The award-winning memoir Never Once a Girl, Always a Boy by Jo Ivester is being adapted for the stage.

The adaptation, now titled Always a Boy, will receive an industry presentation on October 13. Adapted by Jo Ivester and her son Jeremy Ivester, the presentation will be directed by Tony winning producer JJ Maley, with dramaturg and creative consultant Mika Kauffman.

Always a Boy centers on a boy named Joshua and his mother, Rachel, as they prepare for another big family wedding day. They reminisce about the last family wedding, when Joshua began his gender journey alongside his sister’s matrimony journey. Gender, binary thinking, and previously unspoken pain come to a head as the pair face the blunt truth of Joshua's struggle.

“It's easy to dehumanize and fear what you don't understand. I hope that by sharing my story I can show how human I am—that we are just people and therefore deserving of love, and support, and the ability to exist in this world,” said Jeremy Ivester, whose life story inspired the character of Joshua.

“At a time when too many people have weaponized hatred against the transgender community for the sake of political gain, this play provides a heartwarming example of a family embracing their loved one with respect and acceptance,” added his mother, Jo Ivester, the inspiration behind Rachel.

The cast for the reading will include Barzin Akhavan (The Kite Runner, Network), Gabrielle Carteris, Rodd Cyrus (Encores! The Light in the Piazza), JJ Hawkins, Ash Spencer, TL Thompson (Straight White Men), Parker Wingate, and Jessy Yates. The reading is produced by Transpirational Productions, executive produced by ShowTown Productions, with general management by ShowTown Theatricals, and casting by DPD Casting.

A production is planned for Austin’s Ground Floor Theatre, which will open February 15, 2024.