Book Review: Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy

(Bought at Time and Space Limited Used Bookstore in Hudson, NY for $7): Charles Busch's wildly entertaining memoir is as funny as his dozens of stage comedies (I've seen 13 of them as well as two musicals for which he wrote the book, his cabaret act and two of his movie screenplays.) He alternates a straightforward narrative of his career from childhood, college and stage and film triumphs with amusing later encounters with the likes of Joan Rivers, Valerie Harper, Linda Lavin, Beatrice Arthur, Patrick Swayze, Liza Minnelli, Milton Berle, Esther Williams, Debbie Reynolds, Ann Miller, and many others. Busch came to prominence with Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, which he wrote and starred in and which ran for over 2,000 performances Off-Broadway. (The long run is attributed to the salacious title which brought in curious theatergoers.) Rather than relying on waiting for a big break that might never come, he created his own vehicles. He realized his strength and passion was for playing female roles in tribute to great stars like Bette Davis and Joan Crawford. He wrote his own plays to star himself. The book joyfully chronicles his self-made journey to cult-goddess status.

I recently encountered Busch at the Broadway Flea Market. We chatted about a Bette Davis film I caught on TCM called Payment on Demand, one of the few screen appearances by Broadway star Jane Cowl. I loved that he knew who I was talking about and that he celebrates classic film divas. 

NYDCC, OCC and Other Events

With Betsy Aidem of Liberation 
(Best Ensemble) at the NYDCC.

May is theater award time as the 2024-25 Broadway and Off-Broadway seasons end and various critics and professional groups hand out prizes for the best on offer. The New York Drama Critics Circle presented their awards on May 15 at 54 Below. Adam Feldman of Time Out New York, president of the Circle, presided. Cherry Jones presented Cole Escola with his Special Citation for Oh, Mary! and compared him his performance of a deranged Mary Todd Lincoln to the work of Katharine Cornell and Julie Harris. Mona Pirnot, author of I'm Assuming You Know David Greenspan, presented Greenspan with a Lifetime Achievement Award and listed his inspirations during rehearsals as Cyd Charisse, Mae West, Miss Piggy, and watching Judy Garland sing "Smile" on The Ed Sullivan Show on You Tube.

Feldman told the story of the original plaque from the Circle's early years being found and a new version of it was made. The plaque, depicting a scene from The Contrast, the first American comedy staged by a professional troupe, was awarded to Branden Jacobs-Jenkins for Purpose. The playwright deliverd his remarks by video since he had a conflicting speaking engagement at Hofstra University.

Cole Escola at the NYDCC
Awards at 54 Below.

I chatted with Betsy Aidem who was part of the award-winning ensemble for Liberation. I was an usher at the Lucille Lortel Theater when Betsy was in the original cast of Steel Magnolias. She reminisced about Bette Davis, Elizabeth Taylor and Lucille Ball coming to the show. I told her about the time Bob Fosse complained about his seat. 

Andre De Shields presented the special citation to Cats: The Jellicle Ball. He explained the creative process of directors Bill Rauch and Zhailon Levingston: "It was a vivisection. They took the body of the cat and without anesthesia, cut the bitch from head to toe, resuscitated the organs and let the real deal live." 

De Shields also provided one of the highlights of the Outer Critics Circle Awards where we won for Outstanding Featured Performer in an Off-Broadway Musical (May 22 at the Bruno Walter Auditorium at the Lincoln Center Public Library.) Pianist Michael Lavine played him on with his number from The Wiz, "So You Wanna See The Wizard." When he got to the podium, De Shields asked if it was in his key and then he launched into a full rendition of the song.

Andre De Shields at the OCC Awards
Brian Stokes Mitchell presented.

Presenter Victoria Clark told of her first NYC acting job in a non-Equity production called Waterfront Madonna. Playwright Kimberly Bellflower upon accepting her award for Outstanding Broadway Play for John Proctor Is The Villain said that when she was in a high school in a rural Georgia town like the one in her play, the nearest bookstore was 30 minutes away. The nearest Barnes and Noble was 45 minutes away and they sold Original Cast CDs. She and her friend would drive home listening to Victoria Clark's voice.

Also this past week, I attended a script-in-hand reading of Enid Bagnold's The Chalk Garden at the Players Club with Charles Busch in the Dame Edith Evans role and Jennifer Van Dyck in the Deborah Kerr role. What fun.

Charles Busch and Cats: Jellicle Ball Among Obie Winners

Charles Busch, in his play Ibsen's Ghost,
received a lifetime achievement Obie Award.

