Editing Charles Busch (section)

==Biography==
===Early life===
Busch was born in 1954 and grew up in [[Hartsdale, New York]].<ref name=dragqueenanthology>{{cite book|last=Niles|first=Richard|title=Drag Queen Anthology|year=2004|publisher=Haworth|pages=35–52|chapter=Wigs, Laughter, and Subversion: Charles Busch and the Strategies of Drag Performance}}</ref><ref name=Newsmakers>{{cite journal|title=Charles Busch|journal=Newsmakers|date=July 18, 1988}}</ref><!-- THIS CITATION IS INADEQUATE. WHAT IS THIS PUBLICATION? PLEASE GIVE PUBLISHER INFO AND PAGE NUMBERS AT LEAST. --> He is the Jewish son of Gertrude (née Young) and Benjamin Busch.<ref name="filmref">[http://www.filmreference.com/film/72/Charles-Busch.html "Charles Busch Biography"], Filmreference.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012</ref><ref name=alex>Witchell, Alex. [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/10/19/garden/shopping-with-charles-busch-after-divas-it-s-a-challenge-to-play-a-man.html?pagewanted=all "Shopping With: Charles Busch; After Divas, It's a Challenge To Play a Man" (abstract)]. ''The New York Times'', October 19, 1994, Section C; p.1</ref><ref>{{cite news|last=Raymond|first=Gerard|title=Charles Busch: Interview with a Drag Artiste|url=http://www.slantmagazine.com/house/2010/09/charles-busch-interview-with-a-drag-artiste/|access-date=August 12, 2012|newspaper=Slant Magazine|date=September 9, 2010}}</ref> His father, who wanted to be an opera singer, owned a record store. His mother died when Busch was seven. He has two older sisters: Meg Busch, who used to be a producer of promotional spots for [[Showtime (TV network)|Showtime]], and Betsy Busch, a textile designer.<ref name=alex/> Busch's aunt, Lillian Blum, his mother's oldest sister and a former teacher, brought him to live in [[Manhattan]] after the death of his mother.<ref name=alex/><ref name=gaylesbianbio>{{cite journal|last=Tyrkus|first=Michael|author2=Michael Bronski|title=Gay and Lesbian Biography|journal=Gale Biography in Context|year=1997}}</ref><!-- THIS CITATION IS INADEQUATE. WHAT ARE THE ISSUE AND VOLUME NUMBER? PAGE NUMBER? DATE OF ISSUE? THIS REFERENCE IS USED REPEATEDLY --> Busch was intensely interested in films as a young child, especially those with female leads from the 30s and 40s.<ref name=Newsmakers/><ref name=alex/>

Busch attended [[The High School of Music and Art]] in Manhattan.<ref name=alex/> He majored in drama at [[Northwestern University]] in Evanston, Illinois<ref name=dragqueenanthology /> and received his B.A. in 1976.<ref name=Newsmakers/> While at the university, Busch had difficulty being cast in plays and began to write his own material, which succeeded in drawing interest on campus.<ref name=gaylesbianbio/>

===Early theatre years===
[[File:CharlesMarlene edit.jpg|thumb|Busch in drag]]
In his plays, Busch usually played the leading lady in [[Drag (clothing)|drag]]. He has said, "Drag is being more, more than you can be. When I first started drag I wasn't this shy young man but a powerful woman. It liberated within me a whole vocabulary of expression. It was less a political statement than an aesthetic one."<ref name=gaylesbianbio/> His [[Camp (style)|camp style]] shows simultaneously send up and celebrate classic film genres.<ref name=dragqueenanthology/>

Busch has said, however, "I'm not sure what [campy] means, but I guess if my plays have elements of old movies and old fashioned plays, and I'm this bigger-than-life star lady, that's certainly campy. I guess what I rebelled against was the notion that campy means something is so tacky or bad that it's good, and that I just didn't relate to."<ref name=Picayune/> Busch toured the country in a non-drag one-man show he wrote called ''Alone With a Cast of Thousands'' from 1978 to 1984.<ref name=alex/>

