True Colors Project To Present Staged Reading of STORME By Carolyn M. Brown At Playwrights Horizons

True Colors Project will present a staged reading of Carolyn M. Brown's play STORMÉ (3pm, Saturday, October 28) at Playwrights Horizon Downtown (Robert Moss Theater, 440 Lafayette St., across from The Public Theater) in honor of National LGBTQ+ History Month. 4

STORMÉ is a play with music that depicts the true-life story of legendary Stormé DeLarverie-a big band singer, a male impersonator at the Jewel Box Revue, and an icon of the historic Stonewall Rebellion. Stormé is revered for having thrown the first punch-or series of punches at police-during the now infamous raid at the Stonewall Inn in 1969, a watershed moment in the Gay Rights Movement.

This special performance will be followed by a spirited talk-back with trans Latinx Drag King, Richard D and Uganda-born, Brooklyn-based Drag King, Uncle Freak.

"I wrote this play in the wake of mounting anti-LGBTQ+ laws, book bans, and the war on trans people and drag performers across the nation," says Brown. "STORMÉ is a timely and important reminder of the resilience and contributions of LGBTQ+ individuals throughout history. For me, it's important to acknowledge historical events about LGBTQ+ people of color and marginalized communities, because I believe in the adage 'those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.' My hope is that STORMÉ inspires a new generation to continue the good fight."

The play is about romance, friendship, and unbridled resilience in the face of oppression. The story follows Stormé's journey beginning in New Orleans as a child of mixed race, learning to fight for herself and for her identity. While performing in Chicago with big bands as a singer under the stage name Stormy Dale, she befriends Billy Strayhorn, an openly gay piano virtuoso and composer for Duke Ellington's Orchestra. Soon after, Stormy falls in love with a chorus line dancer, Diana Prasad, slowly shedding her girly persona in defiance of local cross-dressing laws and forming ties with "The Outfit" (Chicago mobsters). Stormé teams up with Danny Brown, proprietor of the Jewel Box Revue, a touring company of female impersonators, and performs as emcee and the Revue's one and only male impersonator. Stormé' - along with her extended family and friends - exist under constant threat from the NYPD (who arrest cross-dressers under the guise of violating masquerade laws and harass gays gathering in bars under ban by the NY State Liquor Authority) until that fateful day in June of 1969, when she had enough of being under everyone's thumb.

"STORMÉ pays homage to drag culture by putting a spotlight on the Jewel Box Revue, which was America's first racially integrated and gay-owned drag shows and one of America's first queer-positive communities," Brown says. "It was a place where "queerness" was accepted before the concept of LGBTQ+ identity had even been fully conceived."

Entitled "No Tea, No Shade, Just Facts: A Conversation with Drag Kings and Queens of New York," the post-show panel discuss will engage prominent members of the LGBTQ community on the following topics:

· The importance of remembering the Stonewall Rebellion and those involved.

· The history of drag as an art form from ancient Grece until now.

· The distinction between being queer, transgender, and doing drag.

· The current political climate towards the LGBTQ+ community.

Tickets for STORMÉ are $10 online at https://our.show/stormetheplayhorizons23 and $15 at the door for Robert Moss Theater, 440 Lafayette St. To learn more, visit the show's site at https://www.stormetheplay.com.

Carolyn M. Brown (she/her) is a journalist, editor, author, playwright, and producer. She is the principal of True Colors Project, a social enterprise whose mission is to produce performing arts that educate, entertain, and empower audiences. She Co-Founded My True Colors Festival: Fighting For Social Justice and Cultural Diversity Through The Arts and currently serves as a Board Director of All Out Arts/Fresh Fruit Festival: Fighting Prejudice Through The Arts. Carolyn was one of the youngest artists to have a staged reading at the Schomburg Center in Harlem with her play "Accessories." As a queer Black woman, she takes great pride in being a GLAAD Media Award-winning journalist whose in-depth writings about the lives of marginalized people in America have been integral to creating a media environment where LGBTQ+ people of color feel visible, affirmed, and celebrated. STORMÉ is a pivotal moment in speaking her truth.

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