{"id":57115,"date":"2017-10-20T10:20:28","date_gmt":"2017-10-20T14:20:28","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/transcendent-torch-song-starring-michael-urie-and-mercedes-ruehl-is-required-gay-viewing-review\/"},"modified":"2017-10-20T10:20:28","modified_gmt":"2017-10-20T14:20:28","slug":"transcendent-torch-song-starring-michael-urie-and-mercedes-ruehl-is-required-gay-viewing-review","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.gayfriendschat.com\/socialblog\/transcendent-torch-song-starring-michael-urie-and-mercedes-ruehl-is-required-gay-viewing-review\/","title":{"rendered":"Transcendent \u2018Torch Song\u2019 Starring Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl Is Required Gay Viewing: REVIEW"},"content":{"rendered":"

Transcendent \u2018Torch Song\u2019 Starring Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl Is Required Gay Viewing: REVIEW<\/b><\/p>\n

\"Torch<\/p>\n

Some stories both define and transcend a generation. When Harvey Fierstein\u2019s <\/span>Torch Song Trilogy<\/span><\/i> premiered more than 35 years ago, first in scrappy downtown theatres and then on Broadway in 1982, some audiences were shocked; others saw their lives reflected back at them perhaps for the first time. Second Stage Theatre\u2019s triumphant and beautifully imagined revival, which opened off-Broadway last night, proves that <\/span>Torch Song<\/span><\/i> remains both prophetic and timeless in a way few but Fierstein could have imagined.<\/span><\/p>\n

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Michael Urie steps into Fierstein\u2019s outsize stilettos as Arnold, the quippy Jewess and drag performer whose quest for love drives the story, which has been condensed here and titled simply <\/span>Torch Song.<\/span><\/i> (The playwright won a Tony for his performance as well as for Best Play, and starred in the 1988 movie opposite Matthew Broderick and Anne Bancroft.) Urie, who\u2019s proven to be a master of both character and comedy on stage and the small screen, makes the role unmistakably his own. The <\/span>Younger<\/span><\/i> star is at the height of his talents pedaling Arnold\u2019s sweet cynicism and physical humor while rendering a larger-than-life character entirely in flesh and blood.<\/span><\/p>\n

We first meet Arnold dolling up backstage at International Male, a watering hole where he entertains men<\/a> passing in and out of the backroom. It\u2019s 1971, according to a neon sign. Arnold soon meets Ed (Ward Horton, charming, doe-eyed), who is as confused about what he wants as he is goodlooking, and becomes involved with a woman<\/a> as well, Laurel (Roxanna Hope Radja). Between Arnold and Ed, the phrase \u201cit\u2019s complicated\u201d is wildly insufficient.<\/span><\/p>\n

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By 1976, the play\u2019s second part finds Ed and Laurel and Arnold and Alan (Michael Rosen), Arnold\u2019s young model boyfriend, in bed together \u2014 literally. In a riff on <\/span>Pillow Talk<\/span><\/i>-style romantic comedy (the scene is titled \u2018Fugue in a Nursery,\u2019 also in neon), the four lovers (and two former lovers) spend a weekend up at Ed\u2019s farmhouse. What could go wrong? After the interval, we fast-forward to 1980, when Arnold introduces his \u201cMa\u201d (an imperious and show-stopping Mercedes Ruehl) to his adopted son (an impressively teenage<\/a> Jack DiFalco). <\/span><\/p>\n

Though the final act shifts into sitcom mode, this is where the meat of story spills real blood \u2014 in explosive and devastating scenes between Urie and Ruehl, as Arnold fights tooth and nail for his mother\u2019s respect. It\u2019s a battle that\u2019s certain to rend hearts from their chests \u2014 no one with a mother is immune; those who\u2019ve faced upward battles for acceptance will recognize every impassioned twist and turn.<\/span><\/p>\n

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That<\/span> Torch Song<\/span><\/i> takes Arnold\u2019s journey toward love and acceptance with all seriousness is what made it so groundbreaking more than three decades ago. Of course, the play is also funny as all hell. The cast lands punch lines and navigates nuanced emotional turns with equally exquisite rhythm, thanks to Moises Kaufman\u2019s finely calibrated direction. <\/span><\/p>\n

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The play\u2019s staging is no small logistical challenge, and Kaufman\u2019s production unfolds with an easy panache on David Zinn\u2019s ingenuous scenic design. Missing from the truncated revision is a full portrait of Arnold\u2019s relationship with Alan (an intermission, like any good wallpaper, covers over a multitude of sins), but its emotional impact on Arnold is painfully clear to see as he ventures into parenthood alone.\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Carving out a queer family \u2014 even before the catastrophic crisis of HIV \u2014 was once considered a revolutionary act. Though that may no longer be the case<\/a>, we\u2019re certainly in no position to forget what it means to fight. \u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

Recent theatre features\u2026
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\u2018A Clockwork Orange\u2019 Shows Plenty of Skin, Skimps on Danger Off-Broadway: REVIEW<\/a>
No Tea, No Shade \u2014 Off-Broadway\u2019s \u2018Charm\u2019 Wants You to Behave: REVIEW<\/a>
5 Actions to Take Now Inspired by Michael Moore\u2019s \u2018The Terms of My Surrender\u2019 on Broadway<\/a>
Bette Midler Is Back on Broadway in \u2018Hello, Dolly!\u2019 and You Probably Can\u2019t Handle It: REVIEW<\/a>
<\/em><\/h5>\n

Follow Naveen Kumar on Twitter: @Mr_NaveenKumar<\/a>
\n(photos: joan marcus)<\/em><\/p>\n

The post Transcendent \u2018Torch Song\u2019 Starring Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl Is Required Gay Viewing: REVIEW<\/a> appeared first on Towleroad<\/a>.<\/p>\n

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Transcendent \u2018Torch Song\u2019 Starring Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl Is Required Gay Viewing: REVIEW<\/a><\/p><\/blockquote>\n