 1985

home search facebook twitter join
Gay News Sponsor Windy City Times 2023-12-13
DOWNLOAD ISSUE
Donate

Sponsor
Sponsor
Sponsor

  WINDY CITY TIMES

SCOTTISH PLAY SCOTT Onstage diversity
by Scott C. Morgan, Windy City Times
2016-03-23

This article shared 2128 times since Wed Mar 23, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email


Trans performer Sydney Germaine was slightly perplexed when recently interviewed for making their Goodman Theatre debut in the 1955 Broadway comedy The Matchmaker by gay playwright Thornton Wilder. Germaine plays the female assistant milliner Minnie Fay in director Henry Wishcamper's new production, which is non-traditionally cast in multiple ways.

"It's interesting to me that I'm of all the people being interviewed," said Germaine, who moved to Chicago last year after graduating from the acting program at University of Illinois at Champaign-Urbana. "I still feel like I'm not very attached to the trans community because I'm so new here."

Germaine is also humbled to be profiled as the only non-Equity member of the Goodman's professional cast of "The Matchmaker," which includes Tony Award-nominee Kristine Nielsen starring in the title role of Dolly Gallagher Levi. If the character's name sounds familiar, it's because The Matchmaker is the source material for Jerry Herman's 1964 Broadway musical smash Hello, Dolly!

"Part of the intimidation was that everybody else in the show is very established," said Germaine, happy to experience "everybody's willingness and ability to just play and let go from the very first rehearsal—that reckless abandon that so many people had. I admire it so much."

Germaine heard about The Matchmaker last year, when it was made known by casting agents that director Wishcamper wanted to form a contemporary company of performers made up of different races, ethnic backgrounds, gender identities, sexual orientations or with disabilities.

"One of the things that I think is amazing about the play is how polyglot the New York that Wilder creates in that people of a whole variety of ethnic backgrounds and classes are not only amongst each other, but all mixed up together," Wishcamper said. "I also think that Wilder had chosen to look back to an earlier time in order to make social commentary on his own time, particularly when he [originally wrote it as The Merchant of Yonkers] in the 1930s. I wanted to do something similar with our production to look back at this older play and this sort of old-fashioned theatrical form and say things that are really relevant to today."

Wishcamper didn't initially see the role of Minnie Fay to be played by a trans performer, but was intrigued by Germaine's audition and what they could bring to the role—which also includes a certain amount of skills playing musical instruments for this particular staging.

"When Sydney read the role, then it made the character feel not only did they make sense, but they were somewhat more expansive of a human being—more multi-dimensional that I had seen previously," Wishcamper said. "Only afterwards we found all these places in the text where it felt like Sydney as a trans performer illuminated moments."

For instance, there's some farcical business involving attempted disguises in Act II when the male shop clerks Cornelius Hackl ( Postell Pringle ) and Barnaby Tucker ( Behzad Dabu ) don the women's cloaks and hats of Fay and her boss, Irene Molloy ( Elizabeth Ledo ). Since Wishcamper asked permission from the Wilder estate to reinstate a 1930s line of Minnie Fay's asking why it is that men aren't allowed to wear women's clothing, what could have been just an old-fashioned laugh of men acting and looking feminine is called into question.

Germaine's casting at the Goodman, Chicago's oldest and some would say flagship professional theater, isn't quite a first. Openly transgender actor Jax Jackson broke that barrier in 2013 playing a trans character in Christopher Shinn's college drama Teddy Ferrara.

Nonetheless, Germaine's appearance in The Matchmaker might make Chicago theater casting directors more willing to see trans performers playing roles not traditionally bound to gender binaries. There's some sign of recent progress since trans actor Malic White was cast as St. Jimmy in The Hypocrites' 2015 production of American Idiot. Also trans actress Delia Kropp, currently playing a trans poet in Pride Films and Plays' Raggedy And, was cast as an understudy to two female roles in David Rabe's Good for Otto at the Gift Theatre last year.

But rather than wait for plays to be produced featuring trans characters or casting directors to be more open to non-traditional casting in classic theater texts, Germaine is also writing their own work to perform. It's a tact that's also been taken by the likes of Malic White in the recently closed Neo-Futurists show Pop Waits and in the many autobiographical performance art pieces by trans educator and performer Rebecca Kling.

