QUEER Musical Team Releases Statement on Trump's Ban on Trans People in the U.S. Military

After Donald Trump's declaration banning transgender individuals from the military, the QUEER musical team, which is gearing up for a premiere at next year's Pride, released the following statement:

"Yesterday morning, Donald Trump tweeted that the 'United States Government will not accept or allow Transgender (sic) individuals to serve in any capacity in the U.S. Military.' Trump's message comes as LGBTQ people are under siege in their battle for equal health care. This blatant intolerance from the man voted into the White House and referred to as the 45th President of the United States shows why our musical, QUEER, is more important now than ever before.

"Conceived by award-winning playwright and trans activist, Hazel Jade, with an original electronic score by Jerome Kurtenbach, and a book by Hazel Jade and Kasey Bryant, QUEER beautifully unfolds the myriad of ways that queer lives are made manifest. With a fierce Latinx bisexual woman and her wife, a non-binary femme, leading the story, we are introduced to the deeper complexities of gender and sexuality.

"Kevin Saucedo-Schultz, a dedicated gay ally to the transgender community, proclaims, 'It's important to me as a gay cisgender man to get exposure to more information about my trans [siblings], to be able to fight for them as hard as they've always fought for the entire queer community from day one. From Marsha P. Johnson to Sylvia Rivera, the list of trans women of color who began the fight for what we have today is long! And yet the trans community has seen the least change.'

"Until very recently, trans rights in particular had not been the focus of LGBTQ advocacy across the United States. With public figures like Janet Mock and Laverne Cox now at the forefront of visibility for transgender people, we hope that our musical can continue their work and show the country the determination and resilience of the LGBTQ community. When we proclaim that #TransLivesMatter, we are fighting for the beauty and diversity of our community, represented by characters like Jayden - a transgender man enlisted in the U.S. Military who lives stealth - and Jessica - a proud black trans woman fighting for liberated life and love.

"It is time that a more diverse range of queer stories be told in theatre and on Broadway, so enter QUEER center stage!

"To learn more about QUEER, subscribe to our mailing list at www.QueerMusical.com.

"With LGBTQ Love, Your QUEER Family"