Broadway Star J Harrison Ghee: ‘Drag Is Such a Tool of Freedom’

In the Broadway production of Some Like It Hot, which opened at the Shubert Theatre in December, Daphne, played by J Harrison Ghee, undergoes a profound transformation. As in the 1959 Billy Wilder film on which the new musical is based, two jazz musicians—Jerry (as Ghee’s character is known at first) and Joe (played by Christian Borle)—go on the run from the mob after witnessing some backstage murders. And wouldn’t you know it? There’s an all-ladies band about to hit the road, and the pair have just the disguises to join them.

But for Daphne, née Jerry, what begins as a ruse—donning womenswear, and with it a more expressly feminine persona—turns into a distinctly modern exploration of nonbinary identity. By the show’s conclusion, Daphne comes to realize that she’s not playing a role but has stepped into a more expansive iteration of who she is.

“We do it to save our lives,” Ghee told The Daily Beast of the show’s primary conceit. “And then I really do save my life by tapping into a fuller version of myself. I'm now free to see and experience the world in a different way, and to walk proudly as a human being.’”

Read more at The Daily Beast.