IN PERSON! THE
LEGENDARY CHARLES BUSCH
Winner of The Sundance Best Performance Award for DIE MOMMIE DIE with his new book LEADING LADY: A
MEMOIR OF A MOST UNUSUAL BOY
Friday, September 22nd, 7:30 PM
Featuring a screening of Die
Mommie Die, interview, audience Q&A, and book signing reception with live music
Film & Discussion Only: $28
Public | $23 Members
Film, Discussion, & Copy of the Book: $43 Public | $38 Members
Surprise
Gift, Limited Supply, First Come, First Served:
For everyone who buys his memoir, Charles Busch has generously offered a
complimentary CD, featuring his cabaret and banter act at Michael Feinstein’s
Manhattan club! Only available to the first 50 people who purchase a copy of
Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual
Boy.
As his many fans know, Charles Busch is an award-winning actor,
prolific Tony-nominated playwright, and groundbreaking theatrical drag legend,
with a unique and hilariously satiric affinity to the stars and plots of
Hollywood’s Golden Age. He wrote and starred in the play and film, Die
Mommie Die, for which he won the Sundance Best Performance Award.
His The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife played 777 performances
on Broadway, garnishing an Outer Circle Critic’s award, a Tony
nomination for Best Play, and is the longest running Broadway comedy of the
past twenty-five years. Also record-breaking was his early, outrageous Vampire
Lesbians of Sodom, one of the longest running plays in the history
of Off-Broadway. He starred in the stage and film version of
cult-favorite Psycho Beach Party, while other
critically-acclaimed plays include The Divine Sister, The
Lady in Question, and The Confession of Lily Dare. For
two seasons he appeared as Nat Ginzburg in the HBO hit
series OZ. He has also appeared as a
guest programmer and in numerous documentaries for Turner Classic Movies,
and has conducted master classes at NYU, Harvard, UCLA and Amherst
College. Charles Busch has been honored with a special Drama Desk Award
for career achievement, and was given a star on the Playwrights Walk outside
the Lucille Lortel Theatre.
Following the film screening and
discussion, Charles Busch will be signing copies of his lauded new
memoir, Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy - offered
at half-price by special arrangement with the publisher! The reception will feature a live piano & vocals performance by Lydia
Sabosto. Charles Busch will be
interviewed by Dr. Jud Newborn, CAC Curator of Celebrity Events.
DIE
MOMMIE DIE is an outrageous post-modern send-up of Film Noir, Douglas
Sirk and other plush Hollywood melodramas of the 1950’s. Die Mommie
Die won Charles Busch the coveted Sundance Film
Festival’s Best Performance Award. Following retired hit-parade
singer/film star Angela Arden--surviving member of a twin-sister vaudeville
act--is married to ailing producer Sol Sussman while pursuing a wild
affair with handsome young tennis instructor Tony Parker (Jason
Priestly, Beverly Hills, 90210).
Impossibly gracious but secretly desperate, Angela plots to poison Sol,
who, refusing a divorce, cuts off her allowance. Daughter Edith - (Natasha
Lyonne) - also Tony’s lover - suspects foul play and wouldn’t mind if
Mom got the Chair--but son Lance (also Tony’s lover) will doing anything
to protect the mother he adores. Devotees of byzantine movie plots may
think they know the outcome--but the surprise ending will knock your socks
off! (USA, 2003, 90 min.)
LEADING LADY: A
MEMOIR OF A MOST UNUSUAL BOY is a poignant, deliciously
anecdotal account of a talented artist's Oz-like journey in the worlds of
Off-Broadway, Broadway, and Hollywood - featuring 24 lush color plates.
Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy has
received advance rave reviews by such stars as Sarah Jessica Parker,
Alan Cumming, Bette Midler, Jim Parsons and Margaret Cho,
as well as by Library Journal.
By turns comic and moving, Charles writes how ever since his mother's death
when he was seven, he has sought out surrogate mothers in his life. In his
teens, Charles moved to Park Avenue in Manhattan to live with his Auntie
Mame-like Aunt Lil, who encouraged and nourished Charles’ talents and dreams,
and eventually he discovered his gifts for writing plays and performing as a
male actress.
Busch also shares his colorful and
sometimes outlandish interactions with film and theatrical luminaries including
the hilarious comedian Joan Rivers(who became a mother figure to Charles after
Aunt Lil’s death), Angela Lansbury (who attended her first Passover seder with
Charles), Rosie O’Donnell, Claudette Colbert, Valerie Harper, Kim Novak, and
many others. Full of both humor and heart and
featuring rare photos, Leading Lady is for readers of entertainment books as
well as anyone who enjoys real-life stories of artists who break the mold,
ditch the boundaries, and find their own unique way to sparkle.
Fascinating, elegant, frank and unputdownable. I devoured this book with a
glee that could only be surpassed by watching Charles Busch perform live! – Alan
Cumming
A magical tale of how Charles brought drag into the present by celebrating
the glamour of the past. – Sarah Jessica Parker
Witty and whimsical, this book is a deep meditation on the divine feminine,
a love letter to the lovers of movies and memories. – Margaret
Cho
“Leading Lady” is both a page-turner with name-drops and a book depicting
the thrill of creation. – Jim Parsons
This
joyful, upbeat, and witty memoir will likely capture the hearts of theater and
movie buffs. –
Library Journal
I have loved Charles Busch since I first clapped eyes on him. – Bette
Midler
Special thanks to our event sponsors:
1-800-Flowers
Lydia Sabosto, Piano and Vocals
Christopher Appoldt, Professional
Portrait Photography
