Books by Charles Busch

A contemporary Cinderella story set in Greenwich Village, reminiscent of the classic screwball comedies of the 1930s. Christopher, a shy and eccentric young electrologist, helps an elderly millionaire, Mr. Rosenberg, when the old man faints in the street. Rosenberg, touched by the young man's generous spirit, becomes his benefactor and sends Christopher off to a fabulous charity ball where he meets his Prince Charming, in the form of a neurotic young publicist. Fate takes a turn when Mr. Rosenbe

Behind Lily's every move lies her greatest secret, her undying devotion to the child she was forced to abandon. The Confession of Lily Dare is the latest comic melodrama written by and starring the legendary master of theatrical parody Charles Busch (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Die Mommie Die, The Divine Sister). Here he celebrates the gauzy “confession film” tearjerkers of early 1930’s pre-code cinema, such as The Sin of Madelon Claudet, Frisco Jenny, and Madame X.

The turbulent life of Cleopatra, Queen of the Nile, is told, viewed through the outrageous comic lens of master parodist Charles Busch. Evoking both 1930's Hollywood epics and the grand 19th Century romantic theatre of Sarah Bernhardt, this version of the life of the ill-fated Egyptian Queen takes her from her teenage seduction of the Roman leader Julius Caesar through her volatile tragic romance with Mark Antony and to her ultimate death. Charles Busch's Cleopatra has echoes of the man

In Hollywood, film star Mary Dale discovers her husband has succumbed to the power of the local Communist party by way of a method acting class. She further discovers a left-wing plot to abolish the star system. Mary wages a private war not only to save her husband, but to hopefully save her country, turning the McCarthy era on its head.

This new play by the reigning king (or queen) of Off Broadway comedy, Charles Busch, is about an out-of-work female impersonator who, when his elderly landlady dies in her sleep, takes on her identity in order to hang on to her valuable Greenwich Village townhouse. This "perfect" scheme goes awry and leads to a wild path of twists and reversals plotted by an eccentric rogues gallery of outrageous schemers. Expect Busch's signature blend of quick-witted banter and gender-bending hijinks in this n

Through the intervention of a heavenly angel turned sexy vaudeville magician, a nightclub headliner with a list of lifetime woes avoids certain death and helps others in her life move past tragedy. She ends up caroling with her friends in Times Square-- it's Christmas after all-- and remembers her guardian angel, Albert, sending him a virtual kiss of thanks.

Characters: 3 male, 2 female Unit Set Olive Fisher is an elderly character actress whose claim to fame were the iconic "Gimme the Sausage" commercials of the 1980's. She's a classic New York curmudgeon, at war with the world and in particular her next door neighbors. Her closed-off life is shaken by the appearance of a spectral male figure viewed through her living room mirror. A series of strange and outrageous coincidences reveals that the man in the mirror has intimate links to every

ComedyCharacters: 1 male, 5 femaleMultiple SetsThe Divine Sister is an outrageous comic homage to nearly every Hollywood film involving nuns. Evoking such films as The Song of Bernadette, The Bells of St. Mary's, The Singing Nun and Agnes of God, The Divine Sister tells the story of St. Veronica's indomitable Mother Superior who is determined to build a new school for her Pittsburgh convent. Along the way, she has to deal with

"Judith, a beautiful, wealthy young widow, is reviled by her own people as a gold digging adventuress. When her ancient city of Bethulia is facing brutal annihilation, Judith, wearing her most glittering finery, slips into the enemy camp, seduces and ultimately decapitates the ruthless General Holofernes"--Page 4 of cover.

Comedy / Characters: 4m, 2f / Unit set A faded screenwriter in the 1940's woos her troubled ex-writer son into collaborating on a screen play. The gangster/sci fi B-movie in their imagination unfolds before us, involving a chic crime czarina, a beautiful but icy lady scientist and her failed and understandly bitter human cloning experiment. A third story is the Russian fairy tale the screenwriter told her son as a child about a painfully shy princess who forges a diabolical pact with a terrifying but surprisingly vulnerable old witch. The fairy tale inspires the movie which inspires the mother and son screenwriters to mend their fractured relationship. "Plays-within-plays require such intricate tailoring. So it's a pleasure to report that with The Third Story, the ever-captivating Charles Busch proves equally deft as both performer and seamstress." -Theatermania. "The main joy of The Third Story is that its foolery embodies something substantive...No wonder The Third Story feels like such an energizing event." -Village Voice.

Comic melodrama. Little Theatre. Characters: 3 male. 3 female. Interior set. Newly revised! This comic melodrama evokes the 1960's movie thrillers that featured such aging cinematic icons as Bette Davis, Joan Crawford, Lana Turner and Susan Hayward. Faded pop singer, Angela Andrews, is trapped in a corrosive marriage to film producer, Sol Sussman. In her attempt to find happiness with her younger lover, an out of work TV star, Angela murd