Script, score, production status, campus programming, and how to get involved — whether you're reviewing the show, considering a production, bringing it to your campus, or just want to help spread the word.
| Title | Mass Drag — A Drag Liturgy in One Act |
| Format | Staged ritual / musical theatre — one act, no intermission |
| Cast | 5 performers + Music Director |
| Runtime | ~60 minutes (Fringe edition) · ~90 minutes (full-length) |
| Premiere | Biltmore Bar and Lounge · Rochester Fringe Festival · Sept 15–18, 2026 |
| Also touring | Gay Spirit Camp, Easton Mountain, NY (Aug 14–15) · Hobart & William Smith Colleges (Nov 5) |
| Audience | LGBTQ+, progressive faith communities, downtown theatre, campus & academic programs |
- Script complete — Fringe edition (~60 min) and full-length one-act (~90 min)
- Original score recorded — 10 songs
- Table read March 15, 2026 — 20+ participants, standing ovation
- Venue confirmed — Biltmore Bar and Lounge, 4 performances, 80 seats
- Fiscal sponsorship through Fractured Atlas, plus a Rochester Fringe Production Launch Fund grant
- Off-Broadway trajectory — NYC development conversations underway (HERE Arts Center, Vineyard Theatre, La MaMa)
The complete script and full score are available on request. Selected tracks below.
Full score — all 10 songs — available on request. Demo recordings are AI-assisted and represent musical direction, not final sound.
Available on request — please use your institutional or organizational email so we can confirm and keep advance materials properly credentialed.
Newman Project Press · Rochester · MMXXVI. A companion text to the show — equal parts theatrical script, cultural history, and academic resource. Designed for classroom use; distinguishes what's verified, interpretive, historically disputed, and mythology of the Sisters themselves.
The Church Made Brothers: Adelphopoiesis and Brother-Making Rites
The medieval Christian rite of same-sex union — its liturgical form and geographic spread across nine centuries.
The Same Hands Burned: The Burning of Sodomites
How the same institution that blessed same-sex unions came to criminalize and execute men for sodomy.
Heart Speaks to Heart: Newman, Ambrose St. John, and the Theology of Love
Cardinal Newman's thirty-two-year relationship with Ambrose St. John and his motto Cor ad cor loquitur.
The Dig: The Surprising Exhumation of the Future Saint
The Vatican's 2008 attempt to exhume Newman's remains from the grave he shared with Ambrose St. John.
Again: Fiducia Supplicans and the Return of Blessing Two People of the Same Sex
Pope Francis's 2023 declaration — breakthrough, or homecoming to something the Church already knew?
The Song That Cannot Be Unsung
Why the show had to be a musical, not an essay — music as liturgy's most durable transmission technology.
No costumes here — just a cast that genuinely loves this show.
Every conversation is different — happy to talk through what fits, whatever brought you here.
James Lopata · 617-676-8864 · james@massdrag.org