By 1984, Busch's performance bookings grew slim. He held various odd jobs, such as temporary office assistant, apartment cleaner, portrait artist "at bar mitzvahs", phone salesperson, shop manager, ice cream server, sports handicapper<ref name=alex/> and artists' model.<ref name=Newsmakers/>

He thought perhaps that this last piece would be a skit put on in the Limbo Lounge, a performance space and gallery in the [[East Village, Manhattan|East Village]] in Manhattan. The skit was a hit and became ''[[Vampire Lesbians of Sodom]]'' (1984).<ref>{{cite news |last=Bruckner |first=D. J. R. |title=Stage: 'Vampire Lesbians of Sodom' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1985/06/20/theater/stage-vampire-lesbians-of-sodom.html |access-date=June 30, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=June 20, 1985 |page=C18}}</ref>

Busch and his collaborators soon created a series of shows, mostly at the Limbo Lounge, such as ''Theodora, She-Bitch of Byzantium'' (1984) and ''Times Square Angel'' (1985, Provincetown Playhouse).<ref name=dragqueenanthology/> The company called itself "Theatre in Limbo" and attracted a loyal gay following.<ref name=gaylesbianbio/> Other early plays include ''Pardon My Inquisition, or Kiss the Blood Off My Castanets'' (1986), in which Busch played both Maria Garbanza, a prostitute, and her look-alike, the elegant Marquesa del Drago;<ref>[http://www.doollee.com/PlaywrightsB/busch-charles.html "Charles Busch, 'Pardon My Inquisition, or Kiss the Blood Off My Castanets' Listing"] {{Webarchive|url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170626200121/http://doollee.com/PlaywrightsB/busch-charles.html |date=June 26, 2017 }}, doollee.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012</ref><ref name=bennetts>Bennetts, Leslie. [https://www.nytimes.com/1987/08/13/theater/busch-writes-his-own.html Busch Writes His Own"], ''The New York Times'' (abstract), August 13, 1987, Section C, p. 21</ref> ''[[Psycho Beach Party#Play and productions|Psycho Beach Party]]'', which ran from July 1987 to May 1988; <ref>{{cite web |title=Psycho Beach Party |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/1645 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref> ''The Lady in Question'', which ran from July to December 1989 at the Orpheum Theatre;<ref>{{cite web |title=The Lady in Question |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/1602 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref> and ''Red Scare on Sunset'', which ran from June to September 1991 at the Lortel Theatre.<ref>{{cite web |title=Red Scare on Sunset |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/580 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref>

Busch rewrote the book for the musical ''[[Ankles Aweigh]]'' for a 1988 production staged by the [[Goodspeed Opera House]] in [[East Haddam, Connecticut]].<ref>Klein, Alvin. [https://www.nytimes.com/1988/09/11/nyregion/theater-ankles-aweigh-gets-godspeed-revamping.html "''Ankles Aweigh'' Gets Goodspeed Revamping"], ''The New York Times'' (abstract), September 11, 1988, Section 12CN, p. 13</ref>

His ''Charles Busch Revue'' was produced at the Ballroom Theatre in May 1993 in New York.<ref>{{cite news |last=Holden |first=Stephen |title=Review/Cabaret; Charles Busch on Drag and 'Dragnet' |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1993/05/22/theater/review-cabaret-charles-busch-on-drag-and-dragnet.html |access-date=June 30, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=May 22, 1993 |page=1:13}}</ref> Also in 1993, he performed in a revival of [[Jean Genet]]'s ''[[The Maids]]'' at the Off-Broadway [[Classic Stage Company]] in the role of Solange.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Maids |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/865 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref><ref>Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/1993/09/30/theater/review-theater-drag-star-tries-on-a-more-serious-context.html "Review/Theater; Drag Star Tries On a More Serious Context"], ''The New York Times'' (abstract), September 30, 1993</ref>

