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The musical comedy, which ATC originally had on its 2019-20 season that was postponed courtesy the COVID-19 pandemic, is about Casey, an aspiring Elvis impersonator who loses his gig and is forced to take a role as a drag queen to support his pregnant wife. The show is filled with hilarious, if not predictable, twists and turns as Casey goes from playing the King of Rock 鈥榥鈥� Roll to a Queen.

The show opened June 3 and is on stage at the Temple of Music and Art through June 24.

Until recently, the play鈥檚 central drag theme had been a footnote to the play鈥檚 larger theme 鈥渢hat family comes in all different forms and the path to prosperity and fulfillment may sometimes take an unexpected turn,鈥� ATC Artistic Director said.

But the ongoing Republican backlash against drag shows has shifted the attention, prompting some theater companies and their creatives to get out in front of the issue.

鈥淎s a performing arts institution, we are here to tell stories that create empathy and joy and foster civil communications beyond our theatre鈥檚 walls,鈥� August said in a late May email interview. 鈥淥ur work as artists impacts the greater community and supports our mission, which is to create world-class theatre about what it means to be alive today 鈥� inspiring curiosity and creativity, sparking empathy and joy 鈥� bringing ALL 蜜柚直播ns together.鈥�

鈥淚t鈥檚 obviously a distraction by the far right: Let鈥檚 pick a moral issue to distract people with, and drag seems to be an easy target,鈥� said the show鈥檚 costume designer , who teaches costume design at the University of 蜜柚直播 School of Theatre, Film & Television. 鈥淚t just makes no sense. Anyone who knows drag and knows what the culture and the art is about is laughing this off. But with laws changing in some states, it鈥檚 become personal again.鈥�

Since January, several Republican-led states, including 蜜柚直播, have proposed legislation to ban or restrict drag shows. The moves follow Florida鈥檚 decision last spring to outlaw public schools from teaching gender identity and sexual orientation in a bill that many dubbed 鈥淒on鈥檛 Say Gay.鈥�

鈥淲e are watching anti-drag legislation closely and will not change the work we do on our stages or in our gathering spaces,鈥� August said. 鈥淲e understand that this proposed legislation is not just threatening marginalized groups of people and their livelihoods 鈥� it threatens all of us.鈥�

August and Holt both point to the rich theatrical tradition of men playing female roles, including Antigone, Helen of Troy, Rosalind and Ophelia, because women were not allowed to perform in public until 1660.

August cited more recent examples of 鈥済reat and important characters鈥� created and played by men, including Dustin Hoffman鈥檚 鈥淭ootsie,鈥� Tyler Perry鈥檚 鈥淢adea,鈥� and Tony Curtis and Jack Lemmon in the 1959 comedy 鈥淪ome Like It Hot.鈥�

鈥淭hese characters and these performances became legendary and are indelible on the fabric of American culture,鈥� he said.

鈥淚t鈥檚 OK to play a wife beater or a child molester and win an Oscar, but God forbid you put a dress on and make people laugh,鈥� added Holt, the longtime 蜜柚直播 drag artist Tempest DuJour.