Female impersonator Charles Busch pays tribute to five entertainers in his cabaret show
“What’s a cute story about Joan Rivers that’s not X-rated?”
That’s a question actor, playwright and cabaret performer Charles Busch asked himself as he ruminated over memories of the late comedian, a much-missed influence in his life.
Rivers’ television persona was gaudy, but in a blink of an eye, she could be a wealthy Mrs. Rosenberg, Busch said, referring to her marriage to Edgar Rosenberg, a film and television producer who preceded her in death.
One holiday, while attempting to get to Busch’s apartment for his annual Christmas party, she knocked on the wrong door. The neighbor answered in his underwear.
“Get your pants on,” Rivers told the starstruck man. “You’re coming with us to the party.”
“She was wonderful,” Busch said by phone recently from New York City.
His affection for female entertainers is why Busch, a drag performer, is paying tribute through song and personal memories to five women who all died within the past few years — comedians Rivers and Elaine Stritch, actress and singer Polly Bergen, and cabaret singers Mary Cleere Haran and Julie Wilson — during his new show, “The Lady at the Mic.” He is performing it March 9 through March 11 at the Segerstrom Center for the Arts in Costa Mesa.
He will be accompanied during his cabaret series debut at the center’s Samueli Theater by his longtime musical director, Tom Judson.
“I wanted to remember women who were so great in my life, and I’m telling true stories of them but I’m not impersonating them,” Busch said. “I’m always me.”
Busch, 62, grew up in New York and was raised by his aunt Lillian after the death of his mother. He majored in drama at Northwestern University in Illinois but found it difficult to get cast in plays.
“This crazy career came out of a pragmatic mind,” Busch said. “At college, I was never cast. I was too gay, too thin, too eccentric. I thought, ‘If I’m having trouble being cast, I need to rethink here. I need to write roles for myself.’
“People commend me for being brave, but really, I had no choice. I wanted a career, and I think it’s very important to know your product and what you have to offer.”
Busch has usually played the leading lady in drag in his plays, and he prefers to celebrate classic film genres, since he grew up watching and admiring spirited and strong-willed actresses like Katharine Hepburn and Bette Davis.
Drag came from a place of love and respect, not only for the actresses of the past but also for the strength and beauty of the women in his family, Busch said, noting that Lillian became the most important person in his life.
She was protective, noble and passionate like the women he had seen on the big screen, Busch said, and he lived by her lessons.
Busch has starred in Off-Broadway plays, written for television and acted in films. He is best-known for his performance in the play “The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife,” which received Tony Award nominations, an Outer Critics Circle Award, Drama Desk Awards and critical acclaim.
For his “Lady at the Mic” performance, Busch said he plans to sing several emotional songs in an intimate way, and to complete the look, he has about 35 wigs and can apply makeup and false eyelashes in under 11 minutes.
As for pre-performance diva requests, Rivers once instructed him to ask for something so he’d be respected more. But a bottle of water will do just fine, he said.
“I can’t even try to demand something,” he said with a laugh. “I never say this because it sounds so sappy but I mean it: I’m to give and to receive. My hope is the audience has a good old-fashioned time and walks away thinking these ladies are fascinating and Charles Busch is adorable.”
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IF YOU GO
What: Charles Busch
When: 7:30 p.m. March 9 through March 11
Where: Segerstrom Center for the Arts, 650 Town Center Drive, Costa Mesa
Cost: Tickets start at $79
Information: (714) 556-2787 or visit scfta.org
Twitter: @KathleenLuppi