In 1993, he wrote a novel, ''Whores of Lost Atlantis'', a fictionalized re-telling of the creation of ''Vampire Lesbians of Sodom''.<ref>Busch, Charles. ''Whores of Lost Atlantis'', Hyperion (1993)<!-- ISSN/ISBN needed, page(s) needed --></ref> ''The Green Heart'' was adapted by Busch from a short story by [[Jack Ritchie]] into a musical which was produced by the [[Manhattan Theater Club]] at the Variety Arts Theatre in New York City, opening in April 1997.<ref>Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/04/11/theater/how-cold-villainy-adds-warmth.html?scp=1&sq=%22The+Green+Heart+%22&st=nyt "Theater Review.How Cold Villainy Adds Warmth"], ''The New York Times'', April 11, 1997.</ref>

He took the male lead in his comedy, ''You Should Be So Lucky'' which opened at Primary Stages Company, New York City, in November 1994.<ref>Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/1994/11/03/theater/theater-review-charles-busch-takes-on-a-trouser-role.html?scp=1&sq=%22You+Should+Be+So+Lucky%22&st=nyt "Theater Review.Charles Busch Takes On a Trouser Role"], ''The New York Times'', November 3, 1994.</ref>

Other works of the 1990s include ''Swingtime Canteen'', produced at the Blue Angel, New York City, in August 1995.<ref>Van Gelder, Lawrence. [https://www.nytimes.com/1995/08/25/theater/theater-review-charles-busch-replaces-female-lead.html?scp=1&sq=%22Swingtime+Canteen%22&st=nyt "Theater Review; Charles Busch Replaces Female Lead"], ''The New York Times'', August 25, 1995</ref> His one-man show, ''Flipping My Wig'' ran at the WPA Theater, New York City, starting in December 1996.<ref>Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/1996/12/20/theater/between-a-female-image-and-fantasy.html?scp=1&sq=%27%27Flipping+My+Wig%27%27+&st=nyt "Theater Review.Between a Female Image and Fantasy"], ''The New York Times'', December 20, 1996.</ref>

He wrote ''Queen Amarantha'', which played at the WPA Theatre, starting in October 1997.<ref>Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/1997/10/24/movies/theater-review-charles-busch-plays-it-straight-so-to-speak.html?scp=2&sq=%22Queen+Amarantha%22&st=nyt "Theater Review.Charles Busch Plays It Straight, So to Speak"], ''The New York Times'', October 24, 1997.</ref> His play ''[[Die, Mommie, Die!#Stage version|Die, Mommie, Die!]]'' was first performed in Los Angeles, opening in July 1999 at the Coast Playhouse.<ref name="Variety 1999">{{cite web|url=https://variety.com/1999/legit/reviews/die-mommy-die-1117749997|title=Review: ''Die! Mommy! Die!''|first=Robert|last=Hofler|work=[[Variety (magazine)|Variety]]|date=July 22, 1999|access-date=March 30, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.latimes.com/archives/la-xpm-1999-jul-19-ca-57363-story.html|title=Half a Hoot Is Better Than None in the Campy ''Die! Mommy! Die!''|work=[[Los Angeles Times]]|first=Michael|last=Phillips|date=July 19, 1999|access-date=March 30, 2016}}</ref>

===Film and television===
Busch's early film appearances include Ms. Ellen, a fortune teller in drag in ''[[Trouble on the Corner]]'' (1997).<ref>{{cite web |title=Trouble on the Corner (1997) |url=http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/160028/Trouble-on-the-Corner/overview |website=The New York Times |access-date=January 8, 2012 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071223062544/http://movies.nytimes.com/movie/160028/Trouble-on-the-Corner/overview |archive-date=December 23, 2007}}</ref> Busch has twice appeared in film versions of his own plays: ''[[Die, Mommie, Die!]]'' (1999) and the [[comedy horror]] ''[[Psycho Beach Party]]'' (2000). He co-wrote, starred in and directed the film ''[[A Very Serious Person]]'' (2006), which starred [[Polly Bergen]] and received an honorable mention at the [[Tribeca Film Festival]].<ref>[https://archive.today/20120719181013/http://www.allrovi.com/movies/movie/v347402 ''A Very Serious Person''] allrovi.com. Retrieved January 8, 2012</ref><ref>{{cite web |last=Jones |first=Kenneth |title=Broadway's Ivey, Bergen, Halston Punctuate Charles Busch Movie, 'A Very Serious Person' |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/broadways-ivey-bergen-halston-punctuate-charles-busch-movie-a-very-serious-person-com-127961 |website=Playbill |access-date=June 30, 2022 |date=September 12, 2005}}</ref> In 2020, Busch co-wrote, co-directed, and starred in the film, ''The Sixth Reel'' (2021).<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.broadwayworld.com/article/Julie-Halston-Tim-Daly-Andr-De-Shields-and-More-Star-in-Charles-Busch-and-Carl-Andress-New-Film-THE-SIXTH-REEL-20201022 |title=Julie Halston, Tim Daly, André De Shields and More Star in Charles Busch and Carl Andress' New Film The Sixth Reel |last=Rabinowitz |first=Chloe |date=October 22, 2020 |website=[[BroadwayWorld]] |access-date=June 18, 2022}}</ref>

