When I gave contributor Donald Vining the green light for a Charles Busch interview in 1985, I had not yet seen Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, his signature work and the play Busch will forever be famous for. Rereading the interview today, I’m gratified that Playguy got to him early and that our interviewer found out so much of interest.
Since then, of course, Charles Busch has soared: among his plays are Red Scare on Sunset, Psycho Beach Party, and Die Mommie Die!, which he also adapted for the screen and — of course — starred in as Mommie, Angela Arden. (To uppity daughter Edith: I'm in no mood for your patented brand of bitchery, missy.)
He has been nominee and winner of awards for his stage work, and in 2023 he turned out another high-gloss title, this one Leading Lady: A Memoir of a Most Unusual Boy, published by BenBella Books.
“We’re in Sodom, then quickly in Hollywood in the 20’s, then in Las Vegas today. I love those quick cuts.”
AND NOW WE’RE IN 2024.
I wish I could dash off to New York to see Charles Busch in his latest play, Ibsen’s Ghost, in which he imagines himself as Suzannah, widow of the great Norwegian playwright. It closes on April 14, and I can’t get away from Substack. But the link below takes you to this week’s Queerty interview with Charles, which is as sane and scintillating as you might expect. Incidentally, he is said to be one of the nicest guys in show biz.
I’ve long felt that performers like Busch are misnamed as “drag queens.” Instead, they are male actresses. Meaning that for them, drag is ancillary to wit, dramatic instinct, an exquisite sense of camp, discipline, and training in the craft of acting as well as in the techniques of playwriting. In the male actress pantheon, along with Busch, are the immortal Charles Ludlam, whom Busch names in this week’s interview as a seminal influence on him; Charles Pierce, whose stage work focused mainly on impersonation of such screen greats as Bette Davis and Mae West (What is it about the name “Charles”?); Dame Edna Everage, Harvey Fierstein, and Lypsinka, who said, "I don't like the term 'drag queen,' because it describes an amateur. Why not call me an actor? I suppose drag artist would be okay."
To my mind, the difference between those male actresses, or drag artists, named above and the amateurs is this: To be an artist, you need more than a wig, a corset, layers of makeup and attitude, and the wish to look like Kim Kardashian. Surely one of her is enough.