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Live an authentic life.
It's a refrain often repeated in Facebook memes and graduation speeches.
But what if leading an authentic life meant presenting yourself as someone else entirely?
That's the question singer-songwriter-actress Nellie McKay explores in her new revue-with-dialogue concert, "A Girl Named Bill — The Life and Times of Billy Tipton," playing Saturday at the Eccles Center Theater in Park City.
McKay tells the story of Tipton, a jazz bandleader who toured the nation in the '30s, '40s and '50s as a man. He had at least five wives and adopted three sons, but very few of them knew he was assigned female at birth. He lived his life as a man, and it wasn't until his death at age 74, when paramedics removed his pajamas to resuscitate him, that the world realized his secret.
"There were many people who understood he had been born Dorothy Lucille Tipton and accepted him for who he wanted to be," McKay said. "There were a lot of good people who protected Billy and loved him for the person he was instead of the gender he was assigned."
Tipton started binding his breasts with Ace bandages and using a prosthetic to create a bulge in his pants to break into the jazz business, which simply didn't hire women at the time. While some of his fellow performers knew he was born a woman, they didn't out him and instead simply performed with him. Eventually, Tipton would justify the bandages by telling people he had to wear them because of a childhood accident that had fractured several of his ribs.
McKay's show explores the theme of living with secrets and their effects. She warns that there is some pretty strong language used and heavy topics discussed in the performance, and she'd rate it R for anyone determining whether to bring younger viewers.
"The threats Billy faced, the racism and nationalism of the time that has never really gone away, he spent most of his time in small clubs in the Midwest because there was less of a chance of being discovered," McKay said.
It's a life that would be difficult to carry out in today's world of social media and constant selfies.
"He was a pioneer," McKay said. "Billy just became Billy, but what a magic act. I marvel, and I'm envious. You could change so much more easily because you didn't have the internet to follow you around. You could move to another state and have a whole different life."
Tipton is a character who has fascinated McKay since she discovered his story as a young woman.
"The raison d'être for the play is that it's a great story and that I have the luxury of time to write about it," she said. "Of course he was a piano player, but the length and commitment to performance — one's whole life to have a role, to have five wives, how do you pull that off? It's irresistible." —
Do you want to know a secret?
Nellie McKay presents "A Girl Named Bill: The Life and Times of Billy Tipton."
Where • George S. and Dolores Doré Eccles Center Theater, 1750 Kearns Blvd., Park City
When • Saturday, April 15, 7:30 p.m.
Tickets • $29-$79; tickets.parkcity.institute or 435-655-3114