THEATER
The Triumph of Trevor
Iconic fi lm about gay teen suicide is now a musical
BY DAVID KENNERLEY
When Carl Nassib
made history a
few months ago by
coming out as the
fi rst openly gay active NFL player,
he generously announced a sizable
donation to The Trevor Project.
While many know that the
non-profi t is dedicated to LGBTQ
teen suicide prevention, not everyone
realizes that it was sparked
by an Oscar-winning 1994 short
fi lm called “Trevor.” The fi lm was
drawn, in part, from screenwriter
Celeste (formerly James) Lecesne’s
own painful experiences growing
up gay.
The pioneering fi lm, set in 1981,
follows the rambunctious 13-yearold
grappling with his identity.
Considered a freak and bullied for
his fl amboyant ways — he “acts
like a girl,” is obsessed with Diana
Ross, and has a crush on a hunky
jock at school — Trevor becomes
despondent, leading to a suicide
attempt. Thankfully, he is unsuccessful
and meets a mentor who
helps him embrace his otherness.
Nassib knew what he was doing.
Although the 16-minute fi lm’s
story took place 40 years ago, suicide
among LGBTQ teens is hardly
a problem of the past. According to
The Trevor Project website, suicide
ranks as the number two cause of
death among young people. Shockingly,
LGBTQ youth are four times
more likely to attempt suicide,
make a plan for suicide, or seriously
consider suicide, compared
to their peers, according to The
Trevor Project. At least one LGBTQ
person aged 13-24 attempts suicide
every 45 seconds in the US.
And now, Trevor’s story is taking
on a whole new life, in the form of
a full-fl edged, splashy musical Off
Broadway at Stage 42. The results,
however, are a mixed bag.
To its credit, “Trevor: The Musical”
deals with the fraught subject
matter of untimely death that few
mainstream musicals have dared to
tackle. “Next to Normal,” for example,
went the hauntingly dramatic
route by eschewing choreography
“Trevor: The Musical,” is based on the story from “Trevor,” a pioneering fi lm set in 1981.
and delivering plaintive ballads,
where sobs and sniffl es from the
audience competed with the harrowing
action onstage. “Dear Evan
Hansen” achieved a deft balancing
act, leavening the pathos with biting
humor. After one performance,
a young woman near me wailed, “I
cried my makeup off!”
With a book and lyrics by Dan
Collins, ““Trevor: The Musical” has
chosen the “Afterschool Special”
route. Under the direction of Marc
Bruni (“Beautiful: The Carole King
Musical”), the show is decidedly
targeting a teen audience, or perhaps,
skittish parents. This broad
approach is long on accessibility
but short on dramatic intensity.
The show pulsates with buoyant
musical numbers, with music by
Julianne Wick Davis and choreography
by Josh Prince, chronicling
Trevor and his classmates’ day-today
lives in Lakeview Junior High.
My favorite, “Can’t Wait,” fi nds the
hormone-amped kids in a deserted
construction site, fi nally about to
discover what kissing is all about.
Poor Trevor, alas, can’t wait to get
the heck outta there.
Bruni’s imaginative staging injects
fl ights of fantasy, such as
when diva Diana (a pitch-perfect
JOAN MARCUS
Yasmeen Sulieman) emerges in a
fl owing, sparkly gown, like an angel,
to perform a snippet of one her
hits to underscore the action. She
is both Trevor’s idol and his alter
ego.
“Do you know where you’re going
to?” she asks Trevor, crooning the
famous “Theme From Mahogany.”
The tenderhearted teen has no
clue.
The plot has been expanded to
trace the complex bond that forms
between Trevor and his crush, the
school’s star athlete, oddly named
Pinky (played with an engaging,
boyish insouciance by Sammy
Dell). This bond is sorely tested
after the gang discovers Trevor’s
notebook with Pinky’s name doodled
all over it, revealing Trevor’s
secret.
Trevor is played with spunk and
humanity by the talented Holden
William Hagelberger, who snagged
the demanding role after a virtual
national casting call attracting
more than 1,300 entries. Throughout
the show I kept reminding myself
that this fearless kid is only 13
years old, the same as Trevor in
the fi lm.
In fact, quite a few of the 18-member
company are in their early
teens. And if some of the numbers
lack the polish of maturity, they
exude gobs of jaunty charm. Noteworthy
performers include Aryan
Symhadri as Trevor’s nerdy buddy
who lusts after busty models in a
lingerie catalogue, and Alyssa Emily
Marvin as the even-nerdier girl
who is fl ummoxed when Trevor
avoids making out with her.
Like the fi lm, “Trevor: The Musical”
relies on satiric comedy to
tell this complex tale, perhaps out
of fear of bruising tender sensibilities.
The parents register as cartoon
cutouts and detract from the
gravity of Trevor’s plight.
Throughout the two-hour production,
the term “weird” (uttered
more than 20 times in reference
to Trevor) is used as a coy substitute
for “gay” (uttered just once).
The stinging pejoratives most kids
would use, like “queer” or “homo”
or “pussy,” are oddly absent. Only
“faggot” makes an appearance,
just once. It’s not exactly a realistic
depiction of LGBTQ bullying, even
in 1981. The suicide scene where
Trevor, alone in his bedroom, pops
aspirin like Tic Tacs, fails to land
as devastatingly as expected.
Simply put, I wanted more grit
and less fi zz.
I trust that this somewhat benign
iteration of “Trevor” will fi nd a
place onstage in middle school auditoriums
and expose a new generation
to the crises faced by LGBTQ
teens, and to the work of The
Trevor Project. This is particularly
vital in pockets of America where
the hatred of otherness is not only
tolerated but encouraged.
When the short fi lm “Trevor” was
fi rst slated to air on TV in 1998 (on
HBO with an intro by Ellen DeGeneres),
the creators wanted to list a
national helpline for LGBTQ youth
in crisis, but realized that none existed.
Thus, The Trevor Project and
Trevor Lifeline (866-488-7386)
was born. It is now the largest suicide
prevention organization for
LGBTQ youth in the world.
TREVOR: THE MUSICAL |
Stage 42 | 422 W. 42nd St. | $59-
$150; trevorthemusical.com | 2 hrs.,
20 mins. with one intermission
November 18 - 24, 2 28 021 | GayCityNews.com
/trevorthemusical.com
/GayCityNews.com
