Trevor: The Musical — The Complete Guide | Cast, Songs & History
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Trevor
Book & Lyrics by Dan Collins • Music by Julianne Wick Davis
Directed by Marc Bruni • Choreography by Josh Prince
Based on the Academy Award-winning 1994 short film
A Kid Standing
in His Own Spotlight
Trevor: The Musical is a musical with book and lyrics by Dan Collins and music by Julianne Wick Davis, based on the Academy Award-winning 1994 short film Trevor. Set in America in 1981, it follows Trevor Nelson — a 13-year-old boy navigating adolescence in suburbia, dreaming of a life in show business, worshipping Diana Ross, and beginning to understand that who he is might not be who the world around him expects.
The show is a coming-of-age story about identity, emerging sexuality, friendship, and the power of self-acceptance — funny, tender, and at times heartbreaking. It is also the story behind one of the most important organisations in the world: the Trevor Project, the national crisis intervention and suicide prevention organisation for LGBTQ+ young people, which was founded in the aftermath of the original 1994 film.
The musical premiered in Chicago at Writers Theatre in August 2017, winning the Jeff Award for Best New Work. It opened Off-Broadway at Stage 42 in November 2021, directed once again by Marc Bruni (who directed the Tony-winning Beautiful: The Carole King Musical) with choreography by Josh Prince. A filmed version was released on Disney+ on 24 June 2022, alongside a 19-track cast album from Ghostlight Records.
The Academy Award-Winning Film — and The Trevor Project
The original 1994 short film Trevor was directed by Peggy Rajski, produced by Randy Stone and Peggy Rajski, and written by Celeste (James) Lecesne. It won the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short Film in 1994. The film tells the same story: a 13-year-old boy grappling with his sexuality who reaches a crisis point. It is 17 minutes long, bracingly funny, and deeply human. Lecesne, Rajski and Stone went on to found The Trevor Project — now the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organisation for LGBTQ+ young people, providing 24/7 crisis support via phone, text and chat to young people across the United States.
The Characters
The world of Trevor: The Musical is populated by 13-year-olds navigating the bewildering terrain of junior high school in 1981 — and by one unforgettable adult presence: Diana Ross, who appears as a figment of Trevor’s imagination, his guiding star, his inner voice.
A sensitive, artistic 13-year-old with a passion for Diana Ross and dreams of making it in show business. Beginning to understand that his feelings for his classmate Pinky may mean something important about who he is. Lovable, funny, and endlessly human.
Trevor’s idol and inner voice — a flamboyant, spirited presence who appears in dream sequences and fantasy moments, guiding Trevor through his confusion and urging him toward self-acceptance. Played with dazzling energy in the Off-Broadway production by Yasmeen Sulieman.
Trevor’s classmate and the object of his burgeoning feelings — the hunky school jock. Kind and unknowing. The source of much of Trevor’s joy and confusion.
Trevor’s closest female friend. Loyal, warm, and the person who tries hardest to understand what Trevor is going through.
Trevor’s nerdy friend who provides both comedy and solidarity. Another outsider finding his way at Lakeview Junior High.
The classmate whose cruelty and intolerance puts Trevor in the wrong spotlight and drives the central crisis of the story.
Well-meaning but struggling to understand their son. Like the adult world around them, they are uncomfortable with what they sense in Trevor — but love him nonetheless.
The social world of Lakeview Junior High — the gossips, the friends, the bystanders. Each contributing to the social pressure that Trevor must navigate.
The Story — 1981,
Lakeview Junior High
It is 1981 in America. Trevor Nelson is 13 years old, attending Lakeview Junior High somewhere in the suburbs. He is not quite like the other kids. He has a passion for Diana Ross — the real Diana Ross and the imaginary one who appears in his mind when things get hard. He dreams of being a star. He’s a sensitive, creative kid who doesn’t really want to make out with girls at the local Tastee Freez — even if that’s what you’re supposed to want at 13 in 1981.
The Crush — and the Wrong Spotlight
Trevor has a crush on his classmate Pinky — the school jock. He writes about him in his diary. He thinks about him during the Diana Ross songs that play in his head. When an embarrassing incident at school suddenly and accidentally reveals more about Trevor than he’s ready to share, he is thrust into the wrong kind of spotlight. Bullies close in. The social world of junior high — merciless and myopic — turns against him. Trevor’s secret, or what he hasn’t quite understood yet is a secret, becomes public property.
