The Spark that Ignited a Revolution

The True Colors Project Presents the Story of Stormé Del DeLarverie, hero of the Stonewall Rebellion

The Robert Moss Theatre was host to a reading of a new musical play that pays long overdue tribute to a great artist and activist icon.

Stormé by Carolyn M. Brown takes us through several pivotal and gripping moments throughout the life of singer and drag performer Stormé Del DeLarverie, climaxing in the fatal night at Stonewell in June 1969 when she fought back against the police brutality that continuously descended upon the bar. It was at that moment that Stormé devoted her life to championing social justice and the marginalized communities forced into the shadows.

The play begins in 1992 at Henrietta Hudson (the former Cubby Hole), as Stormé (Alyssa James) cites her role as defender of the community. “You can call me the ‘Sherriff of Greenwich Village’” she declares, as she protects queer businesses from the NY mafia determined to control them, and from the relentless queer-bashing that still pervades.

“I’m a bouncer, though I don’t like to be called that,” she explains. “No, I am a well-payed babysitter and protector of my people. I patrol these streets at night, on the lookout for any ugliness…I won’t have it. Not on my watch.”

Stormé was born in New Orleans in 1920, to a white man and a woman of color. This caused her to suffer tremendous abuse and harassment throughout her life. Undeterred, Stormé becomes the big band singer “Stormy Dale” and then begins a career as a Drag King in Harlem with the Jewel Box Review. As a male impersonator she is subject to further abuse, mostly from police who are “looking to boost their arrest records” by enforcing the absurd anti-crossdressing laws of the time.

“A change is gonna come,” proclaims Stormé. “People are tired of hiding in the shadows.”

Throughout the play we witness Stormé battling violence and injustice, but we also see the loving support of her artistic community and of her devoted partner Diana (Hana Fatima).

The play is generously peppered with songs to reflect Stormé and her performance family’s artistic journey, and their desire to combat oppression through creativity. Jaye C. Frasher as Billy Daye (known as the “male Billie Holiday”) delivers a powerhouse “St. Louis Blues,” as well as a devastating monologue about childhood abuse and rejection of identity. Alyssa James, poignant, powerful, and moving as Stormé, deftly delivers the Gershwin classic “Man I Love.” She also sings the rousing original, “What’s a Show Without Ladies,” written by Christie Chiles Twillie and Nico Juber.

In the late 60s, as the NYC police continuously and violently hunt down the gay community and arrest anyone deemed as “other”, Stormé finds herself at the center of a revolution.

“It was a rebellion,” Stormé famously declared of Stonewall. “It was an uprising; it was a civil rights disobedience – it wasn’t no damn riot.”

The play depicts these events in a way that begins harrowing but ends in victory, as Stormé seizes the moment and emerges a hero and an activist for the marginalized and oppressed.

At times heartbreaking, at times triumphant, but always stirring, Stormé is the definitive depiction of an icon whose story should be heard by all.

Stormé is directed by Hannah “Rock” Roccisano.