Image courtesy of California Repertory Company.
California Repertory Company has announced that its 2015-2016 season will begin with the premiere of S/He & Me: A Theatrical Cabaret, written by Alexandra Billings, conceived and directed by Joanne Gordon. To run September 25 through October 11, the show explores the evolving relationship between Alexandra and Scott, the boy she used to be.
S/He & Me tells a non-linear story of love and reconciliation through the spoken word and a wide variety of Broadway musical numbers. It’s a celebration of the transgender actress’s journey as she examines her relationships with her parents, her wife Chrisanne, and with herself, both as Alex and as Scott.
Billing’s first autobiographical show Before I Disappear was seen Off-Broadway at the Producer’s Club; this will be her second show. She will perform alongside a winning ensemble of alums, graduate and undergraduate students. In a release, Billings described the show as “a story of our younger selves and what happens to them. The lessons that we get, and the gifts we receive, and how we give them away.”
A Southern California native, Billings has been involved in theatre since the age of 10 and has worked as a showgirl, an actress, and an instructor throughout the United States. Billings has appeared in several television episodes including Nurses, E.R. and Grey’s Anatomy, which won a GLAAD Award for Outstanding Episode. She is currently appearing in Amazon’s Golden Globe-winning and Emmy-nominated series Transparent and is a faculty member and an alumna of the CSULB Theatre Arts Department.
Former Theatre Arts Department Chair Joanne Gordon is an award-winning director whose accolades include five Drama- Logue Awards, a Los Angeles Critics Choice Award and being named “Best of the Year” by the Los Angeles Times for Shadowlands at the Long Beach Playhouse.
S/He & Me: A Theatrical Cabaret opens Friday, September 25, and closes on Sunday, October 11. Performances run September 25 and September 26, September 30 and October 3 and October 6 and October 10 at 8:00PM. There will be a matinee performance at 2:00PM on Sunday, October 4 and a 7:00PM performance on Sunday, October 11. Lastly, there will be a preview performance on Thursday, September 24 at 8:00PM.
This production will be presented in the Studio Theatre on the CSULB Campus, accessible via West Campus Drive. Tickets are $17 for general admission and $14 for seniors and students (with valid ID). Parking is available next to the theatre for $5. For tickets and information, please call 562.985.5526 or visit the Cal Rep website here.