The Talent Show — and the Crisis
In one of the show’s showstopping sequences, Trevor imagines leading the football team through a spectacular talent show routine — a dream sequence in which everything goes right, choreographed by Josh Prince into one of the production’s standout numbers. Reality, of course, is more complicated. Trevor’s actual talent show experience, and the spiral of humiliation and isolation that follows, leads to the show’s most serious and affecting section: Trevor reaching a crisis point — a moment where he no longer sees a way forward. He attempts suicide and survives, waking in a hospital.
The Resolution — Finding Your Own Light
Trevor’s survival is not presented as a tidy resolution. The show is careful to honour the reality of what has happened while finding its way toward something warmer: Trevor realising that the only spotlight worth standing in is the one he finds for himself. The adults in his life — his parents, his teachers — are shown struggling to understand rather than actively hostile. The show’s tone shifts from comedy to genuine emotion and back again throughout, mirroring the disorienting experience of being 13 years old and feeling fundamentally different from everyone around you. In the end, Trevor stands in his own light. His voice. His life. His story.
The Music — Diana Ross
and All That Pizzazz
The score of Trevor: The Musical has two distinct registers: the original songs by Julianne Wick Davis and Dan Collins — warm, character-driven, accessible — and the Diana Ross songs that appear in Trevor’s fantasy sequences, given to the character of “Diana Ross” and treated with full theatrical spectacle. The combination creates the show’s distinctive double-mode: grounded suburban reality and glittering imaginary showbiz.
Diana Ross Songs in the Show
The character of Diana Ross gets to sing seven of the real Diana Ross’s most iconic songs — the soundtrack of Trevor’s inner world. These numbers are the show’s most spectacular and crowd-pleasing moments, the music through which Trevor understands his own identity.
Selected Original Songs
The Cast Album — Ghostlight Records
A 19-track cast album was released by Ghostlight Records on 24 June 2022 — simultaneously with the Disney+ film release. The album captures both the original songs and the Diana Ross numbers from the Off-Broadway production, with Holden William Hagelberger as Trevor and Yasmeen Sulieman as Diana Ross. Orchestrations were by Greg Pliska, with music direction by Matt Deitchman.
Production History
The musical premiered at the Writers Theatre in Glencoe/Chicago on 9 August 2017, running through 8 October — extended due to strong demand. Directed by Marc Bruni (Beautiful: The Carole King Musical), choreographed by Josh Prince. Orchestrations by Greg Pliska, music direction by Matt Deitchman. The production received three stars from the Chicago Tribune and praise from the Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Reader, which described it as “the best After School Special you’ll ever see.” It won the Jeff Award for Best New Work.
The Off-Broadway production was originally scheduled to begin performances on 7 April 2020 at Stage 42, with Hudson Loverro cast as Trevor. The COVID-19 pandemic forced the run to be pushed back. During the delay, a nationwide casting call was held to find a new Trevor — 1,400 entries were reviewed, and 14-year-old Holden William Hagelberger was selected for the role.
Opened 10 November 2021 at Stage 42 with Holden William Hagelberger as Trevor, Yasmeen Sulieman as Diana Ross, Sammy Dell as Pinky, Aaron Alcaraz as Jack, Alyssa Emily Marvin as Cathy, Aryan Simhadri as Walter, and Sally Wilfert as Mom/Mrs. Kerr. Directed by Marc Bruni, choreographed by Josh Prince. Set design by Donyale Werle; costumes by Mara Blumenfeld; lighting by Peter Kaczorowski. The run closed on 19 December 2021 — ahead of its scheduled 2 January 2022 date — due to COVID-19 cases in the cast.
The filmed production was shot over the course of one day in January 2022. Director Marc Bruni worked with a production team to capture the Off-Broadway staging for the screen. The film was released on Disney+ on 24 June 2022, giving the show a global audience far beyond what its Off-Broadway run could reach. The Ghostlight Records 19-track cast album was released on the same day. CNN’s review praised the empowering tale, noting that “Hagelberger’s irrepressible energy and innate sweetness prevail.”
Following the Off-Broadway run and Disney+ release, Trevor: The Musical became available for licensing through Music Theatre International (MTI). The show offers two different orchestrations to accommodate adolescent performers and their changing voices: a Standard Orchestration (for changed voices) and an Alternate Orchestration (for unchanged voices) — making it ideal for school and regional theatre productions worldwide. It has since received numerous productions at youth and community theatres across the United States and internationally.
