#70 - Charles Busch: Too Gay for the Industry

“I’ve been blessed with a somewhat pragmatic view, and I had a good
sense of who I was and what I had to offer.” Charles Busch has been
around a while… and in the meantime. He is one of the first
self-producers and self-advocates in the industry. Since he was
eleven, he was writing three act places and found out very early at
Northwestern that he would not find success in mainstream
showbusiness. “Too gay” for the industry in the 70’s he says… so
maybe the things that made him uncastable and unemployable could
actually be what brings him success.  Even after going to an
incredible acting program, Busch still didn’t feel he was able to
find himself in the industry. He sold numerous pilots to networks,
but still found himself back to putting on a show with people he
loves. And sometimes even finding himself in places at the top of
the food chain (like writing a book for a new musical) and saying
to himself, “I really hate this!” And yes, we talk about Taboo, one
of Broadway’s biggest flops. We also talk about his huge success on
Broadway, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife.  Charles also
takes us down discovery lane as he found his love of drag, cabaret,
a symbiotic relationship with his beloved manager, taking the road
less traveled, and the upcoming 54 Below show, Backstage Babble,
which he’ll be appearing in on September 6th at 7pm.  Charles
Busch has forged a unique place in the world of entertainment as
playwright, actor, director, novelist, cabaret performer and drag
icon. He is the author and star of over twenty-five plays including
The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, The
Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare and Vampire Lesbians of
Sodom; one of the longest running plays in the history of
Off-Broadway. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777
performances on Broadway, won the Outer Circle Critics’ John L.
Gassner Award for playwrighting, received a Tony nomination for
Best Play and is the longest running Broadway comedy of the past
twenty-five years.  He wrote and starred in the film versions
of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of
which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film
Festival. For two seasons, he appeared as Nat Ginzburg on the HBO
series OZ and is the author of the auto-biographical novel Whores
of Lost Atlantis. He has directed two films; the Showtime short
subject, Personal Assistant, and a feature, A Very Serious Person,
which won an honorable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival. Due to
his love and knowledge of film and theatre history, he has appeared
as a guest programmer and in numerous documentaries for Turner
Classic Movies, and has lectured and conducted master classes at
many colleges and universities including NYU, Harvard, UCLA and
Amherst College. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk
Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright and
was given a star on the Playwrights Walk outside the Lucille Lortel
Theatre. He is also the subject of the acclaimed documentary film
The Lady in Question is Charles Busch. He is a two-time MAC award
winner and has performed his cabaret act in many cities including
San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia,
London, Paris, Barcelona and New York. In winter of 2016, his show
The Lady at the Mic premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s American
Songbook series. His first CD, Charles Busch Live at
Feinstein’s 54 Below, was released by Broadway Records. Learn more
about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices