One-Woman Rock Musical TRANS AM by Lisa Stephen Friday to Have Public Workshop at the Hangar Theatre
This touching, funny, irreverent, and provocative autobiographical musical reflects the deeply human experience of a trans woman. It also seriously rocks.
TRANS AM, a ground-breaking new one-woman rock musical written by and starring actress/musician/rock star Lisa Stephen Friday (she/her), with music supervision and orchestrations by Tony Award winner Stephen Oremus (Tony Award for Best Orchestrations for Kinky Boots, Tony and Drama Desk Awards for co-orchestrating The Book of Mormon), is getting its latest development in August at the Hangar Theatre in Ithaca, NY. Under the direction of Fred Berman (currently starring in Broadway's The Lion King), four public workshop performances will play the Hangar Outdoor Stage August 18-21.
New York City-based producer, Tequila Talking Theatrical, LLC, is seeking a wider life for the touching, funny, irreverent, and provocative autobiographical musical that reflects the deeply human experience of a trans woman. It also just so happens that the human experience of this particular trans woman seriously rocks. Hard.
In the 1990s and 2000s, Friday's band, Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday, were cult-favorite punk-pop, glam-rock darlings regularly headlining NYC clubs like CBGB, The Knitting Factory, Mercury Lounge and more. They toured the country, sharing the stage with the likes of Pat Benatar, The Psychedelic Furs, The Motels, Indigo Girls and others as one of the only bands with an out trans front-woman at the time.
In previous development at The Keegan Theatre in Washington, DC, the show featured just Lisa and her guitar, playing the personal and powerful songs that put her band on the map. Music coordinator and orchestrator Stephen Oremus and music director Ada Westfall have enhanced the already electric score by adding a blistering four-piece band to the proceedings.
"I'm excited to further grow TRANS AM as part of the Hangar's Flight Test developmental series," said Ms. Friday. "The creative team has been hard at work, and we're making fresh discoveries that help make the musical story of my life not just my story, but a universal one."
Friday's music and stories go from hard-driving punk expression to anthemic rock ballad confession, toggling between Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday's songs and Lisa's engrossing, meaningful stories exploring identity and belonging.
"We're thrilled to be shepherding this timely, important piece," said producer Jeff Gurner of Tequila Talking Theatrical. "Lisa is an extraordinary storyteller, actress and musician who's led a fascinating life. TRANS AM is necessary theater in today's rapidly shifting cultural landscape. It definitely disrupts the status quo while being funny, intense, moving and endlessly entertaining."
Friday sought to provide opportunities to musicians from the LGBTQ+ community when she and Westfall assembled the band for the Hangar workshop. Westfall (she/her) will be playing additional guitar, and the rest of the band is rounded out with Sarah Schardt (they/them) on drums, Colleen Countryman (she/her) on keyboard, and Emma Vulnerability (she/her) on bass.
For tickets and information about the Hangar Theatre run, visit https://hangartheatre.org/event/hangar-flight-test-trans-am/.
Tequila Talking Theatrical is in discussions with investors and other regional theaters to continue developing TRANS AM for a future regional and/or New York City life. Learn more about TRANS AM at https://www.tequilatalkingtheatrical.com/trans-am.
The producers and star/creator are available for interviews related to this project.
Here's how the Hangar Theatre characterizes TRANS AM:
"A ground-breaking new rock musical. Lisa Stephen Friday divulges the heartaches and joys of heading the punk rock band Lisa Jackson & Girl Friday through the 1990s and 2000s. This autobiographical piece featuring the music of the band tells the story of Lisa's creative and personal journey as a trans rock musician. TRANS AM is a vulnerable portrait of the struggle to live an authentic life out-loud and the humor necessary to deal with how absurdly society treats otherness."
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