Alex Newell, Laverne Cox, Betty Who to Star in Queer Drowsy Chaperone Concert

The fourth annual Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival will kick off with a one-night-only concert of The Drowsy Chaperone, featuring an all trans and non-binary cast, at the Stern Auditorium/Perelman Stage at Carnegie Hall on Monday, October 20.

Directed by Tony Award nominee L Morgan Lee (A Strange Loop), the cast will include Emmy Award winner Laverne Cox (Orange is the New Black) as the Drowsy Chaperone, Joslyn Defreece as Underling, Tony Award winner Alex Newell (Shucked) as Janet Van De Graaf,  Peppermint (RuPaul’s Drag Race) as Mrs. Tottendale, Emmy Award winner Jonathan Van Ness (Queer Eye) as Man in Chair, and pop singer Betty Who (Hadestown) as Robert Martin. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

The Drowsy Chaperone, featuring music and lyrics by Lisa Lambert and Greg Morrison and a book by Bob Martin and Don McKellar, opened on Broadway in 2006. This concert marks the musical’s first major New York presentation since the Broadway production.

The Breaking the Binary Theatre Festival, which will continue the company’s mission of producing work created and developed by transgender, non-binary, and Two-Spirit+ (TNB2S+) theater artists, will take place October 20–26.

All net profits from the concert will benefit Breaking the Binary Theatre, Trans Lifeline, and Black Trans Liberation. Tickets will go on sale in August. Click here for more information.