Arnold Beckoff comes by his blues honestly; he knows what it is to long for love. Tired of trawling New York’s gay bar backrooms, and armed with fierce humor, Arnold faces commitment-shy men, a hostile world, and his formidable mother as he tries to find a family on his own terms. With biting wit and startling poignancy, Torch Song Trilogy illuminates a defiant romantic’s fight for intimacy and respect. First performed in 1981, Harvey Fierstein’s bittersweet comedy resonates with today’s questions about marriage, family, and self-acceptance in the gay community and beyond.
Studio’s Subscription Series is the core of our programming, offering an uncommonly rich repertoire of provocative contemporary writing from around the world and inventive stagings of contemporary classics.
During the 2013-14 Season, Studio is partnering with national and local non-profits whose missions connect with the content of our productions. Studio’s partners for Torch Song Trilogy are Human Rights Campaign, SMYAL, and Bishop Gene Robinson.
Torch Song Trilogy is underwritten by
Stanley and Rosemary Marcuss.
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Harvey Fierstein made his professional acting debut at La MaMa ETC in 1971 in Andy Warhol's only play, Pork. He followed that with appearances in more than 60 Off Off Broadway productions including work with The Playhouse of the Ridiculous, Negro Ensemble Company, WPA, and Theater Genesis. As a playwright, Mr. Fierstein’s early works include Flatbush Tosca, In Search of the Cobra Jewels, and Freaky Pussy. The three one-acts that comprise Torch Song Trilogy—The International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First!—individually premiered at La MaMa ETC beginning in 1978, forever changing his career trajectory.
Torch Song Trilogy debuted Off Broadway in 1981, then transferred to Broadway in 1982. The production received the Tony Award for Best Play, as well as the Drama Desk, OBIE, and Dramatist Guild Awards. For his portrayal of Arnold, Fierstein received the Tony Award for Best Leading Actor, as well as a Drama Desk Award and Theater World Award. Fierstein reprised his lauded performance in the subsequent Los Angeles and London productions.
Following the success of Torch Song Trilogy, Mr. Fierstein wrote the libretto (and won another Tony Award) for the musical La Cage aux Folles, which, like Torch Song Trilogy, treats its central gay relationship as equal to its straight counterparts. His other theatrical projects include Safe Sex, Forget Him, Spookhouse, and the libretti for the musicals Legs Diamond and A Catered Affair. He received Tony Award nominations for Best Book of a Musical for the currently running Broadway hits Newsies and Kinky Boots. Mr. Fierstein is also the author of the children’s book The Sissy Duckling and received the Humanitas Prize for its HBO film adaptation.
As an actor, Mr. Fierstein is known for his performances in the films Mrs. Doubtfire, Bullets Over Broadway, Death to Smoochy, and Independence Day; on stage in Hairspray (Tony Award), Fiddler on the Roof, and La Cage aux Folles; and in television shows such as How I Met Your Mother, Family Guy, Cheers (Emmy nomination), The Simpsons, and Nurse Jackie.
Mr. Fierstein is also a prominent social and political commentator. He has voiced documentaries on AIDS awareness and Harvey Milk; championed marriage equality; written op-eds for The New York Times, The Huffington Post, and PBS's In The Life; and advocated for the rights of gays and lesbians in the military and abroad.
(As of September 2013)
Michael Kahn, Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company since 1986, has led the Company to national and international prominence, including the 2012 Tony Award for Regional Theater. He is the former Artistic Director of the American Shakespeare Festival in Stratford, Connecticut; the McCarter Theater; the Acting Company; and the Chautauqua Theater Company. Mr. Kahn was a founding faculty member of the Drama Division of the Juilliard School, where he still teaches, having served as its Richard Rodgers Director of the Division for 13 years. Additionally, he has served on the faculties of the NYU graduate program and the Circle in the Square Theater School. His theater and opera productions have been seen Off-Broadway, Broadway, across the United States, and internationally in Australia, Egypt, and Greece. Mr. Kahn was inducted in the Theater Hall of Fame in 2012 and was invested as a Commander of the British Empire (CBE) by Her Majesty, the Queen in June 2013. His future productions include Paul Downs Colaizzo’s new play Pride in the Falls of Autry Mills for Signature Theater and both parts of Henry IV with Stacy Keach opening at the Shakespeare Theatre Company in the spring.
(As of September 2013)
Brandon Uranowitz has appeared on Broadway in Baby, It’s You! and in the Broadway National Tour of RENT, starring Anthony Rapp and Adam Pascal, directed by Michael Greif. In New York, he appeared in the pre-Broadway workshop of Diner, directed by Kathleen Marshall with music by Sheryl Crow; and in a workshop of the new musical, An American in Paris, directed by Christopher Wheeldon with book by Craig Lucas. He was nominated for a 2009 Falstaff Award for his role as Feste in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night with the New York Neo-Classical Ensemble. Regionally, Mr. Uranowitz played Adult Eugene in Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound at The Old Globe in San Diego. His television credits include Inside Amy Schumer on Comedy Central, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and As The World Turns. He can be seen in the upcoming film Stage Fright, which stars Minnie Driver. Mr. Uranowitz is a graduate of New York University’s Tisch School of the Arts.
