Summer Camp
June 22nd, 2006 by Lola
Christopher Meloni, humping. Need I say more? Last night I attended The Actors’ Fund benefit/staged reading of Die Mommie Die! at the historic Hudson Theatre. Playwright Charles Busch, famous for titillating titles including Vampire Lesbians of Sodom and Pardon My Inquisition, or Kiss the Blood Off My Castanets, donned the drag that made him famous to reprise the role of Angela Arden in the New York premiere of the work, which featured SVU-famous Meloni and a coterie of local theater stars to provide visual back-up for Busch’s shining performance.
The evening’s Chair Julie Halston, known primarily to us single girls as Bitsy von Muffling from Sex and the City, bandied about plenty of “daaaarlings” as she introduced the event, noting that the campy romp was an appropriate opener for Gay Pride Week in NYC. As the theater went dark, I scoped out the crowd around me and noticed that indeed, the house was a-plenty with friends of Dorothy (or Busch, as it were). I knew at that moment that this would be a stellar night, if only because the crowd willed it so.
As the curtain rose, I beheld a brilliant blaze-red bouffant as Busch took the stage as 1950s has-been warbler Angela Arden. While the story is best seen and not elaborated, I will catalog a few of the highlights: multiple murders, just the slightest hint of incest, twin identity confusion, an LSD-fueled dream sequence/confession, faked deaths, and the aforementioned humping. You interested now?
Like most of the material that made Busch famous, the multi-plot, dragtastic roller coaster ride of a show pulled heavy from the clichéd woman’s film genre of the 1930s-50s. Busch’s face and voice conveyed expressive gymnastics as he perfectly evoked Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, and all of the heroines of the day. But, unlike those pieces that took their demi-noir, entirely absurd plots seriously, Busch’s work is an admiring send-up, lightened by the perfectly measured overacting of the ensemble. Of note was rising Off-Broadway star Jenn Harris (who last year won a Lucille Lortel Award for her performance in Modern Orthodox and recently portrayed Clarice Starling in Silence! The Musical). Playing the bratty daughter of Busch, Harris flounced about in crotch-high dresses and one seriously awful wig, expressing hilariously unwarranted teenage angst and little too much affection for daddy.
After the reading closed, I had the good fortune to saunter backstage with Ms. Halston and visit with the stars, including Victor Garber and screaming riot Mario Cantone, two board members of The Actor’s Fund. It was a truly in-the-know gathering of Broadway’s glitterati, all wishing their best to former Tony nominee Busch, who by now has established himself as a New York institution in drag or not. Now it’s your turn for some good fortune. Go out and rent that movie! It stars Jason Priestley, and what could be better than watching everyone’s favorite Walsh twin making out with a drag queen?