Torch Song Trilogy

Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a Jewish homosexual, drag queen, and torch singer who lives in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. The four-hour play begins with a soliloquy in which he explains his cynical disillusionment with love.

This article is about the play. For other uses, see Torch song (disambiguation).

Torch Song Trilogy
Broadway promotional poster
Written byHarvey Fierstein
CharactersArnold Beckoff
Ed
Lady Blues
Mrs. Beckoff
Alan
David
Laurel
Date premieredJanuary 15, 1982 (1982-01-15)
Place premieredActors' Playhouse, Greenwich Village, New York City
Original languageEnglish
GenreDrama
Setting1970s, 1980s New York City


Characters

Lady Blues: a character who appears between scenes in International Stud. According to Fierstein’s stage directions, she is to be “dressed in period, [singing] a torch song in the manner of Helen Morgan or Ruth Etting." [1]

Arnold Beckoff: the central character of the play. In the stage directions, Fierstein playfully describes him as a "kvetch (someone who complains habitually) of great wit and want." [1]

Ed Reiss: Arnold’s bisexual lover and friend. He is “thirty-five [and] very handsome.” [1]

Young Stud: a young man who Arnold hooks up with in the backroom of the International Stud. He has no speaking lines.

Laurel: Ed’s lover and eventual fiancee.

Alan: Arnold’s young lover, who is beaten to death by a group of homophobic boys.  

David Beckoff: Arnold’s 15-year old adopted son, “a wonderfully bright and handsome boy.” [1]

Ma: Arnold’s extremely strict, traditional Jewish mother. She is around 60.

Summary

Each act focuses on a different phase in Arnold's life. In the first, Arnold meets Ed Reiss, who is uncomfortable with his bisexuality. This becomes an increasing source of conflict between the two, causing Ed to eventually leave Arnold and settle down with a woman named Laurel. Arnold is heartbroken because he still loves Ed. In the second, one year later, Arnold meets Alan, and the two settle down into a blissful existence that includes plans to adopt a child. The couple visit Ed and Laurel in their country home, where the group deals with tensions resulting from Ed and Arnold’s previous relationship. The play ends with Laurel telling Arnold she and Ed are engaged. In the third, several years later, Arnold is a single father raising gay teenager David. It is revealed that just before receiving David from the state, Alan was the victim of a violent hate crime, resulting in his death and leaving Arnold to raise a child on his own. Ed is separated from Laurel, and stays at Arnold’s to help him. The play revolves around Arnold’s struggle to move on following Alan’s death as he is forced to deal with his mother's ("Ma") intolerance and disrespect when she visits from Florida.

The first act derives its name (International Stud) from an actual gay bar of the same name at 117 Perry Street in Greenwich Village in the 1960s and 1970s. The bar had a backroom where men engaged in anonymous sex.[2] The backroom plays a central role in the act. The trilogy derives its title from the “torch” musical style which are “popular sentimental song[s] of unrequited love.” [3]

The award-winning and popular work broke new ground in the theatre: "At the height of the post-Stonewall clone era, Harvey challenged both gay and straight audiences to champion an effeminate gay man's longings for love and family."[4]

Production history

The first staging of International Stud opened on February 2, 1978 at La MaMa, E.T.C., an Off-Off-Broadway theater, where it ran for two weeks. The Off-Broadway production opened on May 22, 1978 at the Players Theatre, where it ran for 72 performances.[5]

The first staging of Fugue in a Nursery opened at LaMama on February 1, 1979.[6]

Torch Song Trilogy first opened at the uptown Richard Allen Center in October 1981, produced by The Glines.[7] On January 15, 1982 it transferred to the Actors' Playhouse in Greenwich Village, where it ran for 117 performances, produced by The Glines.[1] The cast included Fierstein as Arnold, Joel Crothers as Ed, Paul Joynt as Alan, Matthew Broderick as David, Diane Tarleton as Laurel/Lady Blues and Estelle Getty as Mrs. Beckoff.

