"Five drag nuns. One gay bar. A thousand years of queer history the Church would rather you not know about."
A Rochester-native, former Jesuit candidate and Harvard-trained theologian brings a world-premiere musical about faith, belonging, and grace to the 2026 ESL Rochester Fringe Festival — everything a reporter, editor, or producer needs is on this page.
A musical about five drag nuns is easy to file as a novelty act. This one isn't. Mass Drag comes from a writer raised in Webster, NY, who nearly became a priest, studied theology at Harvard, and spent a decade as a cantor in Catholic parishes — including the landmark 1998 Rochester LGBTQ Catholic Mass celebrated by Bishop Matthew Clark. It's a world premiere, fully local cast, original score, and a story about what happens when the institution you love doesn't know what to do with you. Full release, cast bios, audio, video, and downloadable assets below.
Sister Donna Wanna-Noh ·
The Duality at the Heart of Mass Drag
ROCHESTER-NATIVE, FORMER JESUIT CANDIDATE
AND HARVARD-TRAINED THEOLOGIAN BRINGS
WORLD-PREMIERE MUSICAL ABOUT
FAITH AND BELONGING TO ROCHESTER FRINGE
"Five drag nuns. One gay bar. A thousand years of queer history the Church would rather you not know about."
ROCHESTER, NY — Mass Drag, a world premiere musical set in and around a gay bar that doubles as home to a fictional order of drag "sisters," follows a skeptical young novice's path from doubt to devotion as he's pulled into the order's world. Blending original music, drag performance, and Catholic ritual — including a tube of "Jungle Red" lipstick elevated to sacramental status by the order's own invented liturgy — Mass Drag explores queer lives across centuries while asking timeless questions about faith, belonging, and grace. It comes to the 2026 ESL Rochester Fringe Festival with performances Sept. 15–18 at 8 PM at the Biltmore. Tickets are $23 and the show is recommended for ages 16 and up; tickets are on sale now at rochesterfringe.com.
James Lopata nearly became a priest. Raised in a devout Rochester-area (Webster) Catholic family and drawn to the priesthood from childhood, he entered early Jesuit candidacy before finding he couldn't reconcile his own identity with what he understood his superiors expected of him. He went on to earn a master's degree from Harvard Divinity School, study playwriting under Nobel Laureate Derek Walcott, and served for a decade as a cantor in Catholic parishes — including as cantor for the 1998 Rochester Mass held by the National Association of Catholic Diocesan Lesbian and Gay Ministries under Bishop Matthew Clark, a landmark and, at the time, contested moment for LGBTQ Catholics in the diocese. His parents founded Fortunate Families, a national organization supporting Catholic parents of LGBTQ children, based originally in Rochester. Lopata has also practiced as a Soto Zen teacher for three decades. Mass Drag draws directly on that history.
The production is led by a fully local, Rochester-area-based company: Dino Kolios (Maggie), Sean Scott (Anita), Tim Stuff (Mercy), Dylan Burley (Tommy), Terry Quataert (Jude), and Paul Scheib (swing), with Eastman-trained Katherine Snelling as Music Director.
"I wanted to be a priest since I was a kid," said Lopata. "I loved the Church — I sang in its choirs, studied its theology, took first communion and confirmation at St. Paul's in Webster, the first parish Bishop Fulton Sheen commissioned. But somewhere along the way, I learned there was a version of me the Church would rather I kept quiet about. Mass Drag started with a question I've carried most of my life: what do you do when the institution that's supposed to care for you doesn't know what to do with you? The show is funny and irreverent, but underneath the glitter, it's really about grace — and finding a home when the one you expected doesn't fit."
Mass Drag is fiscally sponsored by Fractured Atlas and was awarded a Rochester Fringe Production Launch Fund grant. A public Kickstarter campaign supporting the production runs Aug. 1–30, alongside a launch party on Aug. 1. More information, cast details, and a production photo gallery are available at massdrag.org.
As one of the Fringe's official venues, the Biltmore received artists' submissions during the festival's open call and curated its own lineup independently — a process modeled on the Edinburgh Fringe Festival, the world's first Fringe and largest arts festival.
ABOUT MASS DRAG
Mass Drag is a project
of The Newman Project / First Class Coach Corp., the Rochester-based
creative practice of James Lopata — playwright, composer, director,
executive coach, and adjunct faculty at MCC. The production is fiscally
sponsored by Fractured Atlas.
ABOUT THE ESL ROCHESTER FRINGE FESTIVAL
The
12-day ESL Rochester Fringe Festival is one of the nation's largest
fringe festivals and has been recognized by The New York Times
as one of the country's more prominent multidisciplinary events. It is
also New York State's largest performing arts festival and the current
winner, three years running, of CITY Magazine's Best of
Rochester Award for Best Arts Event. More than 1.1 million people have
attended nearly 6,500 performances and events at the Fringe since its
inception in 2012.
Teaser Video
From the March 2026 table read — 20+ participants, standing ovation.
Score Samples
Early demo recordings — some use AI-generated voices to convey the music, not the final sound of the show. Full score and sheet music available to press on request.
Script & Annotated Reader
Cast & Creative Team
Full-resolution headshots for the cast are being gathered and will be added as they come in. James Lopata's headshot is available now (see Downloads).
Mass Drag — ESL Rochester Fringe 2026 Cast and Creative TeamKatherine Snelling · Dino Kolios · Dylan Burley · Sean Scott · Terry Quataert · Tim Stuff · Paul Scheib Download High-Res