{"product_id":"beyond-ridiculous-making-gay-theatre-with-charles-busch-in-1980s-new-york-9781609389192","title":"Beyond Ridiculous: Making Gay Theatre with","description":"\u003cb\u003eBook Synopsis\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003ci\u003eBeyond Ridiculous\u003c\/i\u003e tells the story of Theatre-in-Limbo, a downtown band of actors formed in 1984 by director Kenneth Elliott and playwright and drag legend Charles Busch. Within a year, they went from performing \u003ci\u003eVampire Lesbians of Sodom\u003c\/i\u003e at the Limbo Lounge, a raffish club in the East Village, to the longest-running nonmusical in off-Broadway history. From 1984 to 1991, Busch starred in eight Limbo productions, always in outrageously fabulous drag.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e In \u003ci\u003eBeyond Ridiculous\u003c\/i\u003e, Elliott narrates in first-person the company’s Cinderella tale of fun, heartbreak, and dishy drama. At the center of the book is a young Charles Busch, an unforgettable personality fighting to be seen, be heard, and express his unique style as a writer-performer in plays such as \u003ci\u003ePsycho Beach Party\u003c\/i\u003e and \u003ci\u003eThe Lady in Question\u003c\/i\u003e. The tragedy of AIDS among treasured friends in the company, the struggle for mainstream acceptance of LGBTQ+ theatre during the reign of President Ronald Reagan, and the exploration of new ways of being a gay theatre artist make the book a bittersweet and joyous ride.\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\u003cb\u003eTrade Review\u003c\/b\u003e\u003cbr\u003eAs ‘one who was there,’ Ken Elliott’s \u003ci\u003eBeyond Ridiculous\u003c\/i\u003e succeeds on multiple levels. It offers a comprehensive and entertaining analysis of playwright Charles Busch’s work and Theatre-in-Limbo, and also illuminates the economic and artistic landscape of New York City in the 1980s, a wildly creative but fraught decade that continues to resonate today. A must-read for anyone interested in the arts and especially the theatre.\" - Julie Halston, actor and comedian, four-time MAC Award winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"Kenneth Elliott lovingly charts the history of not only Theatre-in-Limbo, one of the most groundbreaking companies of the 1980s, but he also chronicles a harrowing time for gay men, who were confronting the terror of AIDS and a shockingly indifferent government, and who found their deliverance in sequins, greasepaint, and wickedly subversive humor. This book is an invaluable record of our ability to transcend even the darkest times.\" - Doug Wright, playwright, Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award winner\u003cbr\u003e\u003cbr\u003e\"\u003ci\u003eBeyond Ridiculous\u003c\/i\u003e engages a queer methodology to reflect upon a friendship and collaboration between the author and Charles Busch, revealing how central theatre was to kinship and survival for the gay community in 1980s New York. As a celebration of queer solidarity in theatre, it is erudite, provocative, heartwarming, and utterly enjoyable to read.\" - Sean F. Edgecomb, author, \u003ci\u003eThe Taylor Mac Book: Ritual, Realness and Radical Performance\u003c\/i\u003e","brand":"University of Iowa Press","offers":[{"title":"Default Title","offer_id":51041657520471,