The Broadway production, directed by Peter Pope, opened on June 10, 1982 at the Little Theatre, where it ran for 1,222 performances and 8 previews. Fierstein, Joynt, Tarleton, and Getty were joined by Court Miller as Ed and Fisher Stevens as David and Susan Edwards as Lady Blues. Later in the run, David Garrison and Jonathan Hadary portrayed Arnold, Craig Sheffer was cast as Alan, and Barbara Barrie replaced Getty.

The play won Fierstein two Tony Awards, for Best Play (with John Glines' historic Tony speech that acknowledged his lover and co-producer Larry Lane) and Best Actor in Play; two Drama Desk Awards, for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play; and the Theatre World Award.

The West End production starring Antony Sher, with Rupert Graves as Alan, opened on October 1, 1985 at Albery Theatre on St. Martin's Lane, where it ran for slightly more than seven months.

In late January 2009, it was revived at the American Theatre of Actors Sargent Theatre in New York City by Black Henna Productions.[8] Directed by Malini Singh McDonald, ran as a limited engagement until February 1, 2009, with each act being performed separately on weeknights and the entire series running on Saturdays and Sundays. The cast featured Cas Marino as Arnold, Ian M. McDonald as Ed, Susan Erenberg as Lady Blues, Christian Thomas as Alan, Amie Backner as Laurel, Chris Kelly as David, and Mary Lynch as Mrs. Beckoff.

The play was revived at the Menier Chocolate Factory in London in 2012, with David Bedella playing Arnold.

Torch Song Trilogy was produced by The Studio Theatre in Washington, DC as part of its subscription series September – October 2013. It was directed by Michael Kahn, artistic director of The Shakespeare Theatre, also in Washington, DC.

In the fall of 2017, a significantly revised version of the play, cut down by Fierstein from its original four-plus hours to two hours and forty-five minutes and retitled simply Torch Song, was produced Off Broadway by Second Stage Theatre, with Michael Urie as Arnold and Mercedes Ruehl as Mrs. Beckoff, and directed by Moises Kaufman.[9] In October 2018, the Urie-led production transferred to the Hayes Theater on Broadway.[10][11] The revival-transfer had its first preview on Tuesday October 9, 2018 and had its opening performance on Thursday November 1, 2018.[12] The production had its final performance on Sunday January 6, 2019 playing for 13 weeks for a total of 26 previews and 77 regular performances.[12]

In December 2018 (shortly before closing), the producers of the broadway revival led by Richie Jackson announced a national tour starting in the Fall of 2019 at the Center Theater Group in Los Angeles, starring Michael Urie as Arnold Beckoff.[13]

In London in 2019, the full three-act play is the first production in the Turbine Theatre’s inaugural season, opening on August 22nd. It is presented by Bill Kenwright and runs until October 13th.

Reception and impact

International Stud first premiered in 1978 at La MaMa, where Fierstein made his professional acting debut in Andy Warhol's play Pork in 1971. Fierstein has spoken about the difficulty he faced as an openly gay playwright. In an archived 1982 interview with Playbill republished to commemorate the show’s anniversary, he reminisced on the attitude producers and critics took towards his work: “Fabulous writer. Fabulous play. But gay. Goodbye.” [14] Mel Gussow of The New York Times panned the play as a "sincere but sentimentalized view of a transvestite extremes." Despite the criticism, Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa, chose to produce A Fugue in the Nursery and Widows and Children First! in 1979, though she personally found the work "too talky."[15] The Glines, a nonprofit organization dedicated to forwarding gay-themed cultural endeavors, financially supported Fierstein in reworking the three one-act plays as a singular theatrical event, which became Torch Song Trilogy and earned excited praise from Mel Gussow. "Arnold's story becomes richer as it unfolds," he wrote, saying that Fierstein's performance "[was] an act of compelling virtuosity."[16]

Theatre scholar Jordan Schildcrout notes that some critics viewed Torch Song Trilogy as "the most truly conservative play to come along in years" because of its focus on "fidelity and family" (Jack Kroll), while others declared the play a radical breakthrough because of its forthright depiction of gay sexuality, gay youth, and gay families during an era of political backlash against the gay rights movement.[17] Today, the play is primarily remembered as a groundbreaking moment for LGBTQ theatre. It is lauded for touching on issues such as gay marriage and adoption before they were acceptable. In a 2018 review revisiting the play, PopMatters writer Elizabeth Woronzoff remarked that Torch Song Trilogy laid the groundwork for many modern queer television shows such as Queer as Folk, Modern Family, and Will and Grace. [18]

