"Ex-GI Turns Blonde Beauty!" -- New York Daily News

In 1952, America's first famous transsexual, Christine Jorgensen (photo below), was a scandal and banned in Boston. Now The Theater Offensive, New England's leading creator and presenter of gay, lesbian, bisexual and transgender theater, will present the Off-Broadway hit "Christine Jorgensen Reveals," starring Bradford Louryk, April 6 - 29, at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.

The announcement came just days after the success of Theater Offensive's 2006 climACTS Carnival benefit.

Louryk's tour de force performance brings to life Jorgensen's only recorded interview. Conceived by Louryk and directed by Josh Hecht, the result is an enlightening new play where Ms. Jorgensen does what she ultimately became known for - telling the truth.

Acclaimed performer Bradford Louryk brings to light the astounding details of Christine's life by answering sensational questions directed from an interviewer played by Rob Grace, whose performance is pre-recorded and delivered through a 1950's-era television.

"Christine Jorgensen Reveals" details the boundaries of personhood, gender identity as a social construct and the nature of humanity as Ms. Jorgensen - displaying extraordinary intellect, charisma, poise, and grace - speaks candidly about her sensational life.

George Jorgensen, Jr. was born May 30, 1926, to Danish-American parents in the Bronx. After graduating from high school in 1945, the awkward, introverted George was drafted into the U.S. Army for two years of service at a desk in Fort Dix, New Jersey. Having always felt more feminine than masculine, George desperately began researching at a local medical library, where he read about hormone experiments and sex studies abroad. He soon discovered that sex change operations were being performed in Scandinavia. In 1950 he flew to Copenhagen, Denmark, telling his family he was visiting relatives. He underwent months of hormone therapy and finally had his male sexual organs removed in 1952.

Newly named Christine, her celebrity began on December 1, 1952, when the New York Daily News printed a front-page story entitled "Ex-GI Becomes Blond Beauty: Operations Transform Bronx Youth." She returned to New York City on February 12, 1953, where she was met by an unprecedented 300 reporters. The formerly shy Christine blossomed into her new role as a public icon. She put together a professional nightclub act in 1953 that toured successfully into the 1960s, then in the 1970s established herself as a popular speaker on the college lecture circuit, often drawing audiences in the thousands.

With her health failing fast by the late 1980s, she moved to California and lived a more quiet life of working crossword puzzles and spending time with friends.

Christine Jorgensen died in 1989 of bladder cancer.

For tickets and information, call 617-933-8600, visit the Calderwood box office at 527 Tremont Street, or visit BostonTheatreScene.com.

-- OnStage Boston

03/04/06

 

HOME • NEWS • LINKS • ARCHIVE • CONTACT