Queen Natalie Oliver-Atherton has a message that’s been 45 years in the making:
“Young ladies, all things are possible. But you must do the work, in whatever field you choose. Viola Davis said it. Michelle Obama said it. Oprah said it. Now I’m saying it: Yes, you will have to continue to work twice as hard to be thought of as just as good – but oh, the reward is sweet.
“So, bring your A-plus game to everything you do. And when you win, when you succeed, you will know beyond a shadow of a doubt that you did the work – and you deserve it.”
Oliver-Atherton tasted her sweet reward Oct. 3 by completing a full-circle journey dating back to 1979, when she entered her first pageant at age 17. Oliver-Atherton was crowned Ms. Senior America, which is considered the world’s foremost pageant for women over 60 (or, as the pageant calls it: “The Age of Elegance.”)
Natalie Oliver-Atherton after being named Miss New Hampshire in 1981.
COURTESY NATALIE OLIVER-ATHERTON
It happened, appropriately enough, in Atlantic City, N.J., the same city where Oliver-Atherton competed in the Miss America Pageant in 1981 as the first-ever African American Miss New Hampshire.
“What my story means is that doors can be kicked down,” she said. “When doors slam on your nose, you can find a window. And because God has not left the throne – when it’s yours, there’s almost nothing they can do about it.” But, she cautioned: “You do have to be pristine. You do have to be twice as good to be thought of as ‘just as good.’”
She refers to underlying racism – in the pageant system, in America, and in the everyday life of every person of color to varying degrees.
“You really have to kick the door down and be so good that they can’t deny you,” she said.
Natalie Oliver-Atherton, who was crowned Ms. Senior America in October 2024, making a personal appearance.
COURTESY NATALIE OLIVER-ATHERTON
How it all started
Oliver-Atherton made her first public singing appearance at age 4. She performed at Carnegie Hall with a national youth choir at 17 and later sang for Prince Albert of Monaco on the French Riviera.
She embraced the pageant world as a platform to advocate for meaningful causes and embolden others like her. And she embraced it fully, competing in five state Ms. America pageants (representing three states) before finally winning in New Hampshire. And she won across the board, in every scoring category.
Natalie Oliver-Atherton.
COURTESY NATALIE OLIVER-ATHERTON
But there is a cute sidebar to her talent selection.
“I sang my own version of ‘Will You Still Love Me Tomorrow?’ which was the very first thing I sang in Jeffrey’s ear on the subway in New York City on our first date,” she said. Jeffrey is her now longtime husband, Denver actor Jeffrey Atherton.
She was no longer the bridesmaid, as she put it – in pageants or in life. But there was an invisible ceiling in this world. And she had already reached it.
“By the time I got into the Miss America pageant system, it was the 1980s, when Black women were allowed to be in pageantry with White women – but not really,” she said. Twice in state pageants, judges approached her after her runner-up finishes and said she not only should have won – she actually did win.
NATALIE OLIVER-ATHERTON QUOTE 2
“This is about reminding people that women over 60 are the backbone of this nation.’ – Natalie Oliver-Atherton
“One judge called and told me, ‘We just couldn’t leave town without you knowing that you had enough points to win – but you didn’t because the pageant director had us up till 3 o’clock in the morning begging us not to choose you.’” Why?
“Because he told them they wouldn’t know what to do with an African American queen,” she said.
But unlike other contemporaries who might have given up, Natalie said, “Oh, nope, nope. Somehow, God, some way, I’m going to the Miss America pageant now.”
And soon enough, she did, as Miss New Hampshire.
Natalie Oliver-Atherton was congratulated by Colorado Gov. Jared Polis at the state Capitol in October 2024.
COURTESY GOVERNOR’S OFFICE
Fast forward 20 years and Oliver-Atherton was now in her 40s and competing in the new Mrs. America pageant system. The unfortunate thing about that one for Oliver-Atherton is that talent is not a competitive category. Now, this is a woman who starred as the Acid Queen in two international tours of “The Who’s Tommy,” and sang solo with the Colorado Symphony, Florida Orchestra and Baltimore Symphony. She can sing.
