TORCH SONG TRILOGY is airing

[TopBilled]

Ate they going to use face book to stalk people ?  Snapchat ?  Skype? 

 

Well, how else could they make it relevant for contemporary audiences..?

[TopBilled]

A reminder that TORCH SONG TRILOGY is coming up a week from Monday. Set your DVR.

[rayban]

A reminder that TORCH SONG TRILOGY is coming up a week from Monday. Set your DVR.

I had forgotten how good this film actually was.

 

It has stood the test of time.

 

Harvey Fierstein dominated the film - and, of course, he should have

 

The actors surrounding him lent him excellent support - Anne Bancroft, Brian Kerwin, Matthew Broderick and Eddie Castrodad.

 

TCM should show this one on a more regular basis.

[rayban]

The film is actually a combination of three plays - "The International Stud", "Fugue In A Nursery" and "Widows and Children First" - 

 

[TopBilled]

I had forgotten how good this film actually was.

 

It has stood the test of time.

 

Harvey Fierstein dominated the film - and, of course, he should have

 

The actors surrounding him lent him excellent support - Anne Bancroft, Brian Kerwin, Matthew Broderick and Eddie Castrodad.

 

TCM should show this one on a more regular basis.

 

Yes, hopefully it will be rebroadcast again. And not in ten years, but sooner-- much sooner.

[rayban]

I remember seeing it on Broadway - it was such an incredible experience.

 

It is due for a major Broadway revival.

 

If they can revive "Falsettos", why not "Torch Song Trilogy"?

 

"Falsettos" - with Michael Rupert (far right) - 

 

[TopBilled]

Heads up:

TORCH SONG TRILOGY is airing tonight (technically it's early tomorrow morning at 4 a.m. Eastern).

http://www.tcm.com/tcmdb/title/93652/Torch-Song-Trilogy/

[rayban]

In its' new form, HF cut about an hour, it had a successful Off-Broadway run at Second Stage.

I saw it and loved it!

But, in its' move to Broadway, after 13 weeks, it failed at the box office.

Such a shame!

[TopBilled]

8 minutes ago, rayban said:

In its' new form, HF cut about an hour, it had a successful Off-Broadway run at Second Stage.

I saw it and loved it!

But, in its' move to Broadway, after 13 weeks, it failed at the box office.

Such a shame!

Why didn't it succeed on Broadway? Was there a recast or a change in director?

[rayban]

No, it was the same production.

Is the play too old?

It's over 40 years old.

Was it the holiday season?

[TopBilled]

2 minutes ago, rayban said:

No, it was the same production.

Is the play too old?

It's over 40 years old.

Was it the holiday season?

Do they call Shakespeare's plays too old? Even older material can have resonant themes for modern audiences.

What a shame it didn't succeed.

[jaragon]

The  new production is a shorter version of the trilogy - it was just called "Torch Song" maybe they should have consulted with the producers of the recent revival of " Boys in the Band" who had hit by casting it  with stars and turning into a must see event.

[rayban]

3 hours ago, jaragon said:

The  new production is a shorter version of the trilogy - it was just called "Torch Song" maybe they should have consulted with the producers of the recent revival of " Boys in the Band" who had hit by casting it  with stars and turning into a must see event.

You have a point!

[DougieB]

13 hours ago, rayban said:

No, it was the same production.

Is the play too old?

It's over 40 years old.

Was it the holiday season?

What a shame. It really takes a lot to catch people's attention these days. Now that we have same-sex marriage and RuPaul's Drag Race, the "outsider" angle of the play may have been blunted. Arnold worked in a hole-in-the-wall drag club, but now they're everywhere. Gay people still have a tough time sometimes, but the angst of Arnold battling with his family (mother) and trying to establish his own family may just read as quaint. I've always loved this play because it reflected my time and elements of my life; when you don't have that personal connection to your own life (ie: young people today) maybe it's easy to just pass over. Too bad.

[rayban]

From what I've heard on TV about the Off-Broadway revival - the new, shortened "Torch Song" - and the Broadway revival, the producer and the playwright wanted to make a star out of Michael Urie, who played Arnold Beckoff.

And, having seen the Off-Broadway production, Michael Urie did give a great performance.

I even got to meet me in the lobby and thanked him for his performance.

I told him that I would never forget it.

As far as the Off-Broadway production was concerned, A STAR WAS BORN.

[Swithin]

I've never seen Torch Song. Sorry I missed it.

As far as I'm concerned, Michael Urie is a star. I've seen him often -- last year, in The Government Inspector; in October 2018, in a reading of selections from Noel Coward's Tonight at 8:30; and a few years ago in a staged reading of Man of Mode, in which he brilliantly played Sir Fopling Flutter.

And of course he was quite wonderful in Lincoln Center Theater's production of Shows for Days (2015). That's the play at which Patti LuPone famously grabbed the ringing cell phone from an audience member. 

[rayban]

Michael Urie and the entire cast of "Torch Song" deserved a long Broadway run.

Hopefully, PBS' "Great Performances" filmed it.

[jaragon]

On 1/13/2019 at 9:57 AM, DougieB said:

What a shame. It really takes a lot to catch people's attention these days. Now that we have same-sex marriage and RuPaul's Drag Race, the "outsider" angle of the play may have been blunted. Arnold worked in a hole-in-the-wall drag club, but now they're everywhere. Gay people still have a tough time sometimes, but the angst of Arnold battling with his family (mother) and trying to establish his own family may just read as quaint. I've always loved this play because it reflected my time and elements of my life; when you don't have that personal connection to your own life (ie: young people today) maybe it's easy to just pass over. Too bad.

"Boys in the Band" is older and is some ways dated- the explanations about the homosexual lifestyle seems a bit quaint now but it still works. We can look it now as historical piece about pre-Stonewall gay life- but those men on stage are at times painfully real- my husband was crying at the end. 

[jaragon]

On 1/13/2019 at 12:44 PM, rayban said:

From what I've heard on TV about the Off-Broadway revival - the new, shortened "Torch Song" - and the Broadway revival, the producer and the playwright wanted to make a star out of Michael Urie, who played Arnold Beckoff.

And, having seen the Off-Broadway production, Michael Urie did give a great performance.

I even got to meet me in the lobby and thanked him for his performance.

I told him that I would never forget it.

As far as the Off-Broadway production was concerned, A STAR WAS BORN.

Well it did not work as far as selling theater tickets- which is bottom line when it comes to being a star. Urie might be a good actor but the audience did not seem interested- perhaps they needed to cast a bigger star name for the mother.  I agree that drag queens are no longer the exotic creatures they use to be when the play was written.  One of the reviews complain that some of the supporting roles were not well cast.   I love to see this done for tv- are you listening Netflix

[DougieB]

9 hours ago, jaragon said:

"Boys in the Band" is older and is some ways dated- the explanations about the homosexual lifestyle seems a bit quaint now but it still works. We can look it now as historical piece about pre-Stonewall gay life- but those men on stage are at times painfully real- my husband was crying at the end. 

Painful is right. The play gets a lot of deserved credit for the brilliant quips, but not enough for the fact that the play really lays it out in terms of the hurt gay men had to (and still have to in many cases) endure just to get along. 

[rayban]

Maybe PBS' "Great Perfromances" filmed this one.

[jaragon]

49 minutes ago, DougieB said:

Painful is right. The play gets a lot of deserved credit for the brilliant quips, but not enough for the fact that the play really lays it out in terms of the hurt gay men had to (and still have to in many cases) endure just to get along. 

Every gay man connects to at least one of the characters in "Boys in the Band".