Busch had a recurring role in the [[HBO]] series [[Oz (TV series)|''Oz'']] from 1999 to 2000 (the third and fourth seasons) as [[Nat Ginzburg]], an "effeminate but makeup-free inmate on death row, certainly a departure from his usual glamour girl roles."<ref name="advocate">{{cite magazine|last1=Che|first1=Cathay|title=Charles in Charge|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=oWMEAAAAMBAJ&dq=Charles+Busch&pg=PA81|magazine=The Advocate|date=March 28, 2000|pages=81–82}}</ref> He wrote television sitcom pilots and movie treatments as a source of extra income while he was a cult performer. He sold three pilots to [[CBS]] that were not produced.<ref name="advocate"/> In 2001, he guest starred on the American soap opera, ''[[One Life to Live]]'', playing Peg Barlow, a woman who owns a modeling agency. Nowhere in the show was it referenced that a male actor was portraying a woman.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://www.advocate.com/arts-entertainment/entertainment-news/2001/11/14/charles-busch-play-woman-ltigtone-life-liveltigt |title=Charles Busch to play a woman on One Life to Live |date=November 14, 2001 |website=The Advocate |access-date=May 25, 2024}}</ref>

===Stage work, 2000–present===
Busch's work debuted on [[Broadway theatre|Broadway]] in October 2000, when ''[[The Tale of the Allergist's Wife]]'' opened, following an Off-Broadway run in February through April 2000.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Tale of the Allergist's Wife |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/129 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref> The play, his first in which he did not star, and the first created for a mainstream audience, was written for actress [[Linda Lavin]],<ref>Shewey, Don. [http://donshewey.com/theater_articles/charles_busch.htm "The Tale of Charles Busch: From Drag Diva to Broadway Farceur"], ''The New York Times'' (reprinted at donshewey.com), October 29, 2000</ref> who played opposite [[Michele Lee]] and [[Tony Roberts (actor)|Tony Roberts]].<ref>{{cite news |last=Brantley |first=Ben |title=THEATER REVIEW; A Woman On the Verge Of Another Breakdown |url=https://www.nytimes.com/2000/03/01/theater/theater-review-a-woman-on-the-verge-of-another-breakdown.html |access-date=June 30, 2022 |work=The New York Times |date=March 1, 2000 |page=E5}}</ref> ''Allergist's Wife'' received a 2001 nomination for [[Tony Award for Best Play]] and ran for 777 performances.<ref>{{cite web |title=The Tale of the Allergist's Wife – Broadway Play – Original |url=https://www.ibdb.com/broadway-production/the-tale-of-the-allergists-wife-12550 |website=Internet Broadway Database |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref> His other Broadway work was rewriting the book for [[Boy George]]'s short-lived autobiographical musical ''[[Taboo (musical)|Taboo]]''.<ref>{{cite web |last1=Simonson |first1=Robert |last2=Gans |first2=Andrew |author1-link=Robert Simonson |title=Charles Busch Working on Book of Musical ''Taboo''; Due in Fall |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/charles-busch-working-on-book-of-musical-taboo-due-in-fall-com-110824 |website=Playbill |access-date=June 30, 2022 |date=January 2, 2003}}</ref> Since 2000, Busch has performed an annual one-night staged reading of his 1984 Christmas play ''Times Square Angel''.<ref>Bacalzo, Dan. [http://www.theatermania.com/new-york-city/news/09-2010/charles-busch-to-star-in-times-square-angel-staged_30909.html Charles Busch to Star in ''Times Square Angel'' Staged Reading December 13"], Theatermania.com, September 29, 2010</ref> In January 2003, he headlined a revival of his 1999 play ''Shanghai Moon'', costarring [[BD Wong]], at the Drama Dept, Greenwich House Theatre, New York City.<ref>Somer, Elyse. [http://www.curtainup.com/shanghaimoon.html "A CurtainUp Review. ''Shanghai Moon''"], Curtainup.com, January 17, 2003. Retrieved January 8, 2012</ref>

