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FRIDAY,APRIL
1, 2022
normalize them. Things that
are exceptional for the audi-
ence have to seem normal to
the cast. What the characters
consider new and what they
consider assumed teaches us
about the world they live in.
And the what-if of this play is
frighteningly close to the way
we’re living now.”
One of the play’s major
characters, Raina, never ap-
pears onstage. She’s the Steve
Jobs/Elon Musk figure, an en-
trepreneurial start-up super-
star, the tech guru as rock star.
She justifies her demand for
total surveillance by explain-
ing how a previous engineer
sold company secrets to a
competitor.
“Raina has a power in the
play because we never see
her,” Adams says. “We’re daz-
zled by the capitalist innova-
tor. It’s very alluring to be
complimented by such a per-
son, to be sought out and
hired by such a person. She
makes us ask ourselves what
we might surrender for a
great opportunity. But there’s
a constant creep in what we’re
expected to give up, and it’s
getting faster all the time.
Maybe we can’t see that, but
Mona can.”
The influx of money that
Corbin’s new job provides
doesn’t relieve the stress in his
relationship with Georgia; if
anything, it increases it. He’s
finding out that his contract is
more onerous than he
thought, and Georgia sus-
pects he’s lying about some-
thing.
“There’s a tension in a mar-
riage when you feel some-
thing has changed underfoot
in your home,” Adams notes.
“And this play moves so quick-
ly that the characters, like the
audience, are always trying to
catch up to what’s going on.
One of the reasons Georgia’s
in love with Corbin is because
he’s reliable, unlike other peo-
ple in her past. And when he’s
not, that causes her to wonder
what’s wrong.”
Adams and Pirnot are both
based in New York, where
Adams specializes in direct-
ing new plays and Pirnot has
been winning playwriting fel-
lowships. For the past month,
the two have been in Washing-
ton, attending rehearsals at
Mosaic and collaborating on
every step of the process.
“I enjoy having the writer
in the room,” Adams says. “It’s
quite thrilling when the feed-
back from the actors and de-
signer affects the final re-
writes. There’s no researching
past productions for clues; we
have to invent everything our-
selves.”
PRIVATE FROM 16
signature song, about dallying
with multiple suitors]. It is an
anthem for allowing yourself to
experience what life brings you,
and allowing yourself to indulge
in what you want. That’s very
powerful for women, and just for
humans. In my senior year of
college [at Sam Houston State
University], I decided to add it to
my repertoire. [In Fish’s
production,] I wanted to really
make this song my own. I
wanted to own this song in my
Blackness, in my femininity, in
my existence.Q: You are founder of the Next
Generation Project, whose
mission is to distribute resources
to Black and Brown trans people
in need. Do you see continuity
between that aspect of your life
and performing?
A: Everything that I do is all one.
I contain multitudes.Q: Was it intimidating to take on
Ado Annie after Ali Stroker won
a Tony Award for the role [when
Fish’s production ran on
Broadway]?
A: Not at all. My interpretation
of this character, and this role, is
in relation to how I live and
exist. There’s no way to ever
compare or compete with
someone who has lived a
completely different life than
you. I didn’t feel any kind of fear.
I wanted to do the role justice.Q: Do you have a memory from
your childhood of seeing theater
or performance and saying, “I
want to do that”?
A: I love “Barney [& Friends].”
That was what ushered me into
everything. But also, I remember
I used to watch this DVD of
Cathy Rigby as Peter Pan all the
time. I was always so invested in
the story, in the music. I think
that was my first piece of theater
that I was exposed to.Q: You played a member of the
ballroom community in the FX
series “Pose.” Did you learn
anything from that experience
that has been helpful in
“Oklahoma!”?
A: Yeah. I learned to take upspace, and that there was a place
for me wherever I am. And to be
present and willing to tell your
story.Q: I imagine the experience of
touring is exhausting.
A: I keep on going because I
know what I’m trying to
accomplish. I’m existing as a
Black person in America, as a
Black woman, as a Black trans
woman, so I have a lot on my
plate. [As a coping strategy,] I
take a lot of trips to Disney
World. I went four times last
year.Q: What’s on your career bucket
list now?
A: I want to do things where I
am able to tell my story. I feel
like in 2020, there was a big
push for the centering of Black
voices, and that’s lulled. I’d love
for the message to be to
continue amplifying
marginalized voices and
marginalized bodies, pushing
for change, and aiding us in this
fight to have true equity.Q: Why should people see this
production?
A: This production is a
representation of the fact that
people need to be ready and
willing for change. People of all
shapes, sizes, genders,
sexualities have the ability to do
great things. If we embraced
that, we would be a much better
society.BY CELIA WREN
To get into character as the
feller-crazy frontier gal Ado An-
nie in the production of “Okla-
homa!” that arrives at the Ken-
nedy Center on April 5, the ac-
tress Sis has a backstage ritual.
“I listen to Megan Thee Stal-
lion’s catalogue,” the Houston na-
tive says. “It puts me in the
mind-set of being a hot girl — a
woman of my time — giving me
the confidence I need to remem-
ber who I am.”
Her hot-girl spin on the role
potentially expands the perspec-
tive of this classic musical, says
Sis, who is transgender. When she
channels Ado Annie, she says,
“We’re getting to see this story
and this character through a
completely different lens.”
“Different lens” might be the
mantra of director Daniel Fish’s
“Oklahoma!,” which won the
Tony Award for best musical re-
vival in 2019. The production has
generated major buzz with its
tradition-defying touches, such
as a radically reconceptualized
dream ballet, as well as with its
unusually intense embrace of the
darkness inherent to Rodgers
and Hammerstein’s seminal 1943
work.
When it was time for the tour,
Fish says, there was no question
that Sis was the right Ado Annie.
“Why do you fall in love with
someone? Why does a Rothko
painting cut through my soul?
These are questions that I don’t
even know if I could answer,” the
director says. “Sis came into the
room and auditioned and sang,
and we all knew pretty quickly
that this was the right person.”
It didn’t hurt that "she’s fear-
less,” he says, adding an unprint-
able word for emphasis.
In a Zoom interview, the 24-
year-old Sis discussed her history
with “Oklahoma!,” her social jus-
tice work and how she copes with
the stresses of touring. She spoke
from a Philadelphia Airbnb as she
prepared to tuck into a meal of
Beijing beef and honey walnut
shrimp from Panda Express. This
interview has been edited for
length and clarity.Q: What attracted you to playing
Ado Annie?
A: I think her ferocity and
tenacious spirit.Q: Do you remember the first
time you encountered her?
A: I was at my friend’s high
school production of
“Oklahoma!” in Texas, and I just
fell in love with the character
Ado Annie, and fell in love with
“I Cain’t Say No” [the character’sOn Stage
Trans actress Sis tackles Ado Annie in ‘Oklahoma!’
Touring production of Broadway’s tradition-defying revival comes to Kennedy Center
MATTHEW MURPHY AND EVAN ZIMMERMAN FOR MURPHYMADE
Sis s ays she appreciates
the “ferocity and
tenacious spirit” of her
“Oklahoma!” character.
The actress, a Houston
native, listens to Megan
Thee Stallion music
backstage to get into the
right mind-set to play
Ado Annie.If you go
OKLAHOMA
John F. Kennedy Center for
the Performing Arts, 2700 F
St. NW. 202-467-4600.
kennedy-center.org.
Dates: April 5-10.
Prices: $69-$159.