Additionally, the play addressed intersectionality in a newfound way. The inclusion of both the Jewish and queer identities allowed for the representation and (arguably) rejection of the stereotypes associated with each group. According to critic John Simon in a critique published in New York Magazine, the play highlights both the Jewish, melancholic humor and homosexual, flamboyant humor. Still, Simon argues that Fierstein rejects the common stereotypes of both identities and incites the audience to practice "warm empathy" towards every character.[19]

Film adaptation
Main article: Torch Song Trilogy (film)

Fierstein adapted his play for a feature film, released in 1988. It was directed by Paul Bogart and starred Fierstein (Arnold), Anne Bancroft (Ma Beckoff), Matthew Broderick (Alan), Brian Kerwin (Ed), and Eddie Castrodad (David).

Awards and nominations

Awards
  • 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding New Play
  • 1983 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Play (Harvey Fierstein)
  • 1983 Tony Award for Best Play (Harvey Fierstein)
  • 1983 Tony Award for Best Performance by a Leading Actor in a Play (Harvey Fierstein)

Nominations
  • 1982 Drama Critics' Circle Award Runner-Up Best American Play
gollark: Random people are bad and will get it !!WRONG!!.
gollark: I mean, if you're studying, say, maths, then it's not helpful if random people see a question saying "Prove that there are an infinite number of primes. You have 10 seconds."
gollark: No, you need to get people who actually know the field.
gollark: Not even you, as you just pass off half the decision making to other people somehow.
gollark: Just vaguely ask someone "hey, want some help with your educational stuff?" then launch some convoluted scheme to cheat for them where nobody actually has the full picture.

References
  1. "Torch Song Trilogy". Lortel Archives. 2008. Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  2. "GREENWICH VILLAGE: A GAY HISTORY". Huzbears.com. Archived from the original on September 26, 2010. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  3. "Definition of TORCH SONG". www.merriam-webster.com. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  4. Charles Busch (November 12, 2002). "Torch Song Trilogy June 1982". The Advocate. Archived from the original on December 13, 2004. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  5. "International Stud". Lortel Archives. 2008. Archived from the original on September 21, 2007. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  6. "La MaMa ETC". www.lamama.org.
  7. Gussow, Mel (November 1, 1981). "Theatre Review: Fierstein's 'Torch Song'". The New York Times. Retrieved June 24, 2008.
  8. "Black Henna Productions". Blackhennaproductions.com. Retrieved October 18, 2010.
  9. Gerard, Jeremy (October 19, 2017). "Torch Song Is Revived With Michael Urie & Mercedes Ruehl: Review". Deadline. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  10. Vine, Hannah (February 21, 2018). "See Harvey Fierstein March Torch Song to Its New Home on Broadway". Playbill. Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  11. McPhee, Ryan (April 11, 2018). "Full Off-Broadway Company to Join Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl in Broadway's Torch Song". Playbill.
  12. "Torch Song Broadway @ Helen Hayes Theater - Tickets and Discounts". Playbill. Retrieved January 8, 2019.
  13. http://www.playbill.com/article/torch-song-revival-starring-michael-urie-announces-broadway-closing
  14. Reif, Robin (June 10, 2017). "How Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song Became the Trilogy". Playbill. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  15. Ben Furnish. "Nostalgia in Jewish-American Theatre and Film, 1979-2004". Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  16. Claude J. Summers. "The Queer Encyclopedia of Film & Television". Retrieved April 1, 2018.
  17. Schildcrout, Jordan (2019). In the Long Run: A Cultural History of Broadway's Hit Plays. New York and London: Routledge. pp. 184–85. ISBN 978-0367210908.
  18. "Harvey Fierstein's 'Torch Song Trilogy' Resonates Throughout the Decades". PopMatters. October 9, 2018. Retrieved December 11, 2019.
  19. LLC, New York Media (December 14, 1981). New York Magazine. New York Media, LLC.
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