A Transparent Musical marks first Amazon Series brought to the Stage

PHOTO: Craig Schwartz | The South Pasadenan | From L to R: Liz Larsen, Zachary Prince, Daya Curley, Adina Verson, and Sarah Stiles in the world premiere of
PHOTO: Craig Schwartz | The South Pasadenan | From L to R: Liz Larsen, Zachary Prince, Daya Curley, Adina Verson, and Sarah Stiles in the world premiere of "A Transparent Musical" at Mark Taper Forum May 23 through June 25, 2023.

For the first time, Amazon Studios has debuted an original series on stage with A Transparent Musical. The musical began performances at Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles ahead of Pride Month on May 23 and continued its run through June 25. In partnership with Center Theatre Group (CTG), Amazon Studios funded a grant to allow underserved Angelenos to attend A Transparent Musical free of charge during its final shows at Mark Taper Forum. Amazon’s MGM Studios has seen success on Broadway and recently celebrated five Tony Award wins for Some Like It Hot and New York, New York.

The musical opened to critical acclaim and according to the CTG, the musical brought in the highest proportion of young audience members (under 40) of any recent Taper production, particularly in the Gen Z category.

Transparent remains an incredibly impactful series with salient representation for the LGBTQIA+ community,” said Nick Pepper, head of US SVOD Wholly Owned Development, Amazon Studios. “This is the ideal series and characters to bring from series to stage, and we are thrilled to partner with Tony-winning Broadway Producer Eva Price. We hope the audience walks away inspired after experiencing this poignant story.”

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Audiences follow the Transparent story through the Pfefferman family’s youngest child Ali Pfefferman, played by Adina Verson, as they navigate the ups and downs of self-discovery. Ali’s Los Angeles Jewish family is filled with secrets, but when their parent, Maura – played by Daya Curley – transitions to the transgender matriarch she always knew she was, the family is forced to confront their own identities and navigate their relationships with each other. Through a revelatory story of acceptance and self-expression, A Transparent Musical explores the intersection of Jewish and queer history while celebrating the imperfectly human and startlingly familiar aspects of a universally relatable family.

The cast for this remarkable theatrical experience included Adina Verson (Ali Pfefferman), Daya Curley (Maura Pfefferman), Liz Larsen (Shelly Pfefferman), Zachary Prince (Josh Pfefferman), Sarah Stiles (Sarah Pfefferman), Kasper (Ezra), Peppermint (Davina), and Murphy Taylor Smith (Rabbi Raquel) plus Samora la Perdida, Justin Rivers, Futaba Shioda, Robert Pieranunzi, Jimmy Ray Bennett, Pat Towne, Dahlya Glick, and Emily Goglia, Alanna Darby, Ty-Gabriel Jones, and Jonathan Ritter.

Following the successful world premiere production, the Producers intend to bring the show to Broadway sometime in 2024.