BACKSTORY: The Christine Jorgensen Show

Last February, I reviewed The Christine Jorgensen Show, a highly recommended, two-hander with music that made its debut at 59E59 Theaters. The piece has been slightly rewritten and revived at HERE for an upcoming run. Wondering at its backstory, I spoke to those most involved.

Playwright Donald Olson wrote his first novel at 18 and got it published 20 years later. It was, he says grinning, rife with existential angst. Olson went on to author seven novels with gay or trans protagonists, including The Secrets of Mabel Eastlake, perhaps the first trans/gay thriller and  three “romcoms” under the name Swan Adamson. “Propaganda about gay life and relationships back then was very screwed up,” he says. “It was axiomatic that the character had to die or be murdered. I didn’t adhere to that.” He came out to his large, close-knit Scandinavian family at 16. They embraced his relationships. “I’ve been with my partner now 46 years!”

Donald Olson – photo by Gary Larson; Christine Jorgensen 1954 (Public Domain)

The author has written as many plays as novels – most produced, 40 guidebooks to cities and countries which include his own maps, and several volumes focused on gardens for which he also took photographs. When the pandemic hit, Olson considered it a “sabbatical.” After Oscar and Walt – a play about the 1882 meeting between American Poet Walt Whitman and Anglo-Irish poet/ playwright Oscar Wilde, he tackled The Christine Jorgensen Show.

Having read Christine Jorgensen: A Personal Autobiography years earlier and serendipitously worked as a teenage aide at one of the first U.S. hospitals to have a gender reassignment clinic, Olson began research with Becoming a Woman: A Biography of Christine Jorgensen by Richard F. Doctor. The book featured information on his heroine’s extremely successful nightclub act. Olson had always wanted to write a musical. Here was an opportunity to experiment.

Jesse James Keitel

The play would focus on creation of Christine’s act with retired song and dance man, Myles Bell, of
whom very little is known. There’s virtually no film of the act itself, only historical facts. Olson’s imagination drifted to Mark Nadler, whom he’d seen perform over the years. Nadler sings, dances and acts with decidedly unique flair. Never having written songs before, the author penned lyrics and recorded himself singing melody. Nadler then molded these to form with harmonic structure and chords, also writing the underscore. “I could not have had a better musical partner,” Olsen comments.

I ask Nadler how familiar he was with Jorgensen before getting involved. “Of course I knew who she was, but not much beyond that. I’m still learning about her incredible life and bravery…” As to Myles, “I was pleased not only that Donald wrote the part for me, but that it’s not a gay character. It’s so much more interesting if an actor is not typecast.”

Mark Nadler and Jesse James Keitel

Olson meticulously writes using language of a period in which a book is set. “The language of the 1950s was different than it is today,” he says. “It was far more polite, far less vulgar and had different slang words and euphemisms no longer in use. Christine speaks like a middle class lady, Myles like a hard-boiled show biz veteran.”

He also found himself recognizing Scandinavian characteristics in the heroine. “There is-or was- a very real Scandinavian cultural reticence about bragging or drawing too much attention to yourself,” he says.
“I felt it in my own family. Life was about fitting in, never stepping outside accepted boundaries and always being a `good’ person.’ Christine certainly stepped outside, but she was also a shy and private person, something she had to overcome.”

Mark Nadler and Jesse James Keitel

Jesse James Keitel was one of many candidates for the role, all transgender. Having narrowed down submissions to those who would audition in person, Olson and the producers discovered Keitel was working in Los Angeles and could not come in. They zoomed with the actor the same day as others appeared. “We all just looked at one another and said, is there any question here?..Not only is Jesse a good actress, but she’s a really good colleague. She works as a team member.”

Keitel had done musicals in high school, but was primarily a dramatic actor. Just as Myles helped Christine, Nadler helped his colleague, coaching singing and dancing. “It’s such an honor to portray
a woman as impactful and revered as Christine Jorgensen. Bringing her 1950’s charm, wit, and
resilience to the stage has been a highlight of my career.” (Jesse James Keitel)

This is not a show meant only for the LGBTQ community. The Christine Jorgensen Show is a poignant, accessible, entertaining character study anyone can appreciate. “I want this play to be joyful, moving
and uplifting. It’s about working together, becoming collaborators,” says Olson. “Christine’s show was not in any way confrontational. It was and is meant to be entertaining.”

My review of the show’s debut.

Photo of Donald Olson
All production photos from the 59E59 production by Joan Marcus

The Christine Jorgensen Show by Donald Olson
Directed by Michael Barakiva
Associate Director – Lucky Stiff
Featuring Jesse James Keitel and Mark Nadler
Lyrics by Donald Olson; Music by Donald Olson and Mark Nadler
HERE  -145 6th Avenue, Between Spring and Broome Streets
October 10 – November 17, 2024

Cabaret Seats and some mid-level seats are seated at cabaret tables with tall stools. Cabaret seating includes a complementary glass of bubbly.