The Q stands for Truth- Triassic Parq

Yes, this is what I’m choosing to write about towards the end of pride.

So, for those who know me, you know that I am an avid appreciator of all things Alex Wyse (assonance/alliteration, get into it!). After Deaf West’s revival of Spring Awakening, I was particularly big on his work (He’s also how I found out about Ride the Cyclone, he does not miss.) But this musical, Triassic Parq, came into my life at a particularly pivotal moment. the year-ish that I was sorting out my stuff and coming out as trans.

The premise of Triassic Parq, modeled after Jurassic Park, is that these are lab-created dinosaurs who are all “female.”

The science vs. religion debate comes in, as does the experience of coming of age and questioning authority. It’s not unlike Spring Awakening in many ways plot-wise. Tonally, though? The show is a comedy, and it also is incredibly queer, whether or not it means to be.

The characters (aside from the narrator, Morgan Freeman,) are all woman-coded characters, but the original cast and no doubt other casts have included men and/or nonbinary people in women’s roles. Alex Wyse’s character, The Velociraptor of Innocence, is the ingenue dinosaur who is a young woman craving adventure. The character of T-Rex 2 spontaneously “becomes” male and therein lies the trans energy of this show for me. The T-Rexes have a love duet called “Love Me as a Friend” about the changes in their dynamic that come with T-Rex 2 becoming male that truly hit home. Soon after, T-Rex 2 seduces the Velociraptor of Innocence and gets her pregnant… which is where more suspension of disbelief and is a less queer concept, but back to the idea of having a mixed-gender cast tell a story about gender in a fairly absurdist fashion.

I’m about it. I think that thinking outside the box makes room for everyone regardless of where they are in their experience of gender. I also like that the punchline isn’t AT trans people, but at gender tropes and gender roles.

Feel free to listen to the album for more bizarre, fun dinosaur content!