Sylvester Musical Will Feel Mighty Real in San Francisco Before NYC Return

Mighty Real: A Fabulous Sylvester Musical, writer and star Anthony Wayne's celebration of late disco legend Sylvester, won't stop bringing the funk.

Producers of the hit musical, which ended its limited off-Broadway run Sunday at the Theatre at St. Clement's, have announced that a San Francisco engagement is already in the works, as well as a return to New York City next year.

Codirected by Wayne and his partner, costume designer Kendrell Bowman, the musical"pays tribute to the 'Queen of Disco,' Sylvester, telling his story through his music and his point of view," according to press notes about the production. "Beyond all the trials and tribulations of his life -- and the glitz and glamour of his lifestyle -- Sylvester was not only a symbol for being Fabulous, but also a pioneer in the LGBTQ community for showing, unapologetically, you have to be true to who you are."

The off-Broadway premiere of Mighty Real, which was coproduced by Sheryl Lee Ralph/The Diva Foundation, also starred Anastacia McCleskey, Jacqueline B. Arnold, DeAnne Stewart, and Rahmel McDade.

Before focusing on his solo career, which yielded hit singles such as "(You Make Me Feel) Mighty Real," Sylvester performed in San Francisco with the Cockettes, a drag troupe. The androgynous Dance Music Hall of Fame inductee was also a founding member of the Disquotays, a group of black drag queens and trans women. As an activist he spoke out against the spread of HIV/AIDS until his own AIDS-related death in 1988.

"I was inspired by his drive to be who he was regardless of what he went through," Wayne recently told The Advocate. "Nowadays, people have their own labels for what they want to say. He was just Sylvester."

For more information about future Mighty Real engagements visit FabulousSylvester.com.