Torch Song

Arnold Beckoff is one of the most groundbreaking characters in American drama. And one who is so deeply associated with his creator and originator, the legendary Harvey Fierstein. Over three decades since his birth, director Mois�s Kaufman and his team manage to do the impossible by paying tribute to the great raspy-voiced artist while also giving us a "Torch Song" for 2018, still a trilogy but a shorter one. We also get a new Arnold, one who is just as whiny and joyous and annoying and delightful - and as embodied by Michael Urie, perhaps a bit more fragile, making Arnold's bold eleventh hour decision even more heroic.

"Torch Song Trilogy," the seminal gay-themed production, began life in 1978 as a one-act at the off-off Broadway Theater, La Mama, E.T.C. By the time it miraculously opened on Broadway in June of 1982, it consisted of three fully linked plays that ran close to four hours. "TST" clocked in 1,222 performances and won two surprise Tony Awards (the only two it was nominated for), Best Play and Best Actor in a Play, both for Fierstein.

This prescient work would crystal ball into the future and show young gays that it was possible to live the life you want to live and create the family you want to have. It would take some time and work but it would happen. In the 1980's, with AIDS looming and closet doors slamming shut this seemed like science fiction. Today, even with the homophobic right in power, it's the way queer people live.

This spirited revival begins in 1971 with drag queen extraordinaire Arnold Beckoff (Urie) searching for Mr. Right. What he finds is confused bisexual Ed (Ward Horton), who proceeds to find and marry Laurel (Roxanna Hope Radja). Undaunted (sort of...), Arnold meets hot twink, Alan (Michael Rosen, rocking bikini briefs) a year later and together they plan to adopt a child. But tragedy strikes and when Act Two opens, Arnold is now father to 15-year-old David (spunky Jack DiFalco) and awaiting the arrival of his disapproving mother (Academy-Award-winner Mercedes Ruehl).

Our hero is a sweet Jewish boy who longs to be in a committed relationship and would also like a child, while all the gays around him seem to only want to get off. Second Stage produced the first major NYC revival off-Broadway last year and the move to Broadway has not hurt the piece at all. The play has been slightly revised by Fierstein into a cozy 3-hour evening that is captivating, hilariously funny and quite moving in spots. And Kaufman directs his ensemble with great affection.

Fierstein wrote the play right before a plague would decimate so many of his contemporary gay artists (including both original Eds Off-Broadway and on, Joel Crothers and Court Miller). The world of "Torch Song" takes place just before that deluge so there's an innocence about it. It's important to contextualize while watching. There were many gasps from my audience when Arnold's mother spouts off in her own homophobic manner. Jaded New York audiences need to also realize that we live in a bubble and there are too many places in our own countries where mothers still feel exactly as Arnold's does.

Ruehl is a powerhouse and knows just how far to go. Hers is a carefully modulated performance that feels too real. And watching her and Urie create characters so alike in manner but unable to come to terms is a dramatic (and comedic) treat.

Urie's great comic chops are displayed here, too especially in an outrageous scene where he attempts to light a cigarette while something untoward is being done to him in a dark backroom in the International Stud (his drag bar). He also stops the show when he tries to explain how his mother's reaction to something isn't an "oops."

One of the biggest differences I found from the time I saw it at Second Stage to its bow on Broadway is with Horton's performance. Off-Broadway he was good but seemingly too tentative. Time and dedication to craft have given him the courage to fully flesh out Ed, warts and all. He is the personification of sexual fluidity and Horton swims in his nuances now.

See "Torch Song" for a taste of theater history. And to experience some amazing performances.

"Torch Song" is playing at the Helen Hayes Theater, 240 West 44th Street, NYC. Tickets at 212-239-6200 or visit the show's website.