TORCH SONG

By HARVEY FIERSTEIN

Starring MICHAEL URIE and MERCEDES RUEHL

With
WARD HORTON, JACK DIFALCO, ROXANNA HOPE RADJA and MICHAEL HSU ROSEN

Directed by MOISES KAUFMAN

The Hayes Theater
240 West 44th Street (between Broadway & Eighth Avenue)
www.telecharge.com or (212) 239-6200

Being green isn’t easy; neither is being gay. Harvey Fierstein captures this perfectly in TORCH SONG. Arnold (Michael Urie) is an optimist whose needs are simple – he wants a husband, a child, and a pair of comfortable stilettos. Hope springs eternal for this transgender performer as he attempts relationships of meaning with his on-again/off-again partner Ed (Ward Horton) who in between “offs” has gained a wife (Roxanna Hope Radja) and his young nubile interest Alan (Michael Hsu Rosen). Jack DiFalco is the son Arnold hopes to adopt. And then comes Mama (Mercedes Ruehl) who visits Arnold’s New York City apartment and challenges almost every belief and hope Arnold has managed to garner. As the two strong personalities clash and come together, the laughter and tears co-mingle. The writing in TORCH SONG is superb, and it holds up after all these years, making this production one of the most enjoyable on Broadway.

- Laurie Lawson -