It took one gusty genderbending
lesbian to throw that punch.

A Musical Play by Carolyn M. Brown

STORMÉ

SUPPORT THE SHOW

SUPPORT THE SHOW

We're producing STORMÉ the musical play, but we need your help to bring this important production to life and on the main stage so that we can share this story with even more people.

STORMÉ is a play with music that is based on a true story and real events about the legendary Stormé DeLarverie, a big band singer, a male impersonator of the Jewel Box Revue—America’s first racially integrated and gay owned drag show, and an icon of the 1969 Stonewall Rebellion.

Stormé threw the first punch at police during the now infamous 1969 raid at NYC’s Stonewall Inn, a watershed moment for Gay Rights. This engaging and entertaining show is peppered with music (jazz standards and original songs) to reflect Stormé as well as her performance family’s artistic journey and their desire to combat oppression.

  • Join us in honoring Stormé DeLarverie's legacy impact on history. Your donation will help in the development of a theatrical production. All donations are tax-deductible through our fiscal sponsor, Theater Resources Unlimited.

    For donations of $1,500 or more, you will be listed as a True Colors Project Associate Producer in all marketing materials and the playbill, and other benefits including reserved VIP seating, exclusive invitations to industry events, cocktail parties, and other private showings, private meetings with the cast and industry professionals, as well as exclusive merchandise from STORMÉ and other participating LGBTQ+ owned businesses.

  • We believe that art can be a powerful force for change, and we're committed to using our platform to raise awareness for issues that matter.

    To learn more about partnership opportunities, please contact us at team@mytruecolorsproject.org

THE PLAY’S ORIGIN

STORMÉ is the Rosa Parks of the Gay Rights Movement.

The idea for STORMÉ was sparked by a photo essay written by Carolyn M. Brown thanking Stormé for throwing the first punch at Stonewall, which accompanied a mural of Stormé DeLaverie by artist Rachel Wilkins for her “Shoulders of Giants” exhibit of LGBTQ+ movement trailblazers. A fire blazed in the playwright to tell Stormé’s story after historical content came under attack and
threat of being banned.

More than half a century since the Stonewall Rebellion, gains that were made are dwindling as LGBTQ+ rights continue to be stripped away. Across America, hate groups, anti-LGBTQ+ laws, drag culture hostility, transphobia, DEI attacks, and book bans in public schools and libraries, particularly titles representing LGBTQ+ and BIPOC voices and experiences, continue to rise at record levels.

“Those who forget history are doomed to repeat it!”

HERSTORY IN THE MAKING

  • Stormé takes us on a journey that begins with her upbringing in New Orleans as a child of mixed race, learning to fight for herself and her identity. She is performing in Chicago as a Big Band vocalist under the stage name Stormy Dale when she befriends Billy Strayhorn, a gay pianist/composer for Duke Ellington’s Orchestra. She falls in love with a chorus line dancer, Diana, slowly shedding her girly persona in defiance of local crossdresser laws and working alonside mobsters.

  • An encounter with Doc Benner and Danny Brown, gay owners of the racially integrated Jewel Box Revue drag show, leads her to embark on a national tour and Harlem residency as emcee and a male impersonator—billed as 1 girl and 25 men. Now performing as Stormé DeLarverie, she forms a bond with female illusionist Billy Daye—the male Billie Holiday.

  • Battles with the police, who harass and arrest crossdressers and gays gathering in bars under mandate of the NY State Liquor Authority, erupts in 1969 during a raid at the Stonewall Inn. Stormé’s scuffle with police is a watershed movement in Gay Rights, which also marks her transition from crooner to crusader. As “Sheriff of the West Village,” Stormé is a defender of marginalized communities over her lifetime.

PRODUCTION

HISTORY

  • Industry Table Reading—Virtual, May 2022

  • Showcase/Reading—Virtual, June 2022

  • Workshop Production—NYC, WOW Café Theater, October 2022

  • NJTA Stages Festival Presentation—Jersey City, NJ, May 2023

  • Stage Reading—NYC, Playwrights Horizons DWTN, October 2023

OUR MISSION & INTENTION

  • Stormé DeLarverie’s story was diminished. And that's by design. For too long, the narratives of queer, trans, Black, Indigenous, Asian, Latino, and gender-expansive people have been suppressed, silenced, and erased. That's why it's so important to tell stories like Stormé's that celebrate our history, our identity, and our resilience. By sharing these stories, we honor the struggles and sacrifices of those who came before us and inspire a new generation to continue the “good fight.”

    By supporting our musical play about Stormé DeLarverie, you are not just supporting the arts, you are supporting the preservation of our stories and the affirmation of our collective humanity. Together, we can ensure that these stories are never erased again. When we preserve our stories, we preserve ourselves.

  • In the past three years, there has been an onslaught of state bills seeking to restrict LGBTQ+ rights that could have far-reaching consequences. There have been attempts to ban drag and criminalize female impersonators. For me this hearkens back to unjust practices that led up to the Stonewall Rebellion of 1969 which galvanized the Gay Rights Movement. Police arrests of people not wearing what was considered as gender appropriate clothing was under the guise of violating the masquerade law, while police raids on bars serving LGBTQ+ patrons, who were deemed as disorderly by their mere presence, was under order of the New York State Liquor Authority.

    In part, this is why I wrote my musical play STORMÉ. I wanted to pay homage to the life of Stormé DeLarverie, the Stonewall Rebellion icon and male impersonator at the infamous Jewel Box Revue, America’s first racially integrated and gay-owned drag show. But I also wanted to acknowledge historical events pertaining to LGBTQ+ people and marginalized communities, because I believe in the adage “those who fail to learn from history” or “those who forget history are doomed to repeat it.”

    History is indeed repeating itself. LGBTQ+ people are under attack and threat of being banned from public view. I am speaking also to the growing number of state bills restricting what schools can teach about American history, race, politics, sexual orientation, and gender identity, which increased 250% from 2021 to 2022, reports PEN America. Since 2021, PEN has reported over 16,000 book bans in public schools, predominantly titles that depict LGBTQ+ and BIPOC stories and experiences.

    Parents who support gender-affirming care for their transgender children are being characterized as child abusers, with states lawmakers threatening punishment. Law enforcement is just that, the enforcement of laws be they just or unjust. My concern, my fear is that we are heading toward an era of police arrests and brutality of LGBTQ+ and BIPOC people for violating laws that restrict our culture and our history.

About the Creator

Carolyn M Brown

Carolyn M. Brown is an award-winning journalist, magazine editor, non-fiction author, playwright, and a producer. She received the 2012 GLAAD Media Award for Outstanding Magazine Article, “Black & Gay In Corporate America” (Black Enterprise). She Co-Founded My True Colors Festival: Fighting For Social Justice and Cultural Diversity Through The Arts, an annual multidisciplinary arts event. She was one of the youngest playwrights to have a staged reading at the Schomburg Center in New York with her play Accessories and has co-written and produced Equity Showcases and Off-Off Broadway productions. STORMÉ is a pivotal moment in speaking her truth. Gay Black civil rights activist Bayard Rustin said, “we need in every community, a group of angelic troublemakers.” Carolyn lives by that mantra.