Patric Madden as Arnold Beckoff during performances in 2024 under Easthampton Theater Company’s production of “Torch Song.” A revival of the show is coming to Northampton from July 25 to Aug. 3.
Photo credit: Easthampton Theater Company
EASTHAMPTON — A revival of Harvey Fierstein’s “Torch Song,” based on Easthampton Theater Company’s 2024 production, will be hitting the stage in Northampton from July 25 through Aug. 3.
Organized by the Torch Song Revival Collective in association with Easthampton Theater Company, the show is being revived after its successful run last year.
The Torch Song Revival Collective is a group of mostly queer and trans artists and are behind the efforts to revive the show.
Fierstein’s Tony Award-winning play is celebrated for its humor, poignancy and unflinching portrayal of the LGBTQ+ experience. The play contains adult language and situations.
Urgyen Joshi, a member of the Torch Song Revival Collective and an associate producer on this show, told Reminder Publishing that the effort to bring this popular show back came from much of the original cast and crew.
Joshi, who has a background in theater production, was not part of the initial run of the show last year, but their partner Patric Madden was the lead in the play, Arnold Beckoff, and is set to do so again in the revival. Being undersold by Madden on the depths of talent involved in this production and what to expect from the local theater group’s production, Joshi went to opening night last year and was blown away from the experience.
“[Madden] was sort of underselling it the whole time, and when I went opening night it was just breathtaking. The writing is so delicious and meaningful, and the subject matter felt really important. And then the acting really blew me away,” said Joshi.
So when hearing of efforts on a revival of the show and bringing it back to the region for another run, Joshi was eager to get involved.
“The reasoning behind the revival is that the first run sold out and did really well and audiences, similar to me, were really moved by the story. And also, so many people couldn’t make it. We saw dozens and dozens of people writing after the show, ‘we are so sorry we couldn’t come,’ ‘if you ever do it again, we’ll be there.’ So, the cast felt the pull to share it with those folks,” explained Joshi.
Easthampton Theater Company’s production of the show in 2024 was a local hit with audiences, completely selling out its two weekend run at CitySpace in Easthampton. The Torch Song Revival Collective brings back most of the original cast and expands on the Easthampton Theater Company’s production to increase access to this story, especially among the local LGBTQ+ and drag communities.
In doing so, this revival run of shows will take place at a larger venue in the Northampton Center for the Arts, and tickets will be offered on a sliding scale. Performances on July 25, 26, 31 and Aug. 1 will take place at 8 p.m. Performances on July 27 and Aug. 3 will be matinee showings at 2 p.m. Aug. 2 will see a show at both 2 p.m. and again at 8 p.m.
“This revival has sliding scale tickets with a free option. That is really grounded in the collective’s desire to make theater accessible to anyone,” added Joshi. “You can choose whichever amount fits your current situation. We really believe that good quality theater shouldn’t be a burden on someone’s finances.”
The collective is fully behind production of the revival as Easthampton Theater Company is helping in association through marketing materials and other resources, all in support of the revival of what was a successful production last year.
“They had already their season planned out when we approached them,” Joshi said. “They were just really open with where they were and what they could offer. They were doing ‘Guys and Dolls’ this summer as their show so they said they could not produce it, but anything else we need they’re here for. They’re giving us props and set pieces from last time and really being champions of this independent collective that’s reviving the show.”
A two-act adaptation of the ground-breaking 1970s Broadway hit Torch Song Trilogy, Fierstein’s “Torch Song” follows the journey of Arnold Beckoff, a New York City drag queen as he navigates the challenges of love and self-discovery. All he wants is a husband, a child and a pair of bunny slippers, but a visit from his overbearing mother reminds him that he needs one more thing: respect.
Joshi said the play’s legacy is groundbreaking for its meaningful portrayal of queer life in an interesting time for LGBTQ+ history. Taking place following the stonewall riots and just before the beginning of the AIDS epidemic, the story captures a unique time for queer people in American history and serves as a time capsule for future generations.
Joshi added he has heard from younger people who have experienced the show that the story is “a great way of getting in touch with queer ancestry” and learning what life was like in this time period.
“It was this like little era of time where there was hope. The show is not tragic and is really surfacing queer joy and the nuance of what it was like to live a full queer life in that time. That’s important and striking for a younger audience to connect with. You know, what was life like in the 70s and 80s for someone like me,” said Joshi. “It was so groundbreaking and so iconic and really meaningful for the queer community at that time.”
Joshi said the play still resonates to this day for its themes on identity, but especially for today’s young people within the LGBTQ+ community who may not be familiar with the context of the history.
“We heard a lot that the themes are still so relatable because it’s about identity, finding your way as a queer person, chosen family and really wanting to build family, and the obstacles that come in the way of that,” explained Joshi. “And then Arnold’s relationship with his mother is also so resonate because there is so much love there, and that love is palpable and obvious and really beautifully written. And so much dysfunction and challenge in what it looks like to actualize that love and get to a place of mutual respect. I think those are things that many of us can relate to in very different ways.”
Joshi continued, “For many, the obstacles was from stigma and things being so stigmatized. Where we are today, maybe a lot of the stigma is not as present or has been fought against. But with the current political climate, the onslaught of structural barriers to those things where the gutting of public health and education and the attack on trans folks and trans rights and queer people in general, is sort of echoing back. It’s bringing back many of the obstacles to live a free, glorious queer life and I think that echo makes it also quite poignant for where we are today.”
The shows cast features Patric Madden again as the lead, Arnold; Andre Ruiz as Ed, Kim Tobin as Laurel, David DiRocco as Alan, Devin Dumas as David, Rona Leventhal as Ma, and Devi Badea as Lady Blues. The production team includes Benji Marconi, Devi Badea, Moe Doran, Manuel Morales, Eric Frary, Deb Jacobson, Veronica Klakotskiy, Michael Budnick and Joshi.
Tickets to the production are sliding scale and 15-20% of proceeds from the show will be donated to groups supporting LGBTQ+ communities. Tickets are available at torchsongrevival.com/tickets.
“It’s really heartfelt. It’s heartbreaking and heartwarming and joyful, all at the same time. This production is in a bigger space with a bigger set than the last one and has been slightly changed as well, so if folks saw the first production, I think they will still enjoy coming again,” Joshi said of the show. “We’ve been really touched and overwhelmed by the response of our communities. It’s just been a flood of people buying tickets, sending us messages of support, and we’re really grateful for that. We’re really excited to share the show with a wide audience, a more diverse audience, and to put a little glimmer of queer joy and create a container for people to come together around a queer story.”
