Alan Mingo Jr. Talks First-of-its-Kind Movie Musical

I’m Not Gay A Musical, an indie feature that crosses genres by mixing New Queer Cinema and classic Hollywood musicals, crafting them into a uniquely heartfelt story, is now available to stream on digital/VOD platforms.

Starring Sydney James Harcourt (Broadway’s Hamilton) as Misha, an obsessive-compulsive MMA fighter plagued by hidden childhood trauma, he moves to Fire Island to seek treatment. But while there, he falls in love with the house of dreams. However, there’s a catch—The property manager will only sell it to a gay man.

Misha will have to overcome his past trauma to convince his neighbors that he’s one of them, but could this charade actually be a reality? Thanks to his eclectic and eccentric trans psychiatrist, Dr. Maxine “Maxi” Caspar, played by Kinky Boots and Doom Patrol star Alan Mingo Jr., Misha discovers who he really is.

With less than 1% of U.S. medical students and physicians self-identifying as transgender, I’m Not Gay A Musical allows individuals in the trans community to see themselves in a role they are not often depicted in.

Mingo took some time to talk more about the film, his role, and its impact, with OFM.

Can you begin by telling us what viewers can expect from I’m Not Gay A Musical?

It’s a movie musical, and being a part of a movie musical fills my heart with joy. They can expect some wonderful dancing, music you’ll walk away from singing to yourself, and this film also touches on a lot of social issues that I feel like people in our community are dealing with today. I feel like people will walk away from this feeling exhilarated and excited. Again, it’s a musical, but it’s touching and heartfelt.

So, would you say this film is timely?

Definitely. First of all, you don’t really see these types of characters in movies today. Back in my day, you didn’t see these characters at all on the screen, so it’s great to portray someone like my character, Maxi. You don’t see my type of character written anywhere, so having these roles portrayed on the screen, I feel like young people in the LGBTQ community will get to see themselves in these roles and know that they can achieve anything in life.

Also, I feel like movies like this will inspire other writers to write more roles like Maxi, where being trans isn’t the only subject matter. We have trans individuals, doctors, lawyers, accountants, and sometimes when we depict them in movies and TV, it’s all about their hurt or pain. I’m not discrediting that at all, but when it becomes commonplace to just have a trans neighbor or doctor, that’s when it becomes sort of cemented in our society. That’s why I’m so proud of I’m Not Gay.

Is there a specific part or scene that you personally resonated with?

Honestly, just the role itself. When I heard this film was being made, having a trans psychiatrist was interesting to me. I actually read the script before I auditioned, and I’ve been doing trans and drag roles for quite some time on the screen, mainly TV. Although they were great and I loved them, they were more for comic relief or dealing with their own issues while living in a world that’s not so friendly to our community.

What jumped out about Maxi to me was that she is a professional helping someone else. Who or what she was didn’t make a difference. Someone was seeking her out for her expertise, and it wasn’t about her environment, hurt, or pain. She was helping someone else through that, so for me, that was one of the reasons why I wanted to get this role.

Like you said, you’ve played trans, female, and drag queen roles before such as Lola in Broadway’s Kinky Boots and Maura Lee Karupt in Doom Patrol. May I ask, do you identify as transgender?

I try not to label myself only because I’m also in the acting profession and I do all those things. I sort of keep my personal life aside, and also, growing up, those in the trans community back then were also part of the drag community. They sort of blended within each other. Growing up, I would call them, and this may be inappropriate for today, but I would call them my gay mentors. They were a plethora of drag queens and trans individuals, some crossdressers, who sometimes all lived in one house.

So, those lines bled a little bit, and as our society matured, and we began to use our pronouns, I still harken back to those who are still older than me, who have not quite made a decision on that. They are just who they are. So, I sort of hold on to that saying, I don’t really define myself any way, and especially because of my profession.

Then let me ask you this. I am by no means knocking the fact that you landed the role of Maxi, but do you think the impact of this character might have been a little bit different if an actual trans actress played the part?

Oh, sure. And this is why I say I don’t even define myself. Here’s the thing. I have 30 years of acting experience. I have my Master’s in acting, and I understand the issue and why people would say that. As an actor who has made my way on Broadway, it would have been very difficult if I wanted to present myself as a trans actor and move forward with my career back when I first started. So, when these roles became more present, I would walk into a room and be like, “I don’t have to tell you what I do at home to be able to get this role. Let me prove that I can portray this character,” and that’s how I got these roles.