(As of September 2013)
Todd Lawson is making his Studio Theatre debut. Mr. Lawson has been seen on Broadway in Summer and Smoke and Off Broadway in One Arm with The New Group, Levittown at the Theatre at St. Clement’s, and the Young Playwrights Festival at Cherry Lane Studio. He played Hero in the National Tour of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. Regionally, Mr. Lawson has worked at PlayMakers Repertory Company, Pioneer Theatre Company, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Portland Stage Company, Delaware Theatre Company, Bay Street Theatre, The Wilma Theater, The Human Race Theatre Company, and in A Celtic Celebration with symphony orchestras around the country. He is currently starring in three films on the festival circuit: Sides, Guests of a Nation, and Top Floor (SXSW premiere, 2013).
(As of September 2013)
Gordana Rashovich has been seen on Broadway in Conversations with My Father, Old Acquaintance, Cymbeline, The Milk Train Doesn’t Stop Here Anymore, and The Road to Mecca. Her Off Broadway work includes Fefu and Her Friends at American Place Theatre (Theatre World Award), Not I at Ensemble Studio Theatre and A Shayna Maidel at Westside Arts Theatre (NY), and the Vanguard Theatre (LA), for which she received an Obie Award, a Drama Desk Nomination, the LA Drama Critics Circle Award, a Drama Logue award, and an LA Weekly Award. Her other regional work includes leading roles in Master Class, Uncle Vanya, and Little Foxes at Denver Center Theatre; Little Foxes at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Orpheus Descending at the Alley Theatre; A Streetcar Named Desire at Players Theatre of Columbus; Richard III at Hartford Stage; and The Matchmaker at ACT (Drama Logue Award). Ms. Rashovich’s television work includes Law and Order, Law and Order SVU, Conviction, The Wire, Mad Men, and Jadwiga in the Whoopi series.
(As of September 2013)
Alex Mills returns to Studio Theatre for Wig Out! after performances in Torch Song Trilogy, 2-2 Tango, and Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson. Local credits include Shakespeare’s R&J at Signature Theatre and A Tale of Two Cities, The Man in the Iron Mask, Three Men in a Boat (to say nothing of the dog) (Helen Hayes Nomination: Outstanding Supporting Actor), Antony and Cleopatra, Othello (Helen Hayes-nominated Outstanding Lead Actor), and A Midsummer Night’s Dream (Helen Hayes-nominated Outstanding Supporting Actor) at Synetic Theater.
(As of July 2017)
Michael Lee Brown makes his Studio Theatre debut. Mr. Brown’s recent New York City credits include Last Kiss: Our Town without Pity with Bespoke Musicals at The York Theatre Company. He recently played Lionel in Cinderella and Paul in Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at the Ocean City Theatre Company. Mr. Brown has won the National Association of Teachers of Singing (NATS) vocal competition, and has appeared in several television commercials.
(As of September 2013)
Sarah Grace Wilson returns to Studio Theatre, where she was nominated for a Helen Hayes Award for Outstanding Supporting Actress in The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie. Favorite credits include Three Sisters at A.R.T. and The Edinburgh International Festival, Sometimes a Great Notion at Portland Center Stage, Othello and Uncle Vanya at California Shakespeare Theater, Christmas on Mars and Hay Fever at The Old Globe, and The Story at The Public Theater and Long Wharf Theatre. She has also worked at New York Theatre Workshop, Baruch Performing Arts Center, The Drama League, New York Stage and Film, Guthrie Theater, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Centerstage, Two Rivers Theater Company, Palm Beach Dramaworks, Elm Shakespeare, and A Contemporary Theatre, among others. Her television and film credits include Law and Order, The Last Romantic, and Leadcatcher. Ms. Wilson is a graduate of The Juilliard School, where she received the John Houseman Award for exceptional ability in classical theatre.
(As of September 2013)
Ashleigh King most recently appeared in Studio 2ndStage’s production of Richard O’Brien’s The Rocky Horror Show. Her other local appearances include Hairspray at Signature Theatre; Brothers of the Knight, Pearl, Pepito’s Story, and Dreams at The Kennedy Center; Alexander and the Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Day at Adventure Theatre MTC; multiple shows with Toby’s Dinner Theatre and Riverside Center Dinner Theater; along with many productions at Olney Theatre Center, including Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Grease, Aida, Cats, and South Pacific. She performed in The Nutcracker at the Joffrey Ballet of Chicago. Ms. King has trained with Mark Marino at the American Dance Company, and at Dancensations Dance Center in Alexandria, VA, and received a Dance Theatre of Harlem Residency at The Kennedy Center.
