A play built from a son’s private journals and a mother’s determination to understand him is making its Colorado debut this week. Always a Boy, co-authored by Jeremy Ivester and based on his own life, opens at the Pluss Theatre in Denver on Friday, October 9, and runs through October 25.
The production follows Joshua and his mother, Rachel, as they prepare for a family wedding and revisit the years that reshaped their family, according to Boulder Jewish News. It is a fictionalized version of events, inspired by the true story of Jeremy Ivester, who is Jo Ivester’s son, as detailed in her memoir Never a Girl, Always a Boy, per the Colorado Theatre Guild. Jeremy identified as a man, and as a child was described by his family as a tomboy, according to Westword. By middle school and through puberty, he experienced gender dysphoria, and he eventually wanted to cut his hair short and wear boy’s clothing, the outlet reports.
From Family Journals to a Mother’s Memoir
Jo Ivester has said she would not tell her son’s whole life story on her own terms, and according to Westword’s reporting, she asked Jeremy for permission to write a memoir about his experience. He agreed, gave her his recorded journals to use in the writing, and in turn gave her permission to speak on their mutual behalf — though he did not write the memoir himself. The resulting book, Never a Girl, Always a Boy, was published in 2020 and went on to receive an award, according to Jo Ivester's own account; separately, Simon & Schuster lists the publication date as April 21, 2020, through She Writes Press.
Jeremy went on to attend the University of Colorado Boulder, where he found friends who did not pigeonhole him, before returning to Texas, Westword reports. He had played football and was academically active, according to the outlet, details woven into a family history that also shaped the stage adaptation now arriving in Denver.
A Script Still Being Reworked
Always a Boy was co-authored by Jo Ivester and Jeremy Ivester. Jeremy Ivester stars as Joshua in Ground Floor Theatre’s production, according to Ground Floor Theatre. Caden Pazo plays Joshua in the Denver production. The play underwent major script changes after its initial development, and the text remains dynamic and subject to further revision, per Westword’s reporting. Lisa Scheps, who is transgender and serves as founder and director of Austin’s Ground Floor Theatre, directed the production, according to BroadwayWorld.
Ground Floor Theatre, which first staged Always a Boy, was founded to produce works focused on historically underrepresented communities, Westword notes. The play received a well-received full production there in 2024, running from February 15 through March 2 of that year at the Austin venue, according to CTX Live Theatre. The Austin Chronicle, reviewing that run, called it warm and free of despair, writing that “there’s not an ounce of bleakness in this play.” That staging used three actors to portray the lead character at different stages of life, with Jeremy playing himself as an adult, while two younger performers handled earlier years, according to KUT. It ran 90 minutes without an intermission, per BroadwayWorld.
Why the Creators Fictionalized Real Pain
The creators have said they wanted the play to show that being transgender does not have to be a tragedy, and that it was important to portray that onstage, according to the KUT interview. To do that, the writers took internalized pain and thinking that Jeremy eventually shared with his family and staged it as though it had happened directly to Joshua, rather than presenting every scene as a literal record of events, the station reports.
That approach extends to the play’s broader message about family communication. The Austin Chronicle’s review summarized the work’s thesis plainly: “Everything can be solved with communication. Just be honest with others and, importantly, with yourself.” Jo Ivester’s own writing on the memoir describes a family that moved toward acceptance at different speeds but ultimately came together, according to her website.
A Conversation Starter Before Its Colorado Debut
In Austin, the play became a conversation starter for families, according to Westword, with families that included adult transgender children, parents or grandparents attending performances together. The goal, per the outlet, is to build acceptance and awareness around transgender experience through shared viewing and discussion.
Before reaching full production, the play had an industry presentation in New York City on October 13, 2023, according to Boulder Jewish News. Now it heads to Colorado for the first time, opening at the Pluss Theatre, located at 350 S. Dahlia St. in Denver, with 11 scheduled performances running Thursdays through Saturdays at 7 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m., per the Colorado Theatre Guild. A streaming performance is set for October 24. Tickets are offered on a sliding scale from $18 to $54, an economic model intended to improve accessibility, with hardship tickets available, Boulder Jewish News reports — a contrast to the pay-what-you-can structure used in Austin, where CTX Live Theatre listed suggested prices of $25 for general admission and $40 for VIP seating.
