While attending Edinburgh Fringe for Playbill Goes Fringe, Playbill correspondents Leah Putnam and Margaret Hall saw Lizard Boy, an American musical making its debut at the festival this year. Following Trevor, a man who has lizard skin due to an unusual childhood incident, the musical takes audiences on his journey of finding acceptance and empowerment as he goes on a Grindr date, encounters an old classmate, and must prepare to be a hero - for himself and the world.
"It's a queer, comic book meets superhero origin story, romantic comedy and coming-of-age tale," said playwright, composer, lyricist, and star Justin Huertas in an interview with Putnam and Hall. "It's told by a three-person acoustic rock band... Eventually, I came up with this concept of a guy with lizard skin who is very comfortable with his sexuality as a queer man, but not comfortable at all with his lizard skin. And that jumpstarted the whole concept."
The Fringe run stars two casts, one from the U.K., and the original American cast of Kirsten De Lohr Helland as Siren, Huertas as Trevor, and William A. Williams as Cary. Huertas originally developed the musical after being commissioned by the late Jerry Manning, who was artistic director of Seattle Rep at the time. After initial explorations and development, the show received a workshop in 2013 and premiered in 2015. Following its premiere, its had runs in San Diego in 2016 and the Bay area in 2021, with continual development as the show has evolved.
Playbill had a chance to record "Another Part of Me" live during one of Lizard Boy's Fringe performances. It is the seventh song on the 2015 original cast album, which is available to listen to on Spotify.
Check back for an upcoming interview with Huertas, Helland, and Williams as they discuss the working on the show together over the years, bringing it to Fringe, and why they think audiences are resonating with the show.
For more information, visit LizardMusical.com.