The choice of Writers Theatre in the Chicago suburb of Glencoe for the world premiere was significant: Writers Theatre is one of America’s most respected intimate-scale theatres, known for developing new work with precision and care. The production ran as part of their 2017/18 season. The extended run and critical attention it generated — including the Jeff Award win — set the show on its path to Off-Broadway.
Awards & Recognition
| Year | Award | Category | Nominee / Show | Result |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2017 | Jeff Award | Best New Work | Trevor: The Musical — Writers Theatre Chicago | Won ✦ |
| 2017 | Chicago Tribune | Critics’ Rating | World Premiere Production | 3 Stars — Promising New Musical |
| 2017 | Chicago Sun-Times | Critics’ Praise | Cast Performance | Praised — World Premiere |
| 2017 | Chicago Reader | Critics’ Review | World Premiere Production | “Best After School Special you’ll ever see” |
| 1994 | Academy Award | Best Live Action Short Film | Trevor (original film by Peggy Rajski) | Won ✦ — the film that started it all |
The Trevor Project — The Show’s Greatest Legacy
The original 1994 short film Trevor — on which the musical is directly based — inspired the founding of The Trevor Project by writer Celeste (James) Lecesne, director Peggy Rajski, and producer Randy Stone. The Trevor Project is now the world’s largest suicide prevention and crisis intervention organisation for LGBTQ+ young people, providing 24/7 crisis support across the United States. The musical carries this legacy forward: every production is a reminder of why the organisation exists and what it does. The show’s advisory note — intended for audiences aged 13 and up, containing themes of sexuality and self-harm — reflects its commitment to treating its subject with honesty rather than evasion. The Trevor Project can be reached at TheTrevorProject.org.
Critical Reception
The 2017 world premiere at Writers Theatre received largely warm notices, with the Chicago Tribune giving it three stars and calling it a “promising musical about a kid who’s easy to love.” The Chicago Sun-Times and Chicago Reader praised the cast but noted that the resolutions occasionally felt “too tidy.” The Jeff Award for Best New Work was the production’s most significant recognition.
The 2021 Off-Broadway production received mixed critical notices, with most reviewers singling out Holden William Hagelberger’s lead performance for particular warmth. The New York Theatre Guide called the show “earnest and well-acted but only sometimes satisfying,” noting the Diana Ross songs as highlights. TheaterScene.net was more critical of the book. Common Sense Media praised the show’s importance and Hagelberger’s “irrepressible energy and innate sweetness.”
Holden William Hagelberger — Found by Nationwide Search
One of the most distinctive stories in the show’s production history is how its star was cast. After Hudson Loverro was originally set for the role, the pandemic forced a restart. A nationwide casting call was held; 1,400 entries were reviewed. Holden William Hagelberger — just 14 years old at the time of the Off-Broadway run — was selected. Critics noted that his was a genuinely remarkable performance for a performer of any age, let alone one still in his early teens. He was on stage for nearly every scene of the show.
Legacy — Living Your
Best Life
Trevor: The Musical exists in an interesting position in the contemporary musical theatre landscape. As a show about a gay 13-year-old set in 1981 — before AIDS, before Matthew Shepard, before marriage equality — it asks its audience to understand a moment of American history when the world was genuinely not ready to see a boy like Trevor clearly. In that sense, the show is both a period piece and an evergreen story: bullying, intolerance, and the desperate need for acceptance are as urgent now as they were then.
The show’s use of Diana Ross as Trevor’s inner life is its most distinctive theatrical invention. Diana Ross was — and is — a figure of pure self-invention, a Black woman who became a global icon on her own terms. That she is Trevor’s north star says everything about what Trevor wants for himself: the freedom to be exactly who he is, fabulous and unapologetic, standing in his own spotlight.
The show’s availability for educational and regional theatre productions via MTI is significant: it means that Trevor’s story can be told in school theatres, community spaces, and youth organisations around the world — places where the story may matter most to the audience members in the seats.
For LGBTQ+ Young People — The Trevor Project
If you or someone you know needs support, The Trevor Project provides free and confidential crisis intervention services to LGBTQ+ young people under 25.
TrevorLifeline: 1-866-488-7386 (call, 24/7)
TrevorText: Text START to 678-678
TrevorChat: TheTrevorProject.org
Crisis Text Line: Text HOME to 741741