Playwright-performers Charles Busch and Cole Escola and the director, choreographer and ensemble of Cats: The Jellicle Ball were among the winners of the 68th annual Obie Awards, announced on Feb. 1 on NY-1 News. Rather than holding an awards ceremony, the American Theater Wing will present grants to the 35 winners totaling $250,000. There will be a private event to toast the winners on Feb. 10. The awards cover shows opening from Sept. 1, 2023 to Aug. 31, 2024. The Obies are now the only major NYC-based theater award to make their presentations in February rather than in late May-June when all the others including the Tonys, Drama Desks and Outer Critics are handed out.

The 68th Obie Awards recognizes the outstanding contributions made throughout the 2023-2024 Off- and Off- Off-Broadway theatre season in New York City. The complete panel of judges for the current Obie Awards season are: Aya Ogawa, award-winning writer, director, translator and performer; David Greenspan, Obie-winning playwright and actor; Diep Tran, Editor in Chief of Playbill; Heather Alicia Simms, actor most recently seen in the Pulitzer Prize winning production of Fairview and Broadway’s Purlie Victorious; Modesto “Flako” Jimenez, multi-hyphenate artist; Nikiya Mathis, recipient of the Henry Heard Design Award and The Antonio Award; Ryan J. Haddad, actor and playwright; and Taylor Reynolds, Obie Award winning director. Returning to the Obie panel are Wilson Chin, scenic designer for theater, opera, film, and television; and Obie-winning playwright Haruna Lee. Lee and Chin serve as co-chairs of the panel, as well. The judges thoroughly evaluated over 300 productions, engaged in thoughtful discussions, and, through their votes, selected the recipients.

A full list of winners follows:

2024 Theater Hall of Fame Inductees

Charles Busch is among the
2024 Theater Hall of Fame inductees

The Theater Hall of Fame has announced its 2024 inductees, voted on by members of the American Theater Critics Association and previous inductees. They include actors Elizabeth Ashley (Barefoot in the Park, Dividing the Estate), Boyd Gaines (Gypsy, Journey's End), Stephen McKinley Henderson (Fences, Between Riverside and Crazy), and Donna Murphy (Passion, The King and I); playwright and performer Charles Busch (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife); composer William Finn (Falsettos); playwright David Rabe (The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, Sticks and Bones, Hurlyburly); and, posthumously producer Todd Haimes.

The induction ceremony will take place on Nov. 18 at the Gershwin Theater where the names of the new honorees will be added to the walls of the theater. To be eligible, a candidate must have at least 25 years of theater experience or be a leader of Off-Broadway or regional theater. Terry Hodge Taylor produces the annual event.

B'way Update: Hell's Kitchen Transfers; Busch and Izzard Off-B'way

Maleah Joi Moon (right) in Hell's Kitchen.
Credit: Joan Marcus

Hell's Kitchen, the new musical employing the songs of and inspired by the life of pop singer-songwriter Alicia Keys, is transferring from its current home at the Public Theater to Broadway. Previews begin March 28 at the Shubert Theater with an opening set for April 20. The show runs at the Public until Jan. 14, 2024. Featuring a book by Pulitzer Prize finalist Kristoffer Diaz, direction by Michael Greif (Rent) and choreography by Camille A. Brown (for colored girls), Hell's Kitchen focuses on 17-year-old Ali, living in a cramped apartment with her single mom in Manhattan Plaza, finding love with an older boyfriend and discovering her musical talent with the aide of a commanding mentor. The score includes several Keys' biggest hits including "Fallin'," "Girl on Fire" and "Empire State of Mind" as well as four new songs.

News for This Week: Of Cats, Moose, and Supermen

There will be a casting call for the role of "Cat" in the upcoming production of "Breakfast at Tiffany's." Send your cat's headshot and owner contact info to kittygolightly@oandmco.com This reminded me that the last live real cat to star on Broadway was the feline who played opposite Maggie Smith in Lettice and Lovage. I'll never forget her acceptance speech when she won the Tony Award. "My friends said I should thank the cat," Dame Maggie archly said. "And I do thank the cat, but it had better behave itself, because it's getting entirely out of hand." 

At the opening of Moose Murders.
Yes, it has come to this.

I had reviews for Moose Murders  Women of Will and Clive at the Backstage website this week. Moose Murders is one of the biggest flops in Broadway history and this tiny company called Beautiful Soup Theatre Collective decided to revive it. The playwright had "shamelessly revised" his script, but it was still awful. Opening night was also the first night they invited critics and everyone was there including John Simon who brought his Playbill from the original production. Charles Busch, Julie Halston, Jackie Hoffman were also in the audience which was not a smart move. It led me to think how much better the production would be with these funny people in it. At least they would know how to camp it up and make this script so bad it would be a riot, as it was it was just bad. They actually had the celebrities--me included--pose with a guy dressed as a moose. Hanging around in the lobby was more fun than watching the show.