Then I just gotta say, the costume and make-up have improved dramatically since the photo was taken, roughly two weeks before our first preview.

Come see the show, I’d love to see if your notions change at all.

I would like to believe that the writing and the playing of it by everyone in the cast does honor the iconic glamour of Warhol’s most convincing and beloved superstars.

Our audiences to date sure have seemed to believe so.

“Robert Sheire, right, as the iconic Andy Warhol superstar Candy Darling”

While I love the idea of this play, I think Candy’s role should be played by a woman (cis or trans). I’m assuming Sheire identifies as a cis man. From everything I’ve researched about Darling, she publicly identified as a woman from her late teens, long before she broke into show business.

Producers should get in the habit of casting trans characters properly. If you’re doing a regular biographical role (instead of something like Cate Blanchett playing Bob Dylan in I’m Not Here), then the actor should be the same gender as the nonfiction character. Having male actors play trans women sends the message that trans women aren’t real women. There are many trans actresses out there that would love to land a role like this.

Besides, Sheire’s kitschy getup looks more like mockery rather than comic tribute, especially in light of how super-femme the real-life Candy was. Her high-glam fabulousess should be honored!