Interludes

VIEWPOINTS – Trans performers speaking their authentic truths: BIANCA LEIGH at Joe’s Pub and DYLAN MULVANEY Off-Broadway

• By drediman
• October 24, 2025
• No Comments

Last weekend, I had the chance to catch a pair of solo shows from two trans personalities in the entertainment industry who have made a splash in recent years. speaking their authentic truths. Read on for my thoughts on these brave confessionals, both of which straddle delivering deft entertainment and speaking authentic truths.

BIANCA LEIGH: OH, BIANCA!
Joe’s Pub
One night only

Last week at Joe’s Pub, original Oh, Mary! cast member Bianca Leigh forayed into the world of cabaret in her aptly titled solo show Oh, Bianca! (RECOMMENDED). Directed by Kate Rigg as part of Justin Vivian Bond’s Vanguard Residency at the beloved East Villagr nightlife venue, Leigh’s one-night-only appearance was a hilarious concoction made up of naughty stand-up comedy, eclectic songs, and theatrical monologue — all of which were filtered through the lens of her own story as a trans woman of a certain age. The show unfolded in a series of thematically presented segments, each of which launched Leigh headlong into shameless riffs culled from her own personal experiences. To be sure, no topic was too taboo for her — notably deliciously candid autobiographical vignettes about sex, gender, and her own physical transition were — as she playfully and hilariously shed exposing light on the absurdity (and stupidity) of the world we currently live in. Even when there was a hiccup in the performance, she was an utter professional at steering her show back on course. No doubt, Oh, Bianca! will gel into an even more seamless night of unhinged revelry. Sprinkled throughout were a number of eclectic songs — joyfully sung by Leigh, as ably supported by her music director Lance Horne — that commented on her incisive banter, drawing from the Great American Songbook (“Fly Me to the Moon”), jazz standards (“Blues in the Night”, “Why Don’t You Do Right”), Broadway show tunes (“Whatever Lola Wants”, “There Are Worse Things I Can Do”, “Broadway Baby”).

DYLAN MULVANEY: THE LEAST PROBLEMATIC WOMAN IN THE WORLD
Lucille Lortel Theatre
Closed

Before playing its final Off-Broadway performance last weekend at the classic Lucille Lortel Theatre in Greenwich Village, I had the opportunity of catching Dylan Mulvaney’s solo show The Least Problematic Woman in the World (RECOMMENDED). Previously seen at the Edinburgh Fringe under the far more brusque title of Faghag, the piece has been tweaked, smartly renamed, and polished to a sparkling sheen for its New York premiere. In short, the show charts Mulvaney’s journey through her young but eventful life thus far, from her childhood days of having to navigate her sexuality and gender-identity (her early life anxieties are temporarily relieved via metaphorical pill-popping, a cleverly theatrical device), to her recent struggles with having to deal with cancel culture after a partnership with Bud Light goes horribly sour. As essentially a show dealing with quarter life crisis, the piece is largely targeted towarda younger audiences; older audience members will be less taken with it, I suspect. At the end of the day, however, the show is an inspiring tale about resilience, self-love, and redemption. As such, the show functions as a sort of nightly therapy session for Mulvaney, albeit one that’s been slickly produced — particularly with respect to the flashy sound and lighting design — and expertly performed with the utmost Broadway/Barbie savvy, complete with a healthy handful of catchy and well-crafted songs by the accomplished team of Ingrid Michaelson (The Notebook) and Toby Marlow and Lucy Moss (Six), and many of them are keepers. Throughout, the irrepressibly upbeat Mulvaney exhibited a self-awareness the belied her age. Simply by virtue of being a bold and bright declaration of trans presence in American culture — especially in a society keen on the erasure of the beleaguered community — Mulvaney’s The Least Problematic Woman in the World is a show of note.