TransTainment 6/10/24

Kim Petras

Who here hasn’t worn MAC lipstick? In particular Viva Glam? Back in 1994 I did. That’s when the founders of MAC, Frank Toskan and Frank Angelo decided to merge their passion for makeup with their concern for their community. A community that had been decimated by AIDS for a decade. Since its debut Viva Glam has raised over half a billion dollars for AIDS research and is expanding the scope of its support for gender, racial, and environmental equality with a fresh lineup of lipstick. The first model for the Viva Glam ad campaign thirty years ago was RuPaul. Now Viva Glam has been retired to make way for the brand-new Viva Equality. The ad campaign features pop star Kim Petras. Check out an interview with her in Vogue World.

What’s coming up in San Francisco? Opera Parallèle, in collaboration with The Transgender District, will usher in the first-ever statewide Transgender History Month in August. This will be the third edition of Expansive, a showcase of transgender and nonbinary classical artists. A trio of talented trans artists will appear in two performances at 7.30 p.m. on Thursday, August 8 and Friday, August 9 at A.C.T.’s intimate Strand Theater, 1127 Market Street. This year’s roster features Lucas Bouk, baritone; Wilford Kelly, bass-baritone; and Queen Angelina, violinist. Tickets for this very popular musical event are now on sale and are available online. Get more info from Broadway World.

Cole Escola in costume.

Winners were announced on May 28 for the 13th Annual Off Broadway Alliance Awards. The Alliance is an organization of Off-Broadway producers, theaters, general managers, press agents, and marketing professionals. The awards honor commercial and not-for-profit productions that opened Off-Broadway during the 2023–2024 season. Of interest to TGF readers is the award that went to the production Oh, Mary! That’s Cole Escola’s Broadway-bound comedy. Escola portrays Mary Todd Lincoln in this absurd play which Escola has admitted on national TV, is all about him. If you like your theater absurd Oh, Mary! maybe right for you.

There’s a new addition to the Star Wars universe. A long time ago in a galaxy far, far away, even farther back in time, 100 years before the events of Star Wars: Episode 1 The Phantom Menace the story of The Acolyte begins. It’s a new series from the old days in which a young woman who gave up Jedi training is blamed for the murder of a Jedi master. Of interest to us is the actor cast as Ensign Eurus. Abigail Thorn won the role but at this time no one is sure what impact Ensign Eurus will have on the story. May the Force be with her. The Acolyte is available on Disney+s with new episodes streaming every Tuesday.

Mina Serrano as Cris Miró.

Cris Miró is an Argentine bio series following the life of trans woman artist Cris Miró who was selected in 1995 as the first trans vedette (a vedette is the main female artist of a show derived from cabaret and its subcategories) of the Theatre Maipo in Buenos Aires. Variety wrote this about Miró, “Embracing her true identity, she left her past behind to become a renowned figure in Argentine society. Miró’s fame brought visibility and acceptance to the trans community in the 1990s. However, when a stigmatizing health diagnosis shattered her plans, she resolved to make a tragic pact with herself: to hide her suffering and die as meaningfully as she lived.” The series will be available on Max in the USA. It premieres June 24. Learn more from the article in Variety. 

Helping Black trans women to get a start in show biz Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for theatre and the publisher of American Theatre, has announced the launch of the Funds for the Dolls: Elevating Trans Women of Color in the Performing Arts and Theatre. In the initial round of grants between $1000 NS $10,000 Will be given to at least 5 trans women of color.

Tags: featured, show biz

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment