Charles Busch

Charles Busch
Charles Busch.jpg
Charles Busch by Michael Wakefield
Born
Charles Louis Busch

(1954-08-23) August 23, 1954 (age 67)
EducationNorthwestern University (BA)
Occupation
  • Actor
  • playwright
  • screenwriter
  • author
  • director
Years active1978–present
Websitewww.charlesbusch.com

Charles Louis Busch (born August 23, 1954) is an American actor, screenwriter, playwright and drag queen, known for his appearances on stage in his own camp style plays and in film and television. He wrote and starred in his early plays Off-off-Broadway beginning in 1978, generally in drag roles, and also acted in the works of other playwrights. He also wrote for television and began to act in films and on television in the late 1990s. His best known play is The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (2000), which was a success on Broadway.

Biography

Early life

Busch was born in 1954 and grew up in Hartsdale, New York. He is the Jewish son of Gertrude (née Young) and Benjamin Busch. His father, who wanted to be an opera singer, owned a record store. His mother died when Busch was seven. He has two older sisters: Meg Busch, who used to be a producer of promotional spots for Showtime, and Betsy Busch, a textile designer. Busch's aunt, Lillian Blum, his mother's oldest sister and a former teacher, brought him to live in Manhattan after the death of his mother. Busch was intensely interested in films as a young child, especially those with female leads from the 30s and 40s.

Busch attended The High School of Music and Art in Manhattan. He majored in drama at Northwestern University in Evanston, Illinois and received his B.A. in 1976. While at the university, Busch had difficulty being cast in plays and began to write his own material, which succeeded in drawing interest on campus.

Early theatre years

Charles Busch in drag by Michael Wakefield

In his plays, Busch usually played the leading lady in drag. He has said, "Drag is being more, more than you can be. When I first started drag I wasn't this shy young man but a powerful woman. It liberated within me a whole vocabulary of expression. It was less a political statement than an aesthetic one." His camp style shows simultaneously send up and celebrate classic film genres.

Busch has said, however, "I'm not sure what [campy] means, but I guess if my plays have elements of old movies and old fashioned plays, and I'm this bigger-than-life star lady, that's certainly campy. I guess what I rebelled against was the notion that campy means something is so tacky or bad that it's good, and that I just didn't relate to." Busch toured the country in a non-drag one-man show he wrote called Alone With a Cast of Thousands from 1978–84.

By 1984, Busch's performance bookings grew slim. He held various odd jobs, such as temporary office assistant, apartment cleaner, portrait artist "at bar mitzvahs", phone salesperson, shop manager, ice cream server, sports handicapper and artists' model.

He thought perhaps that this last piece would be a skit put on in the Limbo Lounge, a performance space and gallery in the East Village in Manhattan. The skit was a hit and became Vampire Lesbians of Sodom (1984).

Busch and his collaborators soon created a series of shows, mostly at the Limbo Lounge, such as Theodora, She-Bitch of Byzantium (1984) and Times Square Angel (1985, Provincetown Playhouse). The company called itself "Theatre in Limbo" and attracted a loyal gay following. Other early plays include Pardon My Inquisition, or Kiss the Blood Off My Castanets (1986), in which Busch played both Maria Garbanza, a prostitute, and her look-alike, the elegant Marquesa del Drago. and Psycho Beach Party, which ran from July 1987 to May 1988. Other works include The Lady in Question, which ran from July to December 1989 at the Orpheum Theatre, and Red Scare on Sunset, which ran from June to September 1991 at the Lortel Theatre.

Busch rewrote the book for the musical Ankles Aweigh for a 1988 production staged by the Goodspeed Opera House in East Haddam, Connecticut.

His Charles Busch Revue was produced at the Ballroom Theatre in May 1993 in New York. Also in 1993, he performed in a revival of Jean Genet's The Maids at the Off-Broadway Classic Stage Company in the role of Solange.

In 1993, he wrote a novel, Whores of Lost Atlantis, a fictionalized re-telling of the creation of Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. The Green Heart was adapted by Busch from a short story by Jack Ritchie into a musical which was produced by the Manhattan Theater Club at the Variety Arts Theatre in New York City, opening in April 1997.

He took the male lead in his comedy, You Should Be So Lucky which opened at Primary Stages Company, New York City, in November 1994.

Other works of the 1990s include Swingtime Canteen, produced at the Blue Angel, New York City, in August 1995. His one-man show, Flipping My Wig ran at the WPA Theater, New York City, starting in December 1996.

He wrote Queen Amarantha, which played at the WPA Theatre, starting in October 1997. His play Die, Mommie, Die! was first performed in Los Angeles, opening in July 1999 at the Coast Playhouse.

Film and television

Busch's early film appearances include Ms. Ellen, a fortune teller in drag in Trouble on the Corner (1997). Busch has twice appeared in film versions of his own plays: Die, Mommie, Die! (1999) and the comedy horror Psycho Beach Party (2000). He co-wrote, starred in and directed the film A Very Serious Person (2006), which starred Polly Bergen and received an honorable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival. In 2020, Busch co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the film, The Sixth Reel (2021).

Busch had a recurring role in the HBO series Oz from 1999–2000 (the third and fourth seasons) as Nat Ginzburg, an "effeminate but makeup-free inmate on death row, certainly a departure from his usual glamour girl roles." He wrote television sitcom pilots and movie treatments as a source of extra income while he was a cult performer. He sold three pilots to CBS that were not produced.

Stage work, 2000s

Busch's work debuted on Broadway in October 2000, when The Tale of the Allergist's Wife opened, following an Off-Broadway run in February through April 2000. The play, his first in which he did not star, and the first created for a mainstream audience, was written for actress Linda Lavin, who played opposite Michele Lee and Tony Roberts. Allergist's Wife received a 2001 nomination for Tony Award for Best Play and ran for 777 performances. His other Broadway work was rewriting the book for Boy George's short-lived autobiographical musical Taboo. Since 2000, Busch has performed an annual one-night staged reading of his 1984 Christmas play Times Square Angel. In January 2003, he headlined a revival of his 1999 play Shanghai Moon, costarring BD Wong, at the Drama Dept, Greenwich House Theatre, New York City.

He has taken the eponymous lead in three productions of Auntie Mame: a staged reading in 1998; a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in 2003; and a small-scale summer touring production in 2004.

Our Leading Lady, Busch's play about Laura Keene, was produced by the Manhattan Theater Club at the City Center Stage II Theatre, in 2007, and starred Kate Mulgrew. His play, The Third Story, premiered at the La Jolla Playhouse in September 2008 with Mary Beth Peil as Peg, and was then produced in New York by MCC Theatre at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, starring Busch and Kathleen Turner (Peg), opening in February 2009. Busch wrote and starred in a play, The Divine Sister, a satirical take on Hollywood films about religion, including Doubt and the Sound of Music. It ran at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City, opening in September 2010. In 2013, Busch wrote and starred as Jimmy in the Primary Stages production of The Tribute Artist. In March 2019, Busch starred as Lucille Ball in I Loved Lucy by playwright Lee Tannen at the Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, New York.

Performance style and influences

Busch's style is based on movie star acting rather than naturalistic femininity. Busch later said that he was described as "too thin, too light, which is the euphemism for gay. I was never cast at Northwestern for basically these reasons, and finally, I thought maybe what's most disturbing about me is what is most unique: my theatrical sense, my androgyny, even identifying with old movie actresses". He specializes in femmes fatales. "I'm an actor playing a role, but it's drag. A lot of drag can be very offensive, but I like to think that in some crazy way the women I play are feminist heroines."

Busch said, "I've always played a duality. I guess I've always felt a duality in myself: elegance and vulgarity. There's humor in that. I've always found that fun on stage, as well. It's not enough for me to be the whore. I have to be the whore with pretensions or the great lady with a vulgar streak. It's the duality that I find interesting." Busch generally writes without a political agenda, and he predominantly portrays characters who are white, middle class, gay, and between 20 and 40 years old.

Busch was inspired by Charles Ludlam, an avant-garde performer and playwright who founded The Ridiculous Theatrical Company in 1967 and wrote, directed, and acted in the company's exaggerated, absurdist camp productions. Busch presented his one-man show Hollywood Confidential in a theater owned by The Ridiculous Theatrical Company in July 1978 at One Sheridan Square, New York. He also appeared for several performances in the company's production of Bluebeard as Hecate, also in July 1978. Busch said of this experience: "If I had ever entertained a fantasy of working with the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, doing Hecate got it out of my system." Busch has said that he was also inspired by seeing Joan Sutherland and Zoe Caldwell perform when he was a child. Busch recalled: "When I was about 13 years old, around 1968 or '69, I went to see Zoe Caldwell in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. I was so dazzled that I don't think I've ever recovered." In 1991, Busch was performing in his play Red Scare on Sunset. He said that he had difficulty connecting with the audience at one of the performances. Caldwell went backstage after the performance to give him some advice: "'You are so beautiful. But you were pushing too hard. You're much better than that.' ...It's the best lesson I've learned from a famous person." During his run in The Tribute Artist, Busch revealed that he also found inspiration in drag performers Charles Pierce and Lynne Carter.

Personal life

Busch's memoir, Leading Lady, is set to be published by BenBella Books in 2023.

Awards and nominations

Year Award Category Work Result
2000 Drama Desk Award Outstanding New Play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife Nominated
Outer Critics Circle Award John Gassner Award Won
2001 Tony Award Best Play Nominated
2003 Drama Desk Award Career Achievement Award Honoree
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Lead Actor Shanghai Moon Nominated
2008 Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Die Mommie Die! Nominated
2011 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play The Divine Sister Nominated
Drama League Award Distinguished Performance Nominated
2020 Drama Desk Award Outstanding Actor in a Play The Confession of Lily Dare Nominated
Lucille Lortel Award Outstanding Lead Actor in a Play Nominated

Busch received the Charlie Local and National Comedy Award from the Association of Comedy Artists in 1985 for "special contributions to the art of comedy." He also received the Manhattan Academy of Cabaret Award in 1985 and 1993.

In 2003, he won the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival for his performance in the film Die Mommie Die!.

He has been honored with a star on the Playwright's Walk of Fame outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre in New York City and the Legend Award by the Off-Broadway League of Theatres. He was awarded the Gingold Theatrical Group Golden Shamrock award in 2014.

Work

Theater

Year Title Role Details Notes
1979 Elephant Woman One Sheridan Square, June 1, 1979 Replacement
1985 Sleeping Beauty or Coma Fauna Alexander Provincetown Playhouse, June 19, 1985 Playwright
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom Virgin Sacrifice/Madeleine Asarte
Times Square Angel Irish O'Flanagan Provincetown Playhouse, December 11, 1985
1986 Gidget Goes Psychotic Chicklet Limbo Lounge, October 10–26, 1986
1987 Psycho Beach Party (a.k.a. Gidget Goes Psychotic) Players Theatre, July 20, 1987
1988 Ankles Aweigh Goodspeed Opera House, July–September 1998 Book
The Lady in Question Gertrude Garnet WPA Theatre, November 18, 1988 Playwright
1991 House of Flowers February 1991 Book
Red Scare on Sunset Mary Dale WPA Theatre, March 19, 1991 Playwright
Lucille Lortel Theatre, June 21, 1991
1993 The Maids Solange East 13th Street/CSC Theatre, September 21, 1993
The Charles Busch Review The Ballroom, February–May 1993, July 13–August 1993 Written by
1994 You Should Be So Lucky Christopher Primary Stages, November 2, 1994 Playwright
1995 Swingtime Canteen Blue Angel, February 24, 1995
1996 Flipping My Wig WPA Theatre, December 19, 1996
1997 The Green Heart Variety Arts Theatre, April 10, 1997 Book
Queen Amarantha WPA Theatre, October 23, 1997 Playwright; director
1999 Die Mommie Die! Angela Arden Coast Playhouse, July 1999 Playwright
2007 New World Stages/Stage I, October 21, 2007
2000 The Tale of the Allergist's Wife New York City Center/Stage II, February 29, 2000 Playwright
2003 Shanghai Moon Lady Sylvia Allington Greenwich House, January 15, 2003
Taboo The Plymouth Theatre, October 28, 2003 Book
2006 An Oak Tree Father Barrow Street Theatre, November 4, 2006 Replacement
2007 Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell Minetta Lane Theatre, March 6, 2007
Our Leading Lady New York City Center/Stage II, March 15, 2007 Playwright
2009 The Third Story Queenie Bartlett/Baba Yaga Lucille Lortel Theatre, February 2, 2009
2010 The Divine Sister Mother Superior SoHo Playhouse, September 22, 2010
2011 Olive and the Bitter Herbs 59E59 Theaters/Theater A, August 16, 2011
2013 Bunnicula: A Rabbit Tale of Musical Mystery DR2 Kids Theatre, February 10–April 14, 2013 Written by
2014 The Tribute Artist Jimmy 59E59 Theaters/Theater A, February 9, 2014 Playwright
2019 I Love Lucy Lucille Ball Bridge Street Theatre, March 22–23, 2019
2020 The Confession of Lily Dare Lily Dare Cherry Lane Theatre, January 29, 2020 Playwright

Filmography

Year Title Role Notes
1987 Gandahar Gemnen Voice; English-version
1992 Addams Family Values Countess Cousin Aphasia du Berry
1994 It Could Happen to You Timothy
1997 Trouble on the Corner Ms. Ellen
1999–2000 Oz Nat Ginzburg 8 episodes
2000 Psycho Beach Party Captain Monica Stark Screenplay credit
2002 Frasier Mark (voice) Episode: "Enemy at the Gate"
2003 Die, Mommie, Die! Angela Arden / Barbara Arden Screenplay credit
2006 A Very Serious Person Jan Screenplay and director credit
2008 Lipstick Jungle Ricardo Bragini Episode: "Dressed to Kill"
2017 Say What!: A Geriatric Proposal Hayes / Cynthia / Mrs. Weinstein Short
2021 The Sixth Reel Jimmy Screenplay and director credit
The House Arrest Rooneys Margaret Rooney Episode: "Proof of Concept Pilot"

Bibliography

  • Busch, Charles (1988). Four Plays. Fireside Theatre.
  • Busch, Charles (1992). Three Plays. Fireside Theatre.
  • Busch, Charles (1993). Whores of Lost Atlantis. Hyperion. ISBN 9781562827809.
  • Busch, Charles (2001). The Tale of the Allergist's Wife and Other Plays: Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Psycho Beach Party, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset. Grove Press. ISBN 9780802137852.
  • Busch, Charles (2015). Outrageous! Monologues and the Odd Scene. Dramatic Publishing. ISBN 9781619590250.

Discography

  • Charles Busch Live At Feinstein's/54 Below (2016)

This page was last updated at 2022-07-16 16:23 UTC. Update now. View original page.

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