A SONG WHICH HAS BECOME A STANDARD
Harvey Fierstein wrote his semi-autobiographical Torch Song Trilogy in the late 1970s. In it, Arnold Beckoff, a gay, Jewish man and professional drag queen and torch singer looks for love and family in the pre-AIDS world of New York City. The three one-act plays, the first of which, International Stud, opened Off-Off-Broadway in 1978, followed by Fugue in a Nursery the next year and finished with Widows and Children First were combined into Torch Song Trilogy, which made its Broadway debut in 1982. The groundbreaking piece took home the Tony for Best Play in 1983. In his acceptance speech, Producer John Glines openly acknowledged his lover and the show’s co-producer Lawrence Lane. Even for the theater world, this was shocking.
Arnold (Dean Linnard)
This was also the first commercially successful play to openly feature homosexuality as both star and theme. In 1988, Fierstein adapted his four-hour play into a popular film, casting himself in the lead, Anne Bancroft as his mother and a young Matthew Broderick (best-known at the time as “Ferris Bueller”) as his young love interest. When Torch Song Trilogy was revived on Broadway starring Michael Urie in 2018, the original three-act was streamlined with its moving dialogue and characters into two hours and forty-five minutes and retitled simply Torch Song. This is the version that the post-COVID newly rechristened Marin Theatre — which began as MVCPA then Marin Theatre Company) opened last week. Under Evren Odcikin‘s direction, this production hits the jackpot with the casting of Dean Linnard in the lead role.
Despite being considered a “Gay Classic” to gay men of a certain age, most theater goers, mainstream audiences and even younger gay people, will not be familiar with the play. It holds up remarkably well.
Ed (Patrick Andrew Jones) and Arnold (Dean Linnard)
Bay Area native Linnard is amazing in his portrayal of the lovelorn Arnold. Arnold Becker is not your typical lovable or handsome leading man. The character — although being bright and observant about life — has often been portrayed as an older, maudlin, self-loathing and not physically attractive. One could see why he’s still single and lovelorn at this phase of his life. Fierstein’s portrayal on stage and in the film played up all the Jewish stereotypes, including his trademark nasal whiny voice.
Arnold (Dean Linnard), Ed (Patrick Andrew Jones) and David (Joe Ayers)
Linnard is tall and lean, which has him looking amazing in the drag queen’s gorgeous sequined gowns, designed by Jessie Amoroso. Not only does he give a credible lip-synch, he’s the right age to be plausible (early 30s) and his line delivery strikes just the right amount of humor and pathos. One wants to root for him and can relate to his three-part journey. A lesser actor could easily camp it up and play Arnold for laughs (or a caricature in which Harvey Fierstein unintentionally did). Watching Linnard’s “Arnie” evolve is worth the price of admission (and the drive across The Golden Gate Bridge to Mill Valley).
The show opens with Arnold’s monologue in his dressing room, transforming himself into Virginia Ham. He later meets Ed Reiss at the International Stud. Ed is a charming fellow, a school teacher who must be circumspect in all things, as coming out of the closet was still verboten in many ways. Arnold falls head over heels in love with Ed, because of course he would. Because a Torch Song by definition cannot have a happy ending. Patrick Andrew Jones as Ed absolutely convinces as the sexually confused friend and lover of Arnie.
David (Joe Ayers), Arnold (Dean Linnard) and Mrs. Beckoff (Nancy Carlin)
Ed is set up on a blind date with the lovely and hapless Laurel (a lovely Kina Kantor) and falls head over heels into the easy out, which is to marry the straight girl of his parents’ dreams. Ed and Arnold remain “friends.” At Laurel’s invitation, Arnold visits the lovebirds at their farm in upstate New York and brings along his new love, Alan (Edric Young is whip-smart as the pretty young twink boyfriend). Later in the play, David, Arnold and Alan’s soon-to-be-adopted son makes the scene; Joe Ayers‘ David is such a 15-year-old gay boy – sassy, bitchy, rebellious, outspoken, and very loving.
Arnold (Dean Linnard) and his mother (Nancy Carlin)
Enter Arnold’s mother in the final part of the trilogy. This strict, conventional, conservative Jewish Mother tries her best to love and accept her son, but underneath she still sees gay as wrong. Nancy Carlin plays Mrs. Beckoff — hurtful, passive-aggressive, put upon — with humor and credibility, making her scenes with Arnold positively snap.
Ed (Patrick Andrew Jones), Laurel (Kina Kantor),
Arnold (Dean Linnard) and Alan (Edric Young)
Designed by Sarah Phykitt, Arnold’s living room with art deco couches and mannequins displays his sequined gowns, a great backdrop to the story (and I love the four-person bed at the farm). Odcikin guides this well-told evening to the finish line. All these years later, Harvey Fierstein’s story of love, acceptance and what it means to be a family remains a timeless message that all audiences can relate to.
photos by David Allen
Torch Song Trilogy
Marin Theatre, 397 Miller Avenue in Mill Valley
Wed-Fri at 7:30; Sat at 2 & 7:30; Sun at 2; Thurs at 1 (May 30)
ends on June 2, 2024
for tickets ($39.50 – $65.50 + fees), call 415.388.5208 or visit Marin Theatre