While I understand the argument of the impact being different if an actual trans person played the role, but as an actor who portrays so many in this community, I feel like if I told you what my true feelings are at home, would that make a difference? I’m not a psychiatrist, but I play one. You see what I mean? I’m not a father, but I played them. I’m not a mother, but I played them. As someone in my profession, I try to keep my personal life aside due to this sort of conversation.

Again, while I agree with both sides, as someone who portrays different characters, I try to let them know that I’ve been in this business for, like I said, over three decades. I’m well-trained, so when I come into a room and audition, I am the character. They are watching a trans woman. They are watching a gay man or a straight doctor.  I try to walk in the room as that person to give them no choice. Then when I come home, I don’t need to tell you what I do, who I date, or who I love.

What else do you ultimately hope audiences take away from I’m Not Gay A Musical?

I’m Not Gay A Musical also addresses things like mental health, which I feel like we don’t really address in America, especially in our community. I don’t know about you, but a lot of my friends have issues with sexual or physical abuse, mental abuse, addiction, possibly two or three of those things, and we don’t really address getting help. I feel like our main character, played by Sidney Harcourt, was very well done. He kind of ran away from his past and now has to face it, and if it wasn’t for a doctor saying, “I’m no longer going to supply you painkillers; you need to seek therapy,” he wouldn’t have done so.

Audiences will get to see the star of the show, the lead character, go through therapy and actually make a breakthrough. More people need to do that, especially after something like the pandemic. I feel like the world has been sort of traumatized, and when we got out of this, it was like everyone snapped back into what we were used to. No one wanted to talk about or deal with what the world just went through, as well as the individual pain, (like) moving back in with parents, dealing with isolation, and dealing with the newfound technology like we’re speaking on now to communicate with people.

We were traumatized, but no one knew where to get help because the world kept moving. No, you need to show up for work. No, you need to go back and do what you were doing. Forget about what just happened to you, and I feel like in our community, that’s a constant. We’re constantly surviving and moving to make it seem like things are normal. Damn our mental health. So, I do believe that because we tap on subjects like I just spoke on, I feel like people will walk away, and hopefully, reflect on some of the issues that they’re holding on to and seek some help.

What has this film and role taught you about yourself?

It’s very interesting. With every role, I walk away learning something about each character, and with Maxi, she does some unorthodox things. She’s very eccentric and matter-of-fact. One of my best friends is a psychiatrist, so when I knew I got the role, I started asking him a lot of questions. Because of the things she was doing, I was like, “Can she do this? Is this real?” And my friend said, “There are a lot of people in professions who do things that are not part of the norm, and that sometimes makes a greater impact. They don’t go down a list of things, and they sort of break the mold.”

Now, mind you, that sometimes rides the lines of inappropriate, and he used the example of Morgan Freeman’s Lean on Me. He was like, if your kids are going to a school where you saw the principal walking around with a bat, you would go, “Hmmm, this is a problem.” You need to get them out of there, but in a way, he transformed his school by breaking the mold. For me, some of the techniques that Maxi uses in the film made me question, but after talking to my friend, he made me feel OK. Maxi feels good in her community.

It’s on Fire Island, after all, and she’s not dealing with the pressures of the outside world compared to living in Iowa, per se. She gets results from her clients, and she gets results by breaking the mold and moving outside the box. I took that away from that character. Sometimes, it’s OK to sort of push the boundaries to get what you need.

Do you have a favorite musical number?

Of course, mine! (Laughs). First of all, the music is written by Benjamin Velez, and it’s quite great. When I first heard the music, we did a thing on Zoom because the world was just opening up while we were trying to shoot this film, so that was challenging on its own, but the minute I heard everyone sing, I was like, this needs to be on Broadway. This is great. Benjamin is such a wonderful writer, but my song is a little bit of jazz, rhythm, and blues, but it’s so poignant on what she’s trying to say.

Sometimes, you need to break down to build yourself back up. If you don’t acknowledge what you’re going through, you’re not getting anywhere until you break it down. Once we finished shooting, I would go around the house singing that song because it’s so good. It’s one of those things where you’re like, that’s so true. You’ve got to acknowledge what is really going on before you can go, this can be OK. When you continue to walk into denial, which we all do at some levels, we can’t truly see the light.

Before we wrap up, are there any other upcoming projects or anything else you would like to mention or plug?

I’m working on a deal, but it’s not quite done yet, so I can’t really say much about it. So, I would say just stay tuned to my social media!

Stay up-to-date and connect with Mingo by following him on Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram @alanmingojr. I’m Not Gay A Musical is now available to stream on digital/VOD platforms.

Photos courtesy of Sauron Hospitality Productions and Alan Mingo Jr.