And then, again, this: Even as recently as 2004, she was subject to open racism. One fellow contestant – a grown woman in her 40s – called Oliver-Atherton a monkey, she said.
“You know, after two years of that, I thought, ‘I don’t really want to go to jail – and if that happens again, I’m going to end up in jail. So maybe I should leave this alone,’” she said.
This is not Earth-shattering news – that pageants mirrored American society in its racism. As recently as 1948, the Miss America contract that governed all state pageants included what is now infamously remembered as Rule No. 7: “Contestant must be in good health and of the white race.”
Oliver-Atherton is new to none of this.
In her everyday life, Oliver-Atherton is the co-founder and executive director of The Namasté Works Foundation, which nurtures aspiring performers. She is also a guest teaching artist at Denver School of the Arts, a coach for future pageant contestants and the mother of three grown children.
Fast forward again to 2021 and COVID. To mark the 40th anniversary of being crowned Miss New Hampshire, Oliver-Atherton was invited to return as a guest judge. She got to meet the two Black Miss New Hamphsires who have followed her since 1981. It was a sweet reunion. Maybe even too sweet.
“While I was there, I have to tell you people treated me like I was the second coming or something, and I couldn’t figure out why,” she said. She soon did.
“When it was time for all the ‘forever’ Miss New Hampshires to walk across the stage, I fully understood – because they all look like grandmas with their cute white hair,” she said with a laugh.
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Oliver-Atherton, stunning by any definition of physical beauty at any age, came back to Colorado floating on air.
“I have taken good care of myself,” she both admits – and owns. And word got back to the Mrs. Senior Colorado pageant director, who asked Natalie to enter here as a contestant.
“Coming off of New Hampshire, I went, ‘You know what? I think I can, doggone it,” she said.
Ms. Senior America Natalie Oliver-Atherton “paying it forward” with a guest appearance at Thescon for local high-school theater students last weekend.
COURTESY NATALIE OLIVER-ATHERTON
So she entered the 2022 Mrs. Colorado pageant. And just as had happened so many times before, the winner’s name was announced, the curtain came down – “and I was behind it again,” she said. But her disappointment only fueled her desire. She entered again in 2023.
“This time, I really did my homework, and I got myself ready to be on stage in a swimsuit at age 63 with girls who are half my age,” she said. When it came time to answer her onstage interview question, “I figured out a way to sing part of my answer – just to sort of grease the skids and up my real estate, if you will,” she said with a smile.
Oliver-Atherton was in fact named Mrs. Colorado 2023, but she didn’t actually win. This is weird and hard to explain, but here goes: “They actually pick three girls, and they crown all three,” she said. “There is an unmarried winner, there is a married winner, and then there is Mrs. Colorado American, who is considered first runner-up.” That was Oliver-Atherton. But all three titles came with a crown and a sash, and Oliver-Atherton rode both for all they were worth.
Natalie Oliver-Atherton quote 1
“What my story means is that doors can be kicked down.” – Natalie Oliver-Atherton
“But the truth about me was that I didn’t really want to give up till I got myself back on the national stage again,” she said. So she set her sights on another pageant system: Ms. Senior America. First test: Colorado, this past April. “And doggone it, once again, I was first runner-up,” she said.
But an official from the national pageant was watching the livestream from Colorado, and he reached out. “He called me and said, ‘We don’t know why Colorado didn’t choose you, but we at the national level want you to know that you are exactly the kind of contestant we’re looking for to elevate our brand. And if you’re not mad about all this, there is another way for you to get here.’”
That other way: The Ms. Senior America pageant system only had official competitions in 23 states this year. The rest were considered open, and Oliver-Atherton was invited to represent one of them. She chose Louisiana. “I mean, can you see me as Ms. Senior Nebraska?” she said with a laugh.