"I do mostly short plays and things like that and I include a lot of trans characters," said Germaine, noting that their work isn't necessarily autobiographical in the way that many trans youth productions by the likes of About Face Youth Theatre and the Youth Empowerment Performance Project draw upon its performers' personal experiences.

"It's not something strictly from my life, but it's definitely all connected," Germaine said. "I'm still interested in having other people play characters and I also want more queer-trans work out there. I've not seen a lot of that yet, so I hope to write and make more opportunities for some people who are identified like me."

Thornton Wilder's The Matchmaker continues through Sunday, April 10, at the Goodman Theatre, 170 N. Dearborn St. Performances are at 7:30 p.m. Wednesdays and Thursdays ( also March 27 and 29 ), 8 p.m. Fridays, 2 and 8 p.m. Saturdays and 2 p.m. Sundays. Tickets are $25-$82. Call 312-443-3800 or visit www.goodmantheatre.org/Matchmaker.

Pride Films and Plays' Raggedy And continues through April 10 at Rivendell Theatre, 5779 N. Ridge Ave. Performances are 7:30 p.m. Thursdays through Saturdays ( 6 p.m. on Thursday, March 24 ) with 3:30 p.m. matiness Sundays. Tickets are $22-$27. Call 800-737-0984 or visit www.pridefilmsandplays.com for more information .


This article shared 2128 times since Wed Mar 23, 2016
facebook twitter pin it google +1 reddit email

Out and Aging
Presented By

  ARTICLES YOU MIGHT LIKE

Gay News

City Lit Executive Artistic Director Brian Pastor talks theater, comics, queerness 2024-03-26
- City Lit Theater has announced its programming for the 2024-25 season—which will be the company's 44th. It will also be the first season to be programmed under the leadership of Brian Pastor (they/them), who will assume ...


Gay News

The Jeff Awards announces the 50th anniversary awards for non-equity theater 2024-03-26
--From a press release - A complete list of recipients can also be found online in the Non-Equity and News and Events sections at www.jeffawards.org. (March 25, 2024 - Chicago) — Celebrating its 50th anniversary awarding recognition for Non-Equity theater, the ...


Gay News

SHOWBIZ Queer musicians, Marvel situation, Elliot Page, Nicole Kidman 2024-03-21
- Queer musician Joy Oladokun released the single "I Wished on the Moon," from Jack Antonoff's official soundtrack for the new Apple TV+ series The New Look, per a press release. The soundtrack, ...


Gay News

THEATER Chicago's City Lit has anxiety on tap with 'Two Hours in a Bar' 2024-03-21
- Two Hours in a Bar Waiting for Tina Meyer by Kristine Thatcher with material by Larry Shue Text Me by Kingsley Day (Book, Music and Lyrics). At: City Lit Theater, 1020 W. Bryn Mawr Ave.. Tickets: ...


Gay News

Jamie Barton brings nuances of identity to her Lyric Opera 'Aida' performance 2024-03-18
- Chicago's Lyric Opera is currently featuring a production of Giuseppe Verdi's Aida starring Michelle Bradley as Aida, Jamie Barton as Amneris and Russell Thomas as Radamès. The opera runs through April 7, 2024, with Francesca Zambello ...


Gay News

Queer Eye's Jai Rodriguez is set to slay at The Big Gay Cabaret 2024-03-05
- Out and proud performer Jai Rodriguez is set to play at The Big Gay Cabaret this March for three days. Presented by RuPaul Drag Racer Ginger Minj, this monthly series highlights the wide world of cabaret ...


Gay News

THEATER 'R & J' puts a female, queer spin on Shakespeare 2024-03-05
- Romeo and Juliet is the theatrical gift that keeps on giving. It's been reworked for the masses numerous times, whether in direct adaptations or musicals such as West Side Story. Shakespeare's plotline points have even inspired ...


Gay News

Center on Halsted hosts 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show 2024-03-03
- On the evening of Feb. 29, Center on Halsted held its 6th Annual Intergenerational Talent Show in front of a packed audience at the Hoover-Leppen Theater. The event brought together participants of the Center's youth and senior ...


