Amid a tsunami of misinformation about the trans and non-binary community, a new musical revue at the Tranzac Club is staging an act of resistance and spotlighting trans and non-binary talent in a refreshingly different register: joy.
This Is Trans: JOY, presented by Dead Name Theatre in association with ReDefine Arts, brings together three featured soloists (Chel Carmichael, Gabbi Kosmidis, Anika Venkatesh), a four-piece live band, and 17 members of The Epic Choir — a community choir composed entirely of trans, non-binary, Two-Spirit, and genderqueer performers. Together, they serve up an evening of musical theatre standards reimagined through a lens that the industry rarely offers.
The 75-minute show (including a 15-minute intermission) is built around a raffle supporting local theatre and wellness organizations, and is the first mainstage production from Dead Name Theatre (DNT), founded by Lee Stone in 2022. For Stone, the show is as much an argument as a celebration. “This Is Trans: JOY shows we are castable without catering to straight audiences or requiring performers to ‘go stealth,’” they explain. “It proves we can handle demanding scores, that feminine characters can be tenors, and that a non-binary lead is utterly entrancing.”
Director Tsholo Khalema has approached the project with an insistence on complexity and depth, rather than simple spectacle. “Too often, trans stories are told through the lens of struggle alone,” he notes. “As a Black trans man, I know what it means to have people focus on your survival, instead of your humanity. I wanted this revue to shift that perspective.” But joy, in this context, is not a denial of hardship: “It doesn’t erase our challenges. It reminds us that they don’t define us.”
This distinction between avoidance and refusal has suffused the production process, as much as the show’s content. Producer Callan Forrester describes the rehearsal room as a rare space: “There are still so many barriers for trans and non-binary people in the world of musical theatre. The opportunity to be in a room where the goal is to celebrate trans talent means that everyone is able to show up as their full selves and dive into the work authentically.” Stone extends this observation into a broader critique of conventional casting practices, where queer characters on mainstage productions are frequently reduced to “the best friend, the villain, or the comic relief,” while more substantive lead roles are reserved for cisgender performers.
For Khalema, the production’s success won’t be measured solely by the box office (though happily, opening night quickly sold out). “One of the greatest privileges has been creating a process that values people as much as the performance,” he notes. “Success began in the rehearsal room: watching trust grow, confidence build, and a community find its voice together.” And now he hopes that effect radiates outward. “If This Is Trans: JOY encourages even one person to lead with more curiosity, compassion and joy, then we’ve created something that extends far beyond the stage.”
Forrester, too, frames the show’s ambitions in terms of industry change, rather than this single work. “The industry needs to make more space for us, because we are not going anywhere,” they declare—adding that they hope trans and non-binary audience members “feel connected to their community, and reminded of how important their joy is.”
Taken together, the three voices behind This Is Trans: JOY describe an energetic and energizing production that is less interested in persuading skeptics than in building something durable for the community itself. Stone confirms that the show intends to “reclaim stories from the broader theatrical canon,” while making the case—through the work itself — that trans and non-binary performers belong at its centre, not its margins. In the end, Forrester notes, “At a time where trans people are being persecuted and our rights are being stripped away, it’s more important than ever to be in community with each other and celebrate each other.”
The bottom line, Callan promises, is joyous: “audiences can expect a night of phenomenal music, community, and to leave feeling like they’ve been a part of something really special.”
This Is Trans: JOY runs July 16–18, 2026 at 8 p.m. at the Tranzac Club, Toronto. Tickets are available through Dead Name Theatre.
© Arpita Ghosal, Sesaya Arts Magazine 2026
