(News release provided by the American Heritage Center)
The American Heritage Center (AHC) at the University of Wyoming announces the Cowboy State tour of “A Sissy in Wyoming,” a Playwright’s Reading based on the remarkable life of Wyoming educator, activist, and crossdresser Larry “Sissy” Goodwin (1946-2020).
The tour will take place from September 30 to October 9 in nine Wyoming towns. Written and read by Cody son and Los Angeles playwright, Gregory Hinton, the play is drawn from oral interviews with Sissy’s wife—author and activist Vickie Jones Goodwin—conducted by AHC archivist Leslie Waggener.
Hinton, producer of the national education initiative, Out West, co-founded “Out West in the Rockies” with the AHC in 2015 as a regional LGBTQ archive of the American West.
Additional funding for the program comes from Wyoming Humanities, the Wyoming Cultural Trust Fund, the Wyoming Arts Council, and the Wyoming State Historical Society. The tour is timed to coincide with National LGBTQ History Month in October.
"Sissy Goodwin was a long-time Douglas resident, technology educator and Air Force veteran. As a father, he knew the importance of setting a good example for his children and standing up for what he believed in,” observes Paul Flesher, the Director of the American Heritage Center. “Sissy was a cross-dresser for many decades and often posed the question why society accepted women wearing jeans but not men wearing dresses.”
The play debuted as part of Casper’s Nicolaysen Museum public programming for the acclaimed 2021 exhibit “The Fabric of His Life – The Story of Larry ‘Sissy’ Goodwin.”
“A Sissy in Wyoming” is a triumph of will; a cry for courage; and a remarkable Cowboy State love story spanning fifty years," explains playwright Gregory Hinton.
The “Sissy” tour will begin at 7:30 pm on September 30 at the University of Wyoming’s Thrust Theater, with a performance produced by UW’s Department of Theater and Dance. From there the play travels to Cheyenne’s Lincoln Theatre (3 pm, Oct. 2); the Sheridan Public Library (4 pm, Oct. 3); the Buffalo Bill Center of the West in Cody (6 pm, Oct. 4); The National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson (6 pm, Oct. 5); Rock Spring’s Broadway Theater (6 pm, Oct. 6); Central Wyoming College in Riverton (6 pm, Oct. 7); Casper College (6 pm, Oct. 8); and the Douglas Public Library in Douglas (2 pm, Oct. 9).
Sissy’s widow Vickie Goodwin says, “I am so excited to be working with Gregory Hinton and the AHC to travel Wyoming with my husband’s story.”
All performances are free or for a nominal charge to the public at each venue. A Q&A discussion about the themes of “A Sissy in Wyoming” with Hinton and Vickie Goodwin with local moderators will follow each reading.
For more information about the play’s tour, please see the AHC’s website at https://www.uwyo.edu/ahc/simpson/ or contact AHC Simpson Institute Archivist Leslie Waggener at lwaggen2@uwyo.edu.