He has taken the eponymous lead in three productions of ''[[Auntie Mame]]'': a staged reading in 1998; a benefit for Broadway Cares/Equity Fights AIDS in 2003;<ref>{{cite web |last=Gans |first=Andrew |title=All-Star ''Auntie Mame'' Benefit a Sellout |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/all-star-auntie-mame-benefit-a-sellout-com-116338 |website=Playbill |access-date=June 30, 2022 |date=November 14, 2003}}</ref> and a small-scale summer touring production in 2004.<ref>{{cite web |last=Simonson |first=Robert |title=Charles Busch Begins Summer Life as ''Auntie Mame'' on June 28 |url=https://www.playbill.com/article/charles-busch-begins-summer-life-as-auntie-mame-on-june-28-com-120548 |website=Playbill |access-date=June 30, 2022 |date=June 28, 2004}}</ref>

''Our Leading Lady'', Busch's play about [[Laura Keene]], was produced by the [[Manhattan Theater Club]] at the City Center Stage II Theatre, in 2007, and starred [[Kate Mulgrew]].<ref>Cote, David. [http://newyork.timeout.com/arts-culture/theater/3512/our-leading-lady "Review. ''Our Leading Lady'' "], ''[[Time Out (company)|Time Out]] Magazine'' (New York), March 21, 2007</ref><ref>{{cite web |title=Our Leading Lady |url=http://www.iobdb.com/Production/4299 |website=Internet Off-Broadway Database |access-date=June 30, 2022}}</ref> His play, ''The Third Story'', premiered at the [[La Jolla Playhouse]] in September 2008 with [[Mary Beth Peil]] as Peg,<ref>McNulty, Charles. [http://www.latimes.com/entertainment/news/arts/la-et-third24-2008sep24,0,5636232.story Charles Busch's 'The Third Story' at LaJolla Playhouse"], ''[[Los Angeles Times]]'', September 24, 2008.</ref> and was then produced in New York by MCC Theater at the [[Lucille Lortel Theatre]], starring Busch and [[Kathleen Turner]] (Peg), opening in February 2009.<ref>[[Ben Brantley|Brantley, Ben]]. [http://theater.nytimes.com/2009/02/03/theater/reviews/03Brantley.html "Theater Review. For Some Mothers, Letting Go Is So Hard to Do"], ''The New York Times'', February 3, 2009</ref> Busch wrote and starred in a play, ''The Divine Sister'', a satirical take on Hollywood films about religion, including ''[[Doubt (2008 film)|Doubt]]'' and the [[Sound of Music (film)|''Sound of Music'']]. It ran at the SoHo Playhouse in New York City, opening in September 2010.<ref>Brantley, Ben. [https://www.nytimes.com/2010/09/23/theater/reviews/23divine.html "Theater Review. No Doubt, Not a Typical Singing Nun"], ''The New York Times'', September 22, 2010</ref> In 2013, Busch wrote and starred as Jimmy in the [[Primary Stages]] production of ''The Tribute Artist''.<ref>[https://variety.com/2014/legit/reviews/off-broadway-review-the-tribute-artist-1201094951/ Stasio, Marilyn. "Off Broadway Review: 'The Tribute Artist'".] ''Variety''. February 9, 2014</ref> In March 2019, Busch starred as [[Lucille Ball]] in ''I Loved Lucy'' by playwright Lee Tannen at the Bridge Street Theatre in Catskill, New York.