Broad Appeal

It’s been
25 years since Charles Busch’s outrageous play
Vampire Lesbians of Sodom made him a star of
Manhattan’s East Village performance scene. Since
that unlikely long-running sensation, Busch has
channeled his obsession with Hollywood’s Golden
Age -- and a penchant for drag -- into a legendary
theatrical career crowned by his Tony-nominated 2000 work
The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife. Now, the
actor, playwright, novelist, director, and screenwriter
behind campy genre parodies such as Psycho Beach
Party and Die, Mommie, Die! is back
off-Broadway portraying three delicious female roles
in his new too-hard-to-summarize show-within-a-show
sci-fi mob comedy The Third Story.

Opening February
2 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, The Third Story also
stars Kathleen Turner, who does double duty as a
German doctor and an alcoholic 1940s screenwriter.
There’s no trimming this Busch as he recalls
romancing Miss Turner and discusses his other favorite
divas.

Advocate.com:I spotted you in the audience of Liza's at the
Palace on Broadway back in December. What did
you think of the show?Charles Busch: I thought it was thrilling.
It’s the kind of show business that just will not
exist anymore. And I saw it under wonderful
circumstances. I remember I was 13 and at sleep-away
camp when Judy Garland was at the Palace the last time,
so I was devastated that I had to miss it, but my aunt sent
me the clippings from all the papers. I was the only
13-year-old at summer camp getting clippings about
Judy at the Palace. Now I have this
16-year-old protégé -- this young kid I’ve
known since he was 12 -- so I took him to see Liza
at the Palace, which is the closest thing to
Judy. It was great seeing it with him particularly. I
enjoy exposing him to all sorts of cultural events. We
went backstage afterward, and it was like going to see Santa
Claus at Macy’s: You’re led into a bright red
room, there’s a mythical creature sitting
there, you say a few words, you have your picture taken
with her, and then you’re ushered off.

Did Liza know your work? Gosh, I’ve met Liza Minnelli maybe six
times now, but I wonder if she really knows who I am.
She always greets me with great enthusiasm and says,
“I’m a huge fan of yours,” but
I’d know if she’d been at one of my
shows, and I wouldn’t count on her having seen
Die, Mommie, Die! I think she just has very good
manners.

I also noticed you chatting up Judith Light at intermission. Judith Light was sitting in front of us by
herself, so we kind of ended up being her dates for
the night. She’s a lot of fun.

I hope you asked for a cameo on Ugly Betty. Well, it seems like everybody else is getting
one these days.