Gay News

THEATER When growth is paramount: Jim Corti helps fuel Aurora theater expansion 2024-03-01
- Out actor/director/choreographer Jim Corti made his Broadway debut in 1974, in the ensemble of Leonard Bernstein's musical Candide. Director Harold Prince's acclaimed Tony Award-winning revival is often cited as a ...


Gay News

Theater Review: Billy Elliot, The Musical 2024-02-19
- Book and Lyrics: Lee Hall; Music: Elton John. At: Paramount Theatre, 23 E. Galena Blvd., Aurora Tickets: 630-896-6666 or Paramountaurora.com; $28-$79. Runs through March 24 Billy Elliot: The Musical may nearly be two decades old, but ...


Gay News

'West Side Story' gets a sex-positive spin with new burlesque show 2024-02-19
- In partial observance of National Condom Day, which was Feb. 14, Los Angeles-based AIDS Healthcare Foundation (AHF) presented A West Side Story Burlesque at the Harris Theater for two hour-long performances on Feb. 17. The show, ...


Gay News

Second Glance Productions hosts LGBTQupid Soiree 2024-02-16
- In celebration of Valentine's Day, Chicago based film and media production company Second Glance hosted The LBGTQupid Soiree. The event, which was focused on spinning attitudes on this particular day, was presented at The iO ...


Gay News

Carisa Hendrix mesmerizes as Lucy Darling in Teatro ZinZanni 2024-02-12
- Since 2019, Teatro ZinZanni has gathered together amazing performers from all over the world to create an experience in Chicago under the Spiegeltent in the Cambria Hotel building, 32 W. Randolph St. Over the years, ticket ...


Gay News

THEATER Dot-Marie Jones talks Goodman production, 'Glee,' 'Bros' 2024-02-12
- Running through Feb. 18 at the the Goodman Theatre, the production Highway Patrol works with a script conceived entirely from Emmy-winning actor Dana Delany's (TV's China Beach) digital archive of hundreds of tweets and direct messages ...


Gay News

Dr. Lady J explains how opera can be a drag 2024-02-10
- On Feb. 8, Center on Halsted, in partnership with Lyric Opera of Chicago, presented a lecture by historian, drag activist, podcaster and curator Dr. Lady J. The event, titled "Castrated Superstars, Cross Dressed Divas, and Queer ...


 


Copyright © 2024 Windy City Media Group. All rights reserved.
Reprint by permission only. PDFs for back issues are downloadable from
our online archives.

Return postage must accompany all manuscripts, drawings, and
photographs submitted if they are to be returned, and no
responsibility may be assumed for unsolicited materials.

All rights to letters, art and photos sent to Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago
Gay and Lesbian News and Feature Publication) will be treated
as unconditionally assigned for publication purposes and as such,
subject to editing and comment. The opinions expressed by the
columnists, cartoonists, letter writers, and commentators are
their own and do not necessarily reflect the position of Nightspots
(Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay,
Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature Publication).

The appearance of a name, image or photo of a person or group in
Nightspots (Chicago GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times
(a Chicago Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Transgender News and Feature
Publication) does not indicate the sexual orientation of such
individuals or groups. While we encourage readers to support the
advertisers who make this newspaper possible, Nightspots (Chicago
GLBT Nightlife News) and Windy City Times (a Chicago Gay, Lesbian
News and Feature Publication) cannot accept responsibility for
any advertising claims or promotions.

 
 

TRENDINGBREAKINGPHOTOS







Sponsor


 



Donate


About WCMG      Contact Us      Online Front  Page      Windy City  Times      Nightspots
Identity      BLACKlines      En La Vida      Archives      Advanced Search     
Windy City Queercast      Queercast Archives     
Press  Releases      Join WCMG  Email List      Email Blast      Blogs     
Upcoming Events      Todays Events      Ongoing Events      Bar Guide      Community Groups      In Memoriam     
Privacy Policy     

Windy City Media Group publishes Windy City Times,
The Bi-Weekly Voice of the Gay, Lesbian, Bisexual and Trans Community.
5315 N. Clark St. #192, Chicago, IL 60640-2113 • PH (773) 871-7610 • FAX (773) 871-7609.