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

Ya'll, there is something going on at Actors Theatre of Louisville. I arrived right after church with my husband for a Sunday afternoon showing of Won't you be my May-bor?, a kid-friendly romp of a play in the Victor Jory Theater (it seems all my favorite Actors plays are performed in the VJ). We sat with two older gay men from our church, not quite sure what to expect. Of this I was certain, though: If the drag performer May O'Nays is involved, my spirit is about to be warmed. And I was correct. For a little over an hour, I sat among people just like me, people not like me at all, and...a relatively new experience for me...CHILDREN.

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."