EDGE Interview: Jesse James Keitel Channels Christine Jorgensen in Off-Broadway Show

Following a sold-out run at the 59E59 Theater, "The Christine Jorgensen Show" underwent a slight revamping and is now playing off-Broadway at the HERE Arts Center in New York City.

Jorgensen, a demure trans woman in the 1950s, landed in the spotlight and, against all odds, became a household name and one of America's first trans celebrities. Though surprised by the nation's interest in her life, Christine parlayed it into a career as a nightclub performer, author, and regular on the talk show circuit.

"The Christine Jorgensen Show" is a retelling of her story set to the backdrop of her collaboration with Myles Bell, a song-and-dance man who helped her create a nightclub act. The witty banter, fabulous frocks, and delightful music set the perfect tone for the story of a trans woman living authentically in the 1950s.

The role of Christine Jorgensen is played by Jesse James Keitel, whose credits include "Big Sky" (ABC/HULU), "Queer as Folk" (Peacock), and "Star Trek: Strange New Worlds" (Paramount), as well as the upcoming series "Obsession" (Amazon) and feature films "Riding Shotgun" and "The Designer." The trans actor was named one of Vogue's "Rising Stars Poised to Dominate" in 2022, and was awarded the Human Rights Campaign Equity Award the same year.

Recently EDGE chatted with Jesse as she was about to begin previews of the show.

EDGE: You just had a very successful run of the show and now you're back at it.

Jesse: Yeah, bigger and better. It's a slightly revamped script and a whole new opening to the show. The 59E59 production was lovely, and I learned so much. It was like my homecoming back to the stage. But this production, I'm really excited for it. It feels a lot more grounded, like it's really found itself. I think audiences will really like it.

EDGE: Who is your audience?

Jesse: That's a good question. I think it's a fun show, charming. It's an enjoyable 80-minute piece with two people. I think it's for anyone. I don't think you need to know who Christine Jorgensen was to appreciate the impact she had. But I definitely think if you like comedic, witty banter, fun, entertaining songs, and 1950s style, it's a charmer, for sure.

EDGE: It's called a play with music, but it's not a musical. Explain that.

Jesse: It doesn't feel like a musical to me, because the musical numbers are predominantly at the end when they're performing in a nightclub act. The characters are performing within the show, not necessarily as part of their world.

EDGE: Set it up for people who might not know the story.

Jesse: The play mostly takes place in 1953 in New York City where Christine Jorgensen, who had just had a swift rise to fame, is now trying to capitalize on it by making a nightclub act. However, she can't sing, can't dance, and has terrible stage fright. In real life, she had a very successful nightclub act that carried her well through the '50s. She toured everywhere, met everyone. This show is inspired by real life.

EDGE: Talk a bit about the actual story of Christine Jorgensen, the transition story. I find that incredible back in 1950s.

Jesse: You know what's funny? She often gets credited for being one of the first trans women to medically transition, but she wasn't. She was one of many trans women who were transitioning at that time, but her story was widely publicized and sensationalized, and she became a household name overnight. She became a media sensation with headlines like "blonde beauty" and "bombshell," but she was also well-spoken, kind, and witty. She really did a lot to educate the public. She was credited at one point with saying something to the effect of, "I didn't start the sexual revolution, but I sure did give it a swift kick in the pants." That feels true to her legacy.

EDGE: I didn't realize that she was one of many trans women.

Jesse: She's one of many. In Europe, there were so many. There was a lot of research and whatnot going on at the time. It was so buttoned up, but there were many advances being made. She had to get permission from, I believe it was the Danish government, to have her transition surgeries. It was still new, but not as unheard of as we thought it was. It wasn't everyday, and many times people did find her incomprehensible, but there was a fascination about her, too.

EDGE: And she had a successful career as a nightclub performer.

Jesse: She did. She went on talk shows and wrote her autobiography. She was a businesswoman.

EDGE: Was she more of an anomaly than an act?

Jesse: There's a really lovely interview with her where someone asked if audiences treat her like a freak show. And she said, "You know, sometimes people come in thinking that, but they leave applauding." I think that was her appeal. They often expected a sideshow act, but she wasn't. She was just a lady, a beautiful, well-spoken woman. She was always well dressed. She was quite conservative, and she was also of her time. I think when people – specifically, cis people – home in and focus on the transition of trans people, they ignore our humanity. They ignore that we are also just people. And she happened to be an amazing one, an amazing person.

