Miss Jaye is ready to rock on Mt. Tam

Miss Jaye is ready to put her own spin on Lola at the Mountain Play's production of "Kinky Boots."

Miss Jaye knows the power of theater. As a teenager in Ohio, it changed her life to see actor and singer Billy Porter play Lola, an indefatigable drag performer who works to save a struggling shoe factory, in the Tony-winning musical “Kinky Boots.”

“I think Billy Porter really paved the way for so many Black queer artists to just be seen in the theater world,” she says.

The trans artist and drag performer is ready to put her own spin on Lola at the Mountain Play’s production of “Kinky Boots,” which opens at 2 p.m. Sunday at Mount Tamalpais State Park’s Cushing Memorial Amphitheatre. It continues at 2 p.m. June 8, 9 and 16. For tickets and more information, go to mountainplay.org.

For the 24-year-old, this will be the second time she’s played Lola and her seventh production overall of “Kinky Boots,” a run that has taken her around the country.

“The fact that this company has allowed a young Black trans person to come into this space and tell this story to a massive audience is really special to me,” she says.

Miss Jaye, who has a bachelor of fine arts in musical theatre from Kent State University, has also been in Renaissance Theatre’s “A Chorus Line,” among other productions.

Q How are you capturing Lola?

A Getting to study and create my own variation of what I see Lola as and tell the story in my way has been really special for me. And there’s a moment in the show, “Not My Father’s Son,” when she comes out for the first time in this suit. It’s such a vulnerable side of me — it almost makes me feel like a kid again — getting to tell the story about her dad, but also, in turn, mine as well. Getting to go through that journey is something so special to me as well. And getting to share that with people is really beautiful in that way. I have two dads, my real father and my stepfather, and I don’t really have the best relationships with either. So that song is really personal to me. Eileen Grady asked me like a week ago, “What is it that you could call upon to allow you to get through the number without crying and breaking down?” And I kept telling her, my mother, and how she allowed me to be my authentic self and supported me and stood by me. Getting to envision her in my mind has been something really special for me. I’m not my father’s son, but I definitely am my mother’s child. Her and my aunt are my inspirations for everything. They’re two very strong women who have been through so much in their lives, and they’re so beautiful; all of my makeup and everything is inspired by them.

Q You last played Lola at the Oregon Cabaret Theatre. How is your approach different here?

A With a big amphitheater, all of my dancing is bigger. My movements are bigger. My voice is louder. The Mountain Play changed some of the lines in the show to be more inclusive because there was a lot of transphobic lingo in there that is outdated. And it has been really nice getting to talk through that with the cast and help them understand why we have to get rid of those things. Doing this show in regional theaters, we get to do it in places where it’s not as diverse. So it really is important to me that they get to witness and experience this grand, funny character and also get to learn a lot about what this person has gone through in their life to get them to where they are today. I think that the harder part is that Charlie in the show starts out kind and then ends up saying a lot of hurtful things to Lola. And I think that people will see themselves in that and see how they have treated queer people, either unintentionally or intentionally, and maybe learn from it. I have gotten the chance, especially in Oregon, to talk to a lot of the people who came to see the show. I’ve gotten letters. The moment that they always came back to was, “I loved everything that you did in the show, but watching you do ‘Not My Father’s Son,’ changed my perspective on how I treated queer people, how I treated Black people, how I treated people who are different from me because we’re all human and we all go through things and we all relate to different experiences.” That’s really special to me.

Q When did your love of theater begin?

A For high school, my mother and I were doing the orientation, with the booths everywhere with all the different clubs. And I remember us passing the theater club, and she was like, you should really do this. I auditioned and started doing shows. In one, I was a priest who dies and then comes back to life. Looking at people laughing with me and getting on board with me in a show was really crazy. I got to do “Godspell” in high school, and that completely changed my life. Getting to play Judas was the craziest, most emotional, most taxing experience that any kid could go through. But it taught me so much about my abilities, and I had a director, who is still one of my closest friends, believe in my skill and my ability. I think that ignited that fire for me to keep going.

Q When did you know you wanted to be a performer?

A Beyoncé was my No. 1 idol and inspiration. Studying her constantly, watching her perform, watching her create the magic that she’s created, I was like, I want to do that. My priority was to do music. I wanted to be a singer, which I still want to do. My goal going into college was to take musical theater so that I could have all the skills — the singing, the dancing and the acting — and translate that into a music career. I performed Beyoncé’s “Lemonade” live in high school my senior year. All of the money that we made from it went to my friend whose mother had a stroke that year, which was really emotional. And then I got to turn around and do it again in 2018 in college. And that was the first time I ever performed in full drag. It was magical. People were standing along the theater because the seats were all taken — the best experience of my life.

Q What inspired that?

A I think that I really was trying to find any way to express the femininity that I knew lived inside of me. I had an old TV. I remember flipping through channels and falling across “RuPaul’s Drag Race.” I was like, this is crazy, there are men doing drag. I never thought that was something that could happen. Once “Drag Race” became more mainstream, I really was like maybe I need to try this. Now I can say, as a drag artist, I’m probably one of the most entertaining queens in my city, and that’s very special to me. I think through that, I discovered myself as being trans, sometimes presenting male, but like when I wear men’s clothing, it doesn’t change who I am on the inside. It doesn’t change the fact that I still identify as a woman just because of how I was born or what I look like or what I sound like to the outside world.

Q Can you speak a little bit to this Marin production?

A Cody Craven, my co-star who plays Charlie, is one of the most supportive, loving, talented human beings. I have never worked with someone who I felt like was a more perfect pairing and perfect opposite to what I bring to the table and what I’m coming with as a drag performer. I think the best part of this experience for me has been working with the costumer, Amie Schow. She has been so collaborative with me. She has asked me what I need and what I want, especially with me having done this show so long. The things that you all are about to see me in are absolutely insane, like this sequined silver moment, and it is the most beautiful thing I’ve ever worn on my body. I’ve never felt more beautiful in a show.

Q What do you want people to get from the show?

A That they come in with open hearts and open minds and are willing to just have a good time and let loose and just experience the show for what it will be. And if it changes people’s lives, I’m so grateful for that. If people just come to the show and have a good time, I’m grateful for that, too.