New York audiences can get a first look at The Danish Girl musical this fall. The new musical is based on the David Ebershoff novel (which was adapted into a 2015 film starring Eddie Redmayne). The Danish Girl will receive a concert presentation at Lincoln Center’s David Rubenstein Atrium November 20 to celebrate Transgender Day of Remembrance, produced by Breaking the Binary Theatre.
Ebershoff’s 2000 novel tells the true story of Lili Elbe, a trans artist and one of the first to undergo gender affirmation surgery. The new musical features a book and lyrics by Nora Brigid Monahan, a score by Alex Parker, and direction by Georgie Rankcom. The production, which held its first private workshop earlier this year, is being developed by Breaking the Binary leader George Strus’ commercial producing venture, Benson Drive Productions. Casting will be announced at a later date. All tickets are complimentary and general admission. For more information, click here.
The company also announced that the fifth annual Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival will take place October 5–11 at The Susan & Ronald Frankel Theater at the Robert W. Wilson MCC Theater Space. The Festival, which will continue the company’s mission of producing work created and developed by transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) theatre artists, will announce full programming in the coming weeks.
Following the festival, George Strus will step down from leading Breaking the Binary, the company they founded, in December. New leadership and succession plans will be
announced later this year.
In a statement, Strus said, “It is with profound gratitude that I am
stepping down as Artistic Director of Breaking the Binary Theatre in
December of this year. For the past five years, it has been the honor of
my lifetime building this organization from the ground up with
thousands of artists, supporters, and audience members. From the very
beginning, I felt a space like BTB was necessary, not only for the
transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) community, but also
for the theatrical ecosystem at large; in my wildest dreams, I could
never have imagined how deeply life-changing and life-saving the work
would be, not only for me but also for hundreds of other TNB2S+
theatermakers. From our launch–BTB’s inaugural Festival in 2022–through
the end of my tenure, I am overjoyed to say that Breaking the Binary
Theatre will have paid out over $1,000,000 to over 600 TNB2S+ artists. I
am so incredibly proud of what the BTB community has built and I am
forever grateful to every collaborator who helped shape the
organization’s body of work and impact. As I depart, it brings me great
solace to know that Breaking the Binary Theatre’s crucial work will
continue, and I look forward to passing the
torch and watching with great excitement as BTB enters its next chapter
and continues to create space for TNB2S+ artists to tell their stories,
share their artistry, and shape the future of our theatrical industry.”
Launched in July 2022 and founded and led by Strus, Breaking the
Binary Theatre is a new work development and community building hub
wherein transgender, non-binary,
and Two-Spirit+ artists come together to reclaim their artistic
license and liberty through a number of initiatives and programs.
Visit BTB-nyc.com.