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Waterloo Region Record: Trans performer makes history

May 20, 2024

Christina Vegas, star of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the Musical,” brings rare authenticity to edgy musical

 
By Joel Rubinoff
 
Offstage, Christina Vegas — believed to be the first trans person to star in a professional North American production of “Priscilla, Queen of the Desert, the Musical” — lives with the awareness that she’s different in a way some might find off-putting, unusual, even threatening.

“It’s a bit of fear and a bit of anxiety, because you don’t know whether they know,” notes the 50-something performer, who transitioned from life as a married father of two to her current fabulous self in 2015.

“I’m very tall, so I stick out. But when I get attention I don’t always know if it’s ’Oh, that’s a really tall woman’ or if they think ‘Oh, there’s a trans woman!’

“When you’re going out anywhere, you have to suss out the situation immediately. Is this a safe space? How do I feel? Are the people here going to be cool?”

When she takes the stage for Drayton’s groundbreaking production of “Priscilla” — July 24 — Aug. 10 at the Hamilton Family Theatre in Cambridge — these concerns will, she predicts, evaporate with the sprightly pop of a soap bubble.

Read the full article on the Waterloo Region Record's website: 

https://www.therecord.com/news/waterloo-region/trans-performer-makes-history-at-drayton/article_3046c456-928a-5a43-9794-49807bc83429.html

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