EDGE: You've had quite a career so far. What do you think your big break was?

Jesse: [Laughs] I kind of feel like I'm still waiting for my big break. I would say commercially it was "Big Sky," but it was a short film I did that really changed my life. It was "Miller and Son," Asher Jelinsky's MFA thesis film from AFI [American Film Institute]. It catapulted my life in ways I never could have imagined. It was about a trans woman mechanic. It will always hold a very special place for me, but "Big Sky" really thrust me onto a different level of stage.

EDGE: What are your thoughts on straight people playing trans characters?

Jesse: I do think actors are actors, and we're born to play a wide range of characters outside of our lived experience. But until the playing field is level and trans actors, gay actors, queer actors in general are getting the same amount of opportunities as our straight counterparts, why should we forego the opportunity to have a life-changing role just for some straight cis person to tack on their perception of our lived experience when they have no real lived experience with it? It's not fair for me to be reduced to my transness and my talent and hard work ignored, my resume ignored, to then have a role go to someone not of my experience. That feels unjust when there are so many talented trans actresses that I know of.

I do think there are some great performances from amazing actors playing characters outside of their lived experience, but we have so much talent within the community. It should be used. That's how I feel.

EDGE: Let's get back to the upcoming show. You're singing. Are you a singer?

Jesse: I don't identify as a singer at all. I have sung in multiple roles that required me to sing, and I started in musical theater as a kid. But you couldn't pay me to audition for musical theater. It terrifies me. Once I started professionally auditioning for it, that's when I knew it's not for me. I played a singer on "Big Sky," and I'm playing a singer now – or rather, I'm playing a character who sings. I don't think I'm not coming out with an album anytime soon!

EDGE: Was Christine a singer, or a person who sang?

Jesse: I think a lot of the music she sang was a little more speak-singing, but she sounded lovely, especially as she got more and more confident and her show got more and more successful. She had a lovely voice. I don't know if she considered herself a singer.

EDGE: Tell me about the costumes in the show?

Jesse: Breathtaking. Our costume designer, Suzanne Chesney, has truly outdone herself. There's a new scene in this production that wasn't in the 59E59 production that is adorable. I'm so smitten. Everything's very period. It's accurate. It's beautiful. I feel glamorous. And it's all stuff that I would never think to wear now. Some of it is quite conservative and buttoned up. I feel like every other production I do wants me to be naked or in mesh, and I don't mind, but it's nice to not be reliant on that. I feel beautiful without feeling overly sexy. It's nice.

EDGE: What's next for you?

Jesse: I unexpectedly had quite the year. I just finished two feature films and a new TV show for Amazon called "Obsession." It definitely pushed me as an actor. I'm feeling very proud of myself. I feel really lucky, especially right after the strikes. But I'm also a writer, and so once this play ends I'm excited to focus on some of my own projects and hopefully get one of them off the ground next year.

EDGE: TV, stage, film?

Jesse: I've dabbled in in all of them, but right now I'm focused on a rom-com based on a couple funny experiences I've had last couple years.

EDGE: Do you have any role models in the business?

Jesse: That's such a good question. I'm sure there are plenty of actors who I do look up to and admire and have massive talent crushes on. And this might be a hokey answer, but I do feel like I bring a lot of my parents into roles, just thinking about the way that I've watched them for years navigate life. I feel like my parents are larger role models for me than maybe I give them credit for.

EDGE: They're not industry people?

Jesse: No, not at all. My dad thought me going to acting school was me going to clown school. I guess he wasn't wrong. I actually did take some circus classes at Pace.

EDGE: One more question. If you could go back to the time in your life when you were struggling, what would you say to that person?

Jesse: I think it would actually be fairly recent. A lot of parts of my life took a difficult turn right around the same time. "Queer as Folk" got canceled, and all of a sudden everything I had stability with was no more. It really took reinventing myself in a way. I had to lose myself to find myself. I guess I would say, "You're gonna be okay. Life does move on even if it does feel challenging. But you're gonna be okay."

"The Christine Jorgensen Show" runs through November 17 at the HERE Arts Center, 145 6th Avenue, NYC , NY.