Get ready to fall for Arnold Beckoff, a nice Jewish drag queen looking for love in New York City.
Marin Theatre Company (MTC) closes out its 2023/24 season with Torch Song, the seminal comic drama by Harvey Fierstein, directed by Evren Odcikin. An adaptation of Fierstein’s 1982 play Torch Song Trilogy, this newly revised two-act Torch Song, called “Spectacular. An energizing joy, as stimulating as four shots of espresso” by The New York Times, focuses on Arnold Beckoff, a lovelorn Jewish drag queen wielding the pithy wit of a Fran Lebowitz, who is looking for love in New York City. By turns hilarious and touching, this rollicking work finds Arnold stumbling through modern life, wallowing in cynical despair at ever finding a husband, a child and a pair of bunny slippers that fit. An unexpected visit from his disapproving mother from Miami reminds Arnold that what he really needs is respect. Torch Song will be performed May 9 through June 2 at Marin Theatre Company.
This will be the Bay Area’s first experience with Torch Song, an iconic work celebrated as a milestone, captivating audiences with its poignant exploration of love, acceptance and the pursuit of authenticity. Torch Song Trilogy enjoyed an extended run at San Francisco’s Theatre on the Square in 1983 and hasn’t been seen in the Bay Area since its revival by New Conservatory Theatre Center in 2000 — so there should be a surge of anticipation among theater goers for this production, especially with the casting of local favorites Dean Linnard as Arnold, and Nancy Carlin as his mother.
The original Torch Song Trilogy captivated Broadway audiences, earning Tonys for Best Play and Best Actor during its three-year run. Fierstein’s abbreviated Torch Song returned to Broadway in 2017, earning another Tony nomination for Best Revival of a Play, hailed again by The New York Times as “A seriously entertaining interpretation of living large as a proactive defense against feeling small.”
Fierstein’s prescient story, which showed a gay man hoping for a husband and to adopt a child — decades before either concept became legal — shattered barriers, bringing mainstream attention to LGBTQ+ narratives and paving the way for future representations in both stage and screen from Modern Family, Transparent and RuPaul’s Drag Race to musicals such as Kinky Boots, Everybody’s Talking About Jamie, and recent Pulitzer and Tony winner A Strange Loop.
Marin Theatre Company’s don’t-miss season finale Torch Song will perform May 9 through June 2 at Marin Theatre Company (397 Miller Avenue, Mill Valley). Tickets are available at www.MarinTheatre.org or by calling 415.388.5208.
