Join the Storytelling (r)Evolution at Actors Theatre of Louisville

Louisville, KY — May 23, 2024 — Actors Theatre of Louisville, in collaboration with Drag Daddy Productions, is thrilled to announce the world premiere of Won't you be my May-bor? in the intimate Victor Jory Theater. Conceived by the creative minds of Andrew Newton Schaftlein and Eric Sharp, and featuring the extraordinary talents of drag performer May O'Nays, this production is set to deliver a mesmerizing experience for theatergoers young and old.

As a Black LGBTQ artist in Louisville for six years, and a repeat resident since birth, I can say in Louisville, KY there were many times that one might struggle to find spaces that would affirm such a unique background. While church and school-affiliated theater programs would provide a place for championship and community, these spaces can be inconsistent and the subject of equity for those of the LGBTQ happening. The recent attempts to limit the existence and accessibility of affirming spaces is worrisome to say the absolute least, and tiresome to say more. For someone like me, who relies on these spaces to feel renewed and to embrace the world with the love that remains the center of my identity, experiences like the one Dusty Ray Bottoms and May O'Nays charge are fearless examples of progress. The overwhelming feeling of fellowship and more importantly FUN that I felt while attending. The After Show Show brought tears to the eyes of a young Isaiah and hope to a more learned one that the scarcity of these queer-affirming spaces will soon be a thing of the past.<br>In my best Stefon, "This. Show. Has. Everything."

Actors Theatre's 2024–2025 Season uplifts stories and amplifies voices from myriad perspectives to connect with and learn from a diversity of people, ideas, and cultures. In its 50th anniversary year as the State Theatre, Actors Theatre will engage in meaningful community partnerships with fellow arts and service organizations around the region and will continue to share new work, revive relevant classics, and offer exciting experiences as part of the company's Storytelling (r)Evolution. Actors Theatre of Louisville is supported by Brown-Forman, the Fund for the Arts, the Kentucky Arts Council, the Shubert Foundation, and a grant from the Mellon Foundation, which recently awarded Actors Theatre $1 million in recognition of Fleming's transformative leadership in the American theatre.