Charles Busch

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 9:08pm

I had the supreme pleasure of meeting Charles Busch today in Austin, Texas.  He did a Q and A following a screening of "Die Mommie Die".   

[ClydeBarrow]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 9:57pm

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/3/15 at 10:30pm

It was the first annual festival of this sort.  There was quite a small crowd, which was surprising.  Busch spoke about such subjects as NY in the 70's compared to now, the way drag is perceived now as compared to decades before and other subjects.  He did comment about how well he works with Julie Halston.  Charles Busch seemed eager to answer all questions and did speak at length.  He's doing a touring cabaret show with Tom Judson.  It was a great experience meeting someone in person, who I have read about and seen in videos.  

Updated On: 5/3/15 at 10:30 PM

[HogansHero]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 2:16am

If you have not seen it, you should rent or buy "The Lady in Question is ... Charles Busch." It's a fantastic documentary on him, his work and his legacy. Lots of great interviews and a real window into a time and place. It streams at Amazon and Google Play. 

Updated On: 5/4/15 at 02:16 AM

[PalJoey]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 8:27am

Charles is a treasure and should be given honorifics.

 

If I had my way, he would be named Dame Charles Busch.

Updated On: 5/4/15 at 08:27 AM

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 11:53am

Thanks Pal.  He's this larger than life figure, but I noticed he was a little bit shy.  He did mention that Julie Halston was his muse. 

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 5:46pm

He's a great guy, supremely nice. I've produced a couple of his plays as UK premieres here in Manchester as well as directed them and got to know Charles well during the process, we have stayed friends and I'm actually currently working on a new version of his play Psycho Beach Party that merges the film and play with his permission 

[Bettyboy72]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 5:57pm

He is very nice and quite shy. Im happy you got to meet him. What I admire most is that he stuck to his artistic vision and that led to his success. He is one of the links to a wildly exciting era of indie theatre and cabaret that sadly doesn't exist much anymore. 

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 6:26pm

Thanks BettyBoy and Songanddanceman.  I asked him a number of questions...the first one being that I noticed a strong Bette Davis in his film "Die Mommie Die".  Before I coud reference it, he pointed out that the scene where the Sol character is lying on the floor and trying to help himself is from that scene in "The Little Foxes" (where Regina stands coldly on the stairs as her husband crawls to get the necessary heart medicine and subsequently dies.)  The last scene of the present film reminds me of the ending of "Hush, Hush Sweet Charlotte", where Bette Davis' character enters the police car and is driven away to prison.  I need to get a video of "The Lady In Question is ...Charles Busch".  I saw it some years ago.  

[songanddanceman2]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 6:54pm

This is an interview I did with him back in 2011 ahead of our productions of his plays. https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/BWW-Interviews-TonyNominated-Charles-Busch-20110122

[Patti LuPone FANatic]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 7:03pm

I love this quote Songanddanceman (from Charles Busch):   "Being the book writer on a musical, I think, is a very thankless task. If it's successful, you don't get the credit and if it's a flop, you take the blame."

[GavestonPS]

Posted: 5/4/15 at 11:00pm

That quote is hardly original to Charles Busch and I'm sure he wouldn't claim it as his own. I don't know who said it first, but you can find it in just about every book on writing for the musical theater, even books written before Busch was born.