(As of September 2013)
James Noone returns to Studio Theatre, where he previously designed sets for The Habit of Art and The Real Thing. Mr. Noone has been a scenic designer in New York since 1983 and a member of USA Local 829 since 1986. He has worked for some of New York’s most prestigious theatre companies, including Playwrights Horizons, Manhattan Theatre Club, Lincoln Center Theater, and Roundabout Theatre Company. Off Broadway, he designed the original productions of Terrence McNally’s Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, Edward Albee’s Pulitzer Prize-winning play Three Tall Women, and the long-running solo shows Full Gallop and Fully Committed. Other Off Broadway shows include Cowgirls and Breaking Legs, the original production and recent revival of A Bronx Tale, the first revival of The Boys in the Band, and the musical Ruthless. Broadway productions include Jekyll and Hyde, A Class Act (Tony nomination, Best Musical), and multiple productions for Tony Randall’s National Actors Theatre. He has been head of the Scenic Design Department at Boston University’s School of Theatre since 2001. Mr. Noone’s awards include the Drama Desk (multiple nominations), American Theatre Wing Award, two Helen Hayes Awards, and the LA Ovation Award.
(As of September 2013)
Peter West returns to Studio Theatre, where he previously designed Torch Song Trilogy and Superior Donuts. His recent designs include The Importance of Being Earnest with the Shakespeare Theatre Company, Zero Cost House with Pig Iron Theatre Company, and The Mystery of Irma Vep at Red Bull Theater. His work has been seen throughout the United States and in Europe, Japan, and South America in theatres such as the Shakespeare Theatre Company, The Spoleto Festival, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, California Shakespeare Theater, Shakespeare Santa Cruz, PlayMakers Repertory Company, Geva Theatre Center, The Barbican, Denver Center Theatre Company, the Public Theater, New York Theatre Workshop, and the American Dance Festival. He has designed more than 40 productions for the Drama Division of The Juilliard School and has been an adjunct lecturer at Williams College and Brooklyn College. Mr. West is an artistic associate of Red Bull Theater.
Frank Labovitz returns to Studio Theatre where he has previously designed Wig Out!, having previously designed Cloud 9, Silence! the Musical, Laugh, Torch Song Trilogy, and Dirt. His other design credits include The Threepenny Opera and Dreamgirls for Signature Theatre, NSFW and Ordinary Days for Round House Theatre, Guards at the Taj and The Totalitarians for Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, and The Tale of The Allergist's Wife and The Religion Thing for Theater J. Mr. Labovitz is a company member of Pointless Theatre, where his designs include Gimme a Band, Gimme a Banana and Doctor Caligari. Mr. Labovitz received his MFA in costume design from The University of Maryland.
(As of April 2018)
Eric Shimelonis' Studio Theatre productions include Between Riverside and Crazy,The Year of Magical Thinking, Stoop Stories, In the Red and Brown Water, An Iliad, Time Stands Still, The Motherfucker with the Hat, and Torch Song Trilogy. Other recent productions include The Night Alive at Round House Theatre, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead at Folger Theatre, and Marie Antoinette at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company for which he received a 2015 Helen Hayes Award nomination. Mr. Shimelonis is the recipient of a 2014 Helen Hayes Award for outstanding sound design for his work on Never the Sinner at 1st Stage.
(As of January 2016)
Adrian Rooney is in his third season as Master Electrician/Sound Technician at Studio Theatre. Recent lighting design credits include Celebration of Flight with IBEX Puppetry at Rhode Island School of Design and Miss Richfield: 1981 at Society Hill Playhouse in Philadelphia. Mr. Rooney's upcoming projects include lighting design for Edgar & Annabel at Studio 2ndStage.
(As of September 2013)
Stuart Howard and Paul Hardt have cast musicals and plays on and Off Broadway, around the United States, and in London, Canada, and France. Mr. Howard and Mr. Hardt previously cast the Studio Theatre productions of The Habit of Art and The Real Thing.
(As of September 2013)
John Keith Hall's DC credits include many productions at Studio Theatre including Bad Jews, Choir Boy, Water by the Spoonful, Tribes, Torch Song Trilogy, 4000 Miles, Sucker Punch, In The Red And Brown Water, The History Boys, Adding Machine: A Musical, and The Road To Mecca; Hir, The Nether, and An Octoroon at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; Soon, SCKBSTD, and West Side Story at Signature Theatre; Sweeney Todd, Mary Poppins, and The Producers at Olney Theatre Center. Regional credits include several seasons as a Resident Stage Manager at The Barter Theatre in Virginia where he supervised over 40 productions, Shadowland Stages in New York, and Virginia Musical Theatre in Virginia Beach. A graduate of Virginia’s Longwood University, Mr. Hall is a proud member of the Actors’ Equity Association.
(As of September 2017)
Elizabeth Dinkova is the Artistic Apprentice at Studio Theatre, where she has assistant directed Water by the Spoonful, Tribes, The Apple Family Plays, and Torch Song Trilogy. She graduated from Reed College with a BA in theatre and psychology in 2013. While at Reed, she directed many productions, including King Lear, The Suede Jacket, and The Balance. She also directed Female Kingdom at the Bulgarian Theatre in Seattle and the new play Intertwined at Sfumato Theatre’s Small Season Festival in Sofia, Bulgaria. Other assistant directing credits include The Bacchae for Kim Wield and Hamlet for Javor Gardev at the Ivan Vazov Bulgarian National Theatre. Ms. Dinkova will begin pursuing her MFA in directing at the Yale School of Drama this fall.
(As of May 2014)
