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Actor Thomas Derrah Dresses For A Double Life In 'Casa Valentina'
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In the 1960s, in the Catskills... a group of men gathered regularly at a place called Casa Susanna, perhaps not all that unusual for the Catskills, except that they got together specifically to do one thing. To dress as women.
"Casa Valentina" debuted on Broadway last year, and now it is here in Boston at the SpeakEasy Stage Company.
Guest
Thomas Derrah, actor and lecturer in dramatic arts at Harvard and MIT.
More
The ARTery: Harvey Fierstein On The Cross-Dressers That Inspired His ‘Casa Valentina’
- "Fierstein has been creating stories about men in drag since early in his career, from the Jewish drag performer in “Torch Song Trilogy” to the flamboyant Albin and his sequined Cagelles in “La Cage” to the sassy-yet-steely Lola and her stiletto-heeled cohorts in the 2013 Best Musical winner “Kinky Boots,” on which he collaborated with pop icon Cyndi Lauper."
The New York Times: A Safe House For The Girl Within
- "And so they kept their feminine selves hidden, except for weekends at Casa Susanna, a slightly run-down bungalow camp in Hunter, N.Y., that was the only place where they could feel at home."
The Boston Globe: Seeking A Place To Call Their Own In ‘Casa Valentina’
- " Derrah transitions with consummate artistry between George’s somewhat weary demeanor and Valentina’s aura of worldly self-possession."
This segment aired on November 13, 2015.