Interludes

THE HANGOVER REPORT – Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl ignite Harvey Fierstein’s trailblazing TORCH SONG for a new generation of Broadway theatergoers

• By drediman
• November 2, 2018
• No Comments

Michael Urie and Mercedes Ruehl in the Second Stage production of Harvey Fierstein’s “Torch Song” at the Hayes Theater.

In terms of dramatizing the fringes of human sexuality, it’s fascinating to see how far the dialogue has come since Harvey Fierstein’s Tony-winning Torch Song (formerly known as Torch Song Trilogy), the triumphantly emphatic revival of which opened tonight at the Hayes Theatre (formerly known as the Helen Hayes Theatre). Just put Torch Song side by side with Miranda Rose Hall’s new play Plot Points in Our Sexual Development, and you’ll see what I mean – Mr. Fierstein’s play concerns the on-again-off-again romance between a gay man and a bisexual man (cutting edge when the play premiered in the early 1980s, but now not so much), while the currently topical Plot Points focuses on the logistically-fraught relationship between a transgendered man and a lesbian. Nevertheless, Torch Song remains an historically important and rock solid piece of playwriting that deserves to be cherished and seen, particularly by the latest crop of theatergoers.

Mr. Fierstein’s trailblazing, albeit somewhat dated, play charts the evolution of Arnold Beckoff (originally played by Mr. Fierstein), a larger-than-life, heart-on-his-sleeve gay man (who also happens to be a drag queen) in pre-AIDS New York at three points in time over the course of the 1970s and early 1980s. Indeed, Torch Song is essentially a trilogy (hence the former title) of one-act plays, each with its individual tone and dramatic expression. Since the Second Stage production’s Off-Broadway run last fall, the play has admittedly lost some of its intimacy, but the broadness and generosity of spirit of the underlying play actually feels more at home in a larger Broadway-style auditorium (as mentioned, the play itself is now more mainstream than otherwise), particularly as lovingly directed by Moisés Kaufman. Overall, I would say that the first two segments actually play better on the Great White Way, while the climactic mother/son clash of the third piece has lost some of its visceral impact in the larger venue.

The imminently lovable Michael Urie takes on the role that put Mr. Fierstein on the map, and he’s simply divine in a career-defining performance (to us theater folk, he was already a star). Over the years, the charismatic Mr. Urie has developed into a master of comic timing, as evidenced by a number of his Off-Broadway appearances, notably his inspired turns in Buyer and Cellar and The Government Inspector. But in Arnold, he’s found vehicle to truly show his tremendous range and star power. Although we have to wait nearly two hours before Mercedes Ruehl makes her entrance as Arnold’s mother, she more than makes up for it in a ferocious performance that pretty much runs off with the latter portion of the show. Seeing Ms. Reuhl and Mr. Urie go at it is as spectacular as seeing King Kong literally manifested a few blocks uptown. The apple doesn’t fall far from the tree, indeed.

HIGHLY RECOMMENDED

TORCH SONG
Broadway, Play
Second Stage Theater at the Hayes Theater
2 hours, 45 minutes (with one intermission)
Through February 24