South Carolina Children’s Theatre (SCCT) is currently presenting Annie, a classic Broadway musical long regarded as family and children-friendly entertainment. The production is currently running in Greenville from December 5th to 21st and features some cast drawn from the local performing arts community.
One of the principal roles in Annie is Oliver “Daddy” Warbucks, the wealthy industrialist who adopts the orphan Annie and becomes central to the story’s moral arc. In promotional materials shared on Instagram (as seen in the image below), SCCT lists “Clay Smith” as the actor portraying Daddy Warbucks in the current production.
Separately, SC Children’s Theatre’s official website lists Clay Smith, a native of Greenville, as a member of its Artistic Advisory Council. On that same advisory listing and in multiple public interviews, Clay Smith is identified as the drag performer known as “Delighted Tobehere.” According to published profiles, he is a graduate of Clemson University, where he studied performing arts (voice), and he has an extensive background in theatrical and performance work. Source: https://scchildrenstheatre.org/artistic-advisory-council
These two facts, both verifiable and public, raise a question that the theatre has not yet directly addressed. But most importantly, why is a drag queen on an advisory council within a children’s performance industry?
At present, SC Children’s Theatre has not publicly clarified whether the Clay Smith credited as Daddy Warbucks in Annie is the same Clay Smith who performs publicly as "Delighted Tobehere" and serves on the theatre’s Artistic Advisory Council. No cast bio, program note, or official statement currently confirms or denies that the two are the same individual.
For many parents, particularly those approaching children’s programming from a Christian or conservative worldview, this lack of clarity matters. Children’s theatres occupy a unique place of trust in the community. Parents reasonably expect transparency about who is shaping and performing in productions intended for young audiences.
Another fact: Clay Smith, as "Delighted Tobehere," has been involved with drag-queen children's storytelling at the Cooper Library in Clemson. Many Upstate South Carolina conservatives and Christians have publicly protested drag-queen storytelling events at Upstate local libraries.
As an observable perception, it is interesting that these drag queen personas end up in many activities involving children, as if they are targeting the community's children.
"Smith is proud to support the South Carolina Children’s Theatre and its mission to empower and inspire a new generation of changemakers through theatre."
This concern is not an accusation that Smith displays a drag queen persona during the Annie theatrical production, nor is it a claim that Annie itself contains inappropriate material. Daddy Warbucks is not a drag role but a moral arc, and there is no evidence that drag performance is part of the show. Rather, the concern centers on institutional alignment and openness, especially when there are apparent worldview differences between segments of the community where it's produced and those involved in children’s cultural institutions.
Many Christians in the Upstate believe that drag performance, as a public expression, conflicts with biblical teachings on gender and identity. What should be clear is the belief that parents deserve unblemished information when deciding where to take their children and whom to trust with their cultural formation.
If the Clay Smith in SCCT’s Annie and the Clay Smith on SCCT’s advisory council are the same person, the theatre may consider explaining that openly and informing the highly conservative community. Parents, patrons, and the wider Greenville community are entitled to ask that question and to receive a clear answer.
SC Children’s Theatre says that, "Smith is proud to support the South Carolina Children’s Theatre and its mission to empower and inspire a new generation of changemakers through theatre."
As for the parents' right to be concerned, Aristotle once said, “Give me the child for the first seven years, and I will give you the man.” They are apparently taking that seriously. Will the parents?
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Check out Smith's interview with QnotesCarolinas, an LGBTQ Local Community: https://qnotescarolinas.com/our-people-clay-smith-is-delighted-tobehere/
Smith's Facebook Profile: https://www.facebook.com/clay.smith.878290 (currently public information that ties these two Clay Smiths together).