The cast of Curious Theatre’s “POTUS,” from left: Natalie Oliver-Atherton, Kristina Fountaine, Tara Falk, MacKenzie Beyer, C. Kelly Leo Rhianna DeVries and Leslie O’Carroll. Curious canceled two performances to let Oliver-Atherton compete in the Ms. Senior America pageant in October 2024.
Michael Ensminger/Curious Theatre
One major problem
One complicating factor: The national pageant was to be held the first week of October. And Oliver-Atherton was cast to perform in Curious Theatre Company’s political farce with the epic title “POTUS: Or Behind Every Great Dumbass are Seven Women Trying to Keep Him Alive,” which was set to run from Sept. 7 to Oct. 13.
Oliver-Atherton was cast by director Jada Suzanne Dixon to play the First Lady – and there was no understudy. Dixon told Oliver-Atherton: “Well, we’ve got to have you, so we’ll work it out.” Dixon then took the extraordinary step of canceling two performances to free up Oliver-Atherton’s schedule. It wasn’t a complicated decision, Dixon said.
“When you find an actor who is perfect for a role and it’s not too much skin off your back to come up with a solution that works for you and the theater, it’s a no-brainer,” Dixon said. “It’s important to me at Curious that we allow our artists to be their full selves in all their artistic endeavors.”
The other cast members were all in.
Natalie Oliver-Atherton, left, and Leslie O’Carroll in Curious Theatre’s “POTUS.” Curious canceled two performances to let Oliver-Atherton compete in the Ms. Senior America pageant in October 2024.
Michael Ensminger/Curious Theatre
“Listen, we were – we are – thick as thieves,” said Oliver-Atherton. “They told me, ‘We already know you’re going to win, so we’re just going to clear a space right here for your little crown box and your little trophy. So, girl, don’t you come back here without that crown.’
She did not.
“When I got back, they were all so excited, so supportive, so fabulous.”
Now that she has fulfilled her 45-year quest, Oliver-Atherton intends to make the most of her year with the crown on her head and the fire in her gut.
“I intend to inspire all women, and particularly African American women, to know that the answer is not ‘No’ till you say ‘No.’ You can make your dreams the reality if you will just keep your eyes on the prize and do the work.”
Now that she is the queen, she added, “I can be who I truly am. I can speak my truth. I can wear what brings me joy. I can sing what means something to me.”
“Women over 60 are busy entertaining at senior centers to let our fellow seniors know they aren’t forgotten,” said Ms. Senior America Natalie Oliver-Atherton, who is 64.
COURTESY NATALIE OLIVER-ATHERTON
And now that she is going out into the world as Ms. Senior America, her mere presence is the message.
“This is about reminding people that women over 60 are the backbone of this nation,” she said. “Everywhere I have gone so far with the sash and crown since October 3, the first thing out of everybody’s mouth is ‘Senior? There’s nothing about you that reads senior.’
“And I’m like, guess what? This is what 64 – almost 65 – looks like now.”
Note: The True West Awards, now in their 24th year, began as the Denver Post Ovation Awards in 2001. Denver Gazette Senior Arts Journalist John Moore celebrates the Colorado theater community by revisiting 30 good stories from the past year without categories or nominations.
Unsung hero of the day
The life of the understudy is fraught. You might be called upon to learn one, two – six? – roles, and are asked to be ready to go on with a moment’s notice. And sometimes you do all that work understudying a monster leading role like Hedwig in Give 5 Productions’ “Hedwig and the Angry Inch.”
Imagine learning every song, every line of dialogue, every step of blocking … and never even once getting to perform it. That happens more often than not for understudies. It happened to Trevor Targowski as the understudy to Clark Destin Jones.
“Trevor didn’t get any performance opportunities, but he was there for every rehearsal, he covered a flawless pickup rehearsal, he acted as house management and did so much more for the show,” said stage manager Sara Sachs. “It also warmed my heart that he and Clark would carpool to rehearsal together every day and act as soundboards. They seem like best buds now.
“He was the unsung and ever-present member in the room every day.”
