TransTainment! Trans People in the Arts and Entertainment

The Cockettes: Kreemah Ritz and Hibiscus, from “Luminous Procurusses,” 1970. Photo: Steven Arnold

Thanks to Ms. Bob Davis for letting TransTainment know about the Cockette’s 50th Anniversary Celebration. The Cockettes were a legendary avant-garde theater group who struck a chord with audiences during the early 1970s. Founded in 1969, the Cockettes were based in the Haight Ashbury. They pulled together all sorts of elements of queer culture including silent film, Hollywood and Broadway musicals. All of it performed in elaborate drag. Sadly we didn’t learn of the celebration, which had recreations of the original Cockettes musical numbers with narration supplied by some  of the original members of the troupe, but you can learn more about them The Bay Area Reporter.

Jill Soloway—a DGA Award winner for their work on Transparent—had their chances of landing one final Directors Guild of America ( DGA ) nomination for the Amazon comedy series hampered by an internal error, Deadline noted. “We regret to inform you that the following entry was inadvertently omitted from the Comedy Series ballot: #165a. Transparent Musicale Finale, Jill Soloway,” the DGA emailed members, offering those who wish to recast their vote in this category to do so. The email was sent Dec.31—three days before the end of the four-week voting window.

Josie Totah

The reboot of the late ‘80s early ‘90s show Saved By The Bell will feature a trans woman actor as Lexi, the most popular girl at Bayside High. 18-year-old Josie Totah became famous after appearing in a Disney channel show before she transitioned and then coming out as transgender in an essay for Time magazine in 2018. The Saved By The Bell reboot will stream on NBCUniversal’s upcoming streaming platform, Peacock. A premiere date has not been announced. Learn more about Josie and the new series from The Hollywood Reporter. Thanks to Alyssa Washington for pointing us to the story.

Monae at the premier of Queen & Slim channeling the femme side of the gender binary.

Musician and singer Janelle Monae has announced that she is non-binary. She made this revelation on Twitter just this past week after previously coming out as bisexual and pansexual. So far Monae has not issued a request for nonbinary pronouns. Learn more from Yahoo News.

Mj Rodriguez and Billy Porter have been recognized by the Critics’ Choice Awards for their work on Ryan Murphy’s critically-acclaimed drama, Pose, securing nominations for Best Actress and Best Actor in a Drama Series, Gay Times Magazine noted.

Billy Porter was also nominated for a Golden Globe in the Best Performance by an Actor In A Television Series but he lost to Brian Cox of the show Succession. He outshined all the other men on the red carpet though. He made a grand entrance is an all white tux that featured a very large skirt with an even longer train. Check out his attire in Insider.

Speaking of Billy Porter, it seems that 2020 will be a big year for the Pose star. His success on stage, on TV and in film has been enough to get him on the cover of Allure magazine’s :The Art of Beauty” issue. Porter is the first man to be on the cover of the beauty-focused magazine. Check out the photos and story in the January issue of Allure.

Janet Mock

Janet Mock is getting an award. She will be presented with the Stephen F. Kolzak Award at the 31st Annual GLAAD Media Awards on April 16. Get more info from Rolling Stone.

Anita Green is transgender and she wanted to compete in the Miss United States of America pageant. Since the pageant limits contestants to those who are “natural born female” she was told she couldn’t participate. Ms. Green is suing the pageant organization. Her love of pageants started in her teens when her sister was entering and winning them. At 18 she came out as transgender and by her mid-20s she winning pageants. She was Elite Miss Oregon in 2018. Learn more about the story and Ms. Green’s lawsuit from KGW Channel 8.

If you want to catch the Mariette Pathy Allen photography exhibit, Rites of Passage, 1978-2006, you don’t have much time left. Allen’s photos of the transgender community predate the actual recognition of a community. The exhibit is at the Museum of Sex, 233 5th Avenue, New York City, New York. It ends on January 20. Thanks to Jan Brown for letting us know.

Alves

Are you a fan of Celebrity Big Brother? If so you may be familiar with the contestant known as the human Ken Doll, Rodrigo Alves. Alves reportedly spent $650,000 to try and look like a Ken Doll. After all that spending Alves has decided to become a Barbie Doll. She has announced her transition and expects to spend more money going through gender confirmation surgery this year. Could it be that she was transgender all along? Of course. She admits that “Growing up, I was very feminine and used to play with dolls and wear my mum’s dresses and heels.” May she find happiness at last living her true gender. Learn more about her many modifications in the New York Post.

Alexandra Billings

History keeps happening! The latest bit of transgender history is the casting of opened trans Alexandra Billings in the role of Madam Horrible in the Broadway production of Wicked. Ms, Billings is no newcomer to the business. She has appeared in How to Get Away with Murder, Eli Stone, Grey’s Anatomy, and starred at Davina in Transparent. You can listen to an interview with her from WGN Radio 720.

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Tags: entertainment, featured, Transgender

Category: Transgender Fun & Entertainment