 June 26, 2011, 10:34pm
The Yenta in Question Is Charles Busch By Benjamin Ivry COURTESY OF TWO LIONS PRODUCTIONS In anticipation of his eagerly-awaited new play, “Olive and the Bitter Herbs” which opens at Primary Stages on July 26, veteran playwright and actor Charles Busch continues to rake in the tributes. On June 27, The New York Innovative Theatre Foundation will present Busch with its 2011 Innovative Theatre Luminary Award at a benefit performance at Therapy/The Upstairs Lounge hosted by Harrison Greenbaum, a Harvard-educated stand-up comic. Starring Marcia Jean Kurtz, the off-Broadway diva who also appeared in such noteworthy 1970s films as Jerry Schatzberg’s The Panic in Needle Park and Sidney Lumet’s Dog Day Afternoon, “Olive and the Bitter Herbs” recounts the fate of Olive Fisher, a failed old actress whose career peak was landing a sausage commercial in the 1980s, in which her catchphrase is “Give me the sausage.” TV viewers of a certain age will doubtless recall the actress Clara Peller, who since 1987 reposes in Cook County’s Waldheim Jewish Cemetery, but who achieved sudden fame in the 1980s after working for decades as a manicurist, after she was cast in a series of “Where’s The Beef?” commercials for Wendy’s fast food. In Busch’s dramatic version, Olive is unexpectedly asked by neighbors to host a Passover Seder, which alters her view of those around her and life in general. Busch’s works, sometimes unfairly reduced to a mere edulcorated version of Charles Ludlam’s more radically brilliant Ridiculous Theatrical Company, have long contained a good degree of Yiddishkeit. Busch discusses his Judaism in the 2006 documentary “The Lady in Question Is Charles Busch” and such pricelessly grumpy characters as Sol Sussman in the 2003 screen comedy “Die Mommie Die!” or the stage characters Marjorie and Ira Taub in 2000’s Broadway success The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife are mainstream, middle-of-the-road, yet piquantly amusing sketches of urban Jewish life today. Although most celebrated for drag incarnations of filmstars whom he idolizes, such as Susan Hayward, Busch has also contributed dramatic performances, as when he played the role of a murderous prisoner Nat Ginzburg in the wrenchingly brutal HBO television drama “Oz”. More in the gently amusing vein of “Allergist’s Wife,” “Olive and the Bitter Herbs” was written as a vehicle for Kurtz, whom Busch admires to the point of even stalking her, accompanied by a friend, as he confessed to a recent interviewer: “[Kurtz] thought we were goofing on her. I said, ‘No, no, we really think you’re the Jewish Duse!’” Watch Charles Busch chatting with Israeli-born Amir Blumenfeld an actor from www.collegehumor.com, during the run of Busch’s 2010 play “The Divine Sister.”
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 Award winning actor/playwright Charles Busch is getting another honor to accessorize his mantel with on Monday.
His frequent costar Julie Halston will present him with the New York Innovative Theatre Awards' 2011 Luminary award at Therapy (348 W. 52 Street), from 6 to PM. On the eve of his barrage of ritualized lovin', I phoned Charles for a chat. Me: Congrats on all your awards, darlin'. You're approaching Marian Seldes status. Busch: It is rather aging, isn't it? (laughs) At the Rochester Gay and Lesbian Film Festival, I was given a humanitarian award. Julie Halston said, "What have you ever done for anyone?" I said, "I've done plenty. Look at your career." Me: And you've given the world play after play. Tell me about your new one. Bush: We start rehearsals Tuesday. It's called Olive and the Bitter Herbs at Primary Stages. It's in the vein of Tale of the Allergist's Wife. I'm not in this one, but Julie is once again--this is the 10th role I've written for her. I don't know if that puts us in the Guinness Book of World Records. When we did The Divine Sister, she had a bad rehearsal day and said, "The headline could be 'Muse Canned!' " Me: Is Julie paying Olive? Bush: No, Olive is played by a wonderful actress named Marcia Jean Kurtz. Julie and I have become cultists for her. We stalked her at one point. She thought we were goofing on her. I said, "No, no, we really think you're the Jewish Duse!" Olive is a cantankerous actress whose biggest claim to fame is she starred in the "Give me the sausage" commercial in the '80s. She has two mirrors, and in the mirror within the mirror she thinks she sees a young man. It's a little bit of a mystical play--and very funny. Me: My mirror says you've worked with Joan Rivers, who loves you. Busch: We became close friends. She doesn't suck the air out of the room. She's really interested in other people and has a real conversation. Me: I know! She deserves all the legend awards too. Speaking of awards, let's have a real conversation about the Tonys. I liked it. Busch: I'm really not a cunt. I'm a glass half full kind of person. I thought it was emotional and the entertainment was entertaining. Me: Wait--you're not a cunt? That's my lead! Busch: That's why I'm getting these legends awards. (laughs) |
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