License:
Available for the German and Swiss Premieres
Cast:
Minimum of 3 performers:
The piece is intended to be performed by a flexible ensemble of trans* and gender-nonconforming performers,
queer actors, singers and musicians.
Each
performer may also perform as a musician.
Minimum of 3 performers:
The piece is intended to be performed by a flexible ensemble of trans* and gender-nonconforming performers,
queer actors, singers and musicians.
Each
performer may also perform as a musician.
Music:
Backing Tracks or Band
Third Sex
Trans* Songs of the 1930s
Book
Adam J. Rineer
Music
Adam J. Rineer
German Lyrics
AMY
THIRD SEX celebrated not only its German-language premiere but also its European premiere at Freie Bühne Wien during Vienna’s Pride weekend on 13 and 14 June 2026.
Third Sex
Trans* Songs of the 1930s
Book
Adam J. Rineer
Music
Adam J. Rineer
German Lyrics
AMY
License:
Effective immediately:
Available for the German and Swiss Premieres
Cast:
Minimum of 3 performers:
The piece is intended to be performed by a flexible ensemble of trans* and gender-nonconforming performers,
queer actors, singers and musicians.
Each
performer may also perform as a musician.
Band:
Backing Tracks or Band
THIRD SEX celebrated not only its German-language premiere but also its European premiere at Freie Bühne Wien during Vienna’s Pride weekend on 13 and 14 June 2026.
About the Show
A solo musical driven by songs that move between anger, loss, and hope. Not a story of heroism, but the testimony of a life that endures in spite of everything.
THIRD SEX: 1930s Trans* Songs is a song cycle by New York composer Adam J. Rineer, based on the short stories, articles, poems and personal essays published in Das 3. Geschlecht, a German magazine that ran for five issues in Berlin between 1930 and 1932, before the Nazis burned down its publishing house.
THIRD SEX brings these forgotten trans and queer stories to life through an eclectic score inspired by 90 years of punk and experimental electronic music, while exploring queer experiences across the past, present and future through vivid stories of survival.
https://www.adamjrineer.com/third-sex-1930s-transvestite-lieder
During Vienna Pride weekend, on 13 and 14 June, we were proud to present not only the German-language premiere but also the European premiere at Freie Bühne Wien: THIRD SEX – 1930s TRANS* SONGS is a found-text song cycle and punk cabaret originating Off-Broadway in New York.
For the piece, young American composer Adam J. Rineer set to music short stories, articles, poems and essays from the German magazine Das 3. Geschlecht, a queer publication for trans* people that appeared in five issues in Berlin between 1930 and 1932, before the Nazis burned down its publishing house. This complete musical work – a punk musical song cycle – is being presented by us not only in Europe for the first time, but also for the first time in a German-language version by AMY Through its adaptation into German, Adam J. Rineer’s songs can now be experienced directly by German-speaking audiences.
The programme is performed by three queer German musical theatre performers. One of them is the powerhouse vocalist AMYwhose career has included prominent roles in productions ranging from CABARET to THE ROCKY HORROR SHOW. In recent years, she has toured several German states in HEDWIG AND THE ANGRY INCH, caused a sensation as Herod in JESUS CHRIST SUPERSTAR at the Luisenburg Festival in Bavaria, and most recently captivated audiences in Rory Six’s EIN WENIG FARBE at Musikalische Komödie Leipzig, a production that was also nominated for Best Revival at the 2025 German Musical Theatre Awards.
Joining her is Elias Heiligendorff, a young musical theatre performer from Hamburg, who is currently appearing in the musical PEER GYNT at Opernwerkstatt am Rhein.
Alongside these two trans* artists, the trio is completed by Lukas [Lu] Sandmann, who has been a permanent member of the ensemble at Landestheater Linz since 2019, captivating Austrian audiences in a wide range of roles. Lukas [Lu] Sandmann’s extensive credits include Angel in RENT, Miss Verständnis in PRISCILLA – KÖNIGIN DER WÜSTE, and Isa in BERLIN NON STOP, a role for which they won the German Musical Theatre Award in 2024.
Swiss musical theatre performer Patric Scott is not only responsible for the direction and staging, but will also make a special appearance on stage.
Following both performances, there will be post-show discussions on stage with all of the artists. Moderated by Thomas Neuwerth.
THIRD SEX feiert am Wiener CSD-Weekend 13. und 14.Juni 2026 nicht nur deutschsprachige, sondern auch europäische Erstaufführung in der Freien Bühne Wien.
Musical Adaptation
-
A) Backing Tracks
-
B) Band
PINK LIST A Solo Musical About Memory, Resistance and Identity
Framing Story:
- West Berlin, courtroom, 1957
Flashbacks:
- Rural Germany (1920s)
- Weimar-era Berlin (early 1930s)
- Sachsenhausen and Flossenbürg concentration camps (1940–1945)
- Post-war Germany through the early 1980s
Time & Place
Creator
Adam J. Rineer
Book, Music, Lyrics
ADAM J. RINEER is a New York City-based composer, writer, music director and artistic director dedicated to new musical theatre and interdisciplinary performance. Adam’s works include THIRD SEX: 1930S TRANSVESTITE LIEDER, A TRIP TO THE MOON, BARBARA/TONY, FLATLAND, DISCO DEMO and BITCHFEST: LIVE!. Their work has been developed and presented at Ars Nova, HERE Arts Center, Goodspeed Musicals Musical Theatre Factory, Pete’s Candy Store, Parkside Lounge, PRISM Festival/The Makers’ Ensemble, Prima Theatre, CAP21 and Temple University. Adam is currently an Artist in Residence with Ars Nova and The Civilians as part of their Research and Development Group. They have served as music director for institutions including Goodspeed Musicals, MCC Theatre, NAMT and TheatreWorks Hartford. Adam is a founding member and Artistic Director of the UNTITLED MUSICAL PROJECT, holds an M.F.A. from Temple University and is an adjunct professor at Pace University.