Drama ! "Your Son Will Come Out Tomorrow"

Trevor "diamonds are for Trevor" Ashley

Sung  to the tune.."the sun will come out tomorrow", these are some of the words from brilliant cabaret performer Trevor Ashley whose new musical revue trAnnie premieres at the Sydney Opera House on December 5th.

Trevor Ashley / trAnnie

trAnnie is parody of the hit musical Annie and written by Phil Scott and Ashley and is the tale of the “hard knock life” of ten year old orphan Fannie who is desperate to have “long-overdue” gender reassignment surgery but must first escape the Sutherland Shire Children’s Orphanage and the clutches of a boozy matron.

But Sydney's transgender community is up in arms and is threatening a boycott of the show saying it perpetuates negative stereotypes. They have also complained to the Anti-Discrimination Board. A spokesperson for the activist group Trans Menace Australia has said she finds "  the panto to be demeaning towards the trans community : “One quick read of the synopsis left me guttered,”

Courtney Act with Danni Minogue

Spokesperson for Transgender Victoria Sally Goldner has said such concerns were valid as the term ‘trannie’ was largely deemed offensive by people experiencing transgender issues.

The Sydney Opera House has issued a statement :
“The title trAnnie is a play on words. It is a play on the musical Annie and combines the letters of Trevor's name into the title. It is also a play on the fact that the central character is transsexual,”
“The show, while being a comedy, shows the transgender character in a positive light and hopes to encourage more understanding of the transgender community.”

Trevor Ashely's star keeps rising with each new production he creates. As an original cast member of Stephan Elliott's musical version of Priscilla Queen of The Desert he also sang the theme song from Elliot's film Easy Virtue that starred Colin Firth and Jessica Biel and has appeared in cabaret at New York's Don't Tell Mama and London's Talk Of The Town.
At the 2009 Mardi Gras he appeared with Courtney Act in the show he wrote Gentleman Prefer Blokes followed by Diamonds Are For Trevor.
 Below is a video of Trevor and Courtney Act and their send-up of Beaches (titled Bitches)

Lil Orphan Annie : The Oxford Street Version

Tickets go on sale from Friday for trAnnie the adults only pantomine which opens on Thursday 6th December at the Sydney Opera House.

 Ten year old little orphan Fannie (Trevor Ashley) parents have left him in a basket on the doorstep of the Sutherland Shire Children's Orphanage with nothing but a bracelet and a bottle of Stoli.  
 He is desperate to get his long-overdue gender reassignment surgery, but there’s so much standing in his way: including that boozy matron Miss Trannigan (Rhonda Burchmore) who has just been listed on the sex-offender registry, and is bitter from years of Logie losses.  Thank God Fannie has a bunch of foul mouthed orphans and his/her trusty ex-sniffer dog to help him/her survive.
Featuring songs, audience participation, and out-of-work television personalities, this brand new adults-only panto will have you in fits of laughter... and wishing that you too could be adopted by a sexy bald millionaire.

Book tickets here.