Torch Song Trilogy

Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein, running in New York City from June 10, 1982, to May 19, 1985 at the Little Theatre (now the Helen Hayes Theatre on West 44th Street). In 1988, it was made into a film starring Anne Bancroft, Matthew Broderick, Harvey Fierstein and Brian Kerwin.

Plot synopsis

Each of the three acts tells a separate part of the life story of Arnold Beckoff, a torch song-singing Jewish drag queen in New York City who starts the story with a soliloquy explaining his cynical disillusionment with love. In The International Stud, set in 1971, Arnold meets Ed and they fall in love. Ed, however, is uncomfortable with his bisexuality; he leaves Arnold for a girlfriend, who he subsequently marries.

Related Topics:
Torch song - Jewish - Drag queen - Soliloquy - 1971 - Bisexuality

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Fugue in a Nursery starts at Christmas 1973, when Arnold meets the love of his life, Alan, a model. They settle down together, later spending a weekend with Ed and his wife, where their relationship is tested but endures. Eventually, they arrange to adopt a child together. At the end of the act, however, Alan is killed in a homophobic attack.

Related Topics:
Christmas - 1973 - Homophobic attack

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Widows and Children First! is set in the spring of 1980. Arnold's mother comes to visit from Florida and, after disapproving of Arnold's homosexuality and adoption of a gay teenage son (David), as well as Arnold's use of a family burial plot for Alan, they have a series of arguments where Arnold demands that she accept him for who he is. The following morning, though, on her way to leaving back for Florida, they have a conversation where, for the first time, they seem to understand each other.

Related Topics:
1980 - Florida - Adoption

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