THE REAL BLACK SWANN: CONFESSIONS OF AMERICA'S FIRST BLACK DRAG QUEEN Comes to Open Space Arts
Performances run July 18 – 27.
Before Stonewall. Before RuPaul. Before the word “drag” entered the mainstream, there was William Dorsey Swann—a formerly enslaved man who, in the 1880s, crowned himself “The Queen of Drag” and hosted underground balls in Washington, D.C. THE REAL BLACK SWANN: CONFESSIONS OF AMERICA'S FIRST BLACK DRAG QUEEN, will be presented at Open Space Arts in association with Adam Weinstock Productions from July 18 – 27. This solo performance brings Swann's long-erased story to the stage with a bold mix of historical storytelling, theatrical flair, and raw personal confession. Creator and performer Les Kurkendaal-Barrett channels Swann's spirit while reflecting on his own life as a Black, gay performer navigating love, visibility, and the winding road to adoption with his husband.
What begins as Les getting a text before he goes into surgery turns into a captivating journey across time. As Les learns more about Swann, who fought for queer freedom decades before Stonewall, he begins to see reflections of his own life and the power of reclaiming lost stories. The show confronts issues of race, queerness, legacy, and chosen family, blurring past and present, pain and celebration. It asks: Who gets remembered, and who gets erased? What does it mean to fight for your identity in a world that tries to silence it? (Pictured: Les Kurkendaal-Barrett as William Swann. Click on image to access high-res file.).
THE REAL BLACK SWANN was the winner of The International Audience Pick Colchester Fringe 2024, the Audience Pick of the Prague Fringe 2023, winner of The Fringe Encore producers pick Cincy Fringe 2022, and winner of The Doric Wilson Award at The Dublin International Gay Theatre Festival. Critics reviewing these performances said it was “Powerful, heartfelt, and completely engaging… Les Kurkendaal-Barrett is a master storyteller. (Hollywood Fringe Festival). “A fascinating and emotional tribute to an unsung hero of LGBTQ+ history. The audience was riveted.” Orlando Fringe Festival, “Kurkendaal-Barrett brings humor, depth, and sincerity to a story that needs to be told.” (Minnesota Fringe).
THE REAL BLACK SWANN will play for two weekends only, from Friday, July 18 to Sunday, July 27, at Open Space Arts, 1411 W. Wilson Ave., Chicago.
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