The Confession of Lily Dare

B+

If you have a low tolerance for high camp and Charles Busch’s (The Divine Sister, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife) brand of female impersonation, you can skip this play and the rest of this review. If, on the other hand, you are a Busch devotee, you will want to hurry to the Cherry Lane Theatre for his newest play's Primary Stages premiere. My fears that Busch’s usual shtick might have gone stale by now proved unfounded. As both performer and playwright, he is in good form. In the words of the program, the title character, played by Busch of course, goes “from convent girl to cabaret chanteuse to infamous madame.” Busch has been very generous to the rest of the cast, particularly to Jennifer van Dyck (The Divine Sister, Two Shakespearean Actors) and Christopher Borg (Too Much Light Makes the Baby Go Blind), both of whom get ample time to shine in multiple juicy roles. The other three actors only have a single role to fill. Nancy Anderson (Wonderful Town, A Class Act) and Kendal Sparks (Judith of Bethulia, Where’s Charley) are both fine as Lily’s longtime friends. The final cast member is none other than Howard McGillin (The Phantom of the Opera, Anything Goes), who fits right in as Lily’s suave nemesis. As in any Busch work, there is no shortage of laugh lines. Lily’s cabaret rendition of “Pirate Joe” is worth the price of admission. The action does lag occasionally; a slight trim would be beneficial. The costumes by Rachel Townsend and wigs by Katherine Carr are a show all by themselves. The set by Brian T. Whitehill (You Should Be So Lucky) is not at the same level, but good enough. Carl Andress (The Divine Sister, Die Mommie Die!) once again shows his talent for directing Busch’s work. Depending on your comfort level for camp, you will either be delighted or miserable. Running time: two hours including intermission.

The Tribute Artist ***

If you are not a fan of Charles Busch's brand of female impersonation or of the kind of silliness that is often based on vulgarity, you can skip this play and the rest of this review. If, on the other hand, you enjoy high camp, you'll want to get to 59E59 for his newest play's Primary Stages premiere. To call the plot "convoluted" would be to oversimplify it; "preposterous" is a closer fit. The characters are Adriana (Cynthia Harris), a dying dowager with a townhouse in Greenwich Village; Jimmy (Busch), a drag queen --- oops, forgive me, celebrity tribute artist -- who stays with Adriana when he is in town; Rita (Busch stalwart Julie Halston), their lesbian friend who is an unsuccessful real estate broker; Christina (Mary Bacon), Adriana's feckless estranged niece; Oliver (Keira Keeley), Christina's teenage son who until recently was Rachel; and Rodney (Jonathan Walker), Adriana's shady long-lost lover. The madness does not reach the inspired level of Busch's "The Divine Sister" and it drags in spots [pun intended] but there are lots of funny lines along the way. Anita Louizos's townhouse living room set is sumptuous, Gregory Gale's costumes are droll, and Katherine Carr's wigs are perfect. Carl Andress, Busch's long-time director, does the honors again here. Running time: 2 hours, 15 minutes including intermission.

Olive and the Bitter Herbs *

Charles Busch's latest comedy, now in previews at Primary Stages, lacks one essential ingredient -- Charles Busch. As playwright, he is at his best when he is writing for himself. Alas, he is not on stage this time around. Although the cast (Dan Butler, David Garrison, Julie Halston, Marcia Jean Kurtz and Richard Masur) struggle valiantly to bring Busch's thin material to life, it is mostly a losing battle. Busch shamelessly panders to gays, Jews and senior citizens -- the very people most likely to attend. There is a dyspeptic aging actress, her unfulfilled do-gooder friend, the gay couple next door, the co-op board president's widowed father and a ghost. Mix and match. The comedy is more a series of setups for punchlines than a coherent plot. There is a seder like none you ever attended in act one and a sporadically funny series of increasingly implausible coincidences in act two. The set by Anna Louizos captures the look of a pre-war rent-controlled Manhattan apartment and Suzy Benzinger's costumes help define the characters. Mark Brokaw directed. I won't pretend I didn't have a few laughs, but the evening was instantly forgettable..Running time: 2 hours including intermission.

The Divine Sister ***

Charles Busch returns to his downtown roots with this send-up of Hollywood films about nuns now at the Soho Playhouse. Kiss tastefulness goodbye and sit back for 90 minutes of outrageous campy fun with the nuns of St. Veronica's. The plot, too convoluted to summarize here, takes a back seat to the larger-than-life performances. The entire cast (Busch, Alison Fraser, Julie Halston, Amy Rutberg, Jennifer Van Dyck and Jonathan Walker) is pitch-perfect with great timing. Even the sets (by B.T. Whitehill) and costumes (by Fabio Tolblini) contribute to the hilarity. Director Carl Andress keeps things moving briskly. The humor is often downright silly and even offensive, but hard to resist. There are more laughs per minute here than in any comedy I have seen in a long time. Depending on your tolerance for camp, you'll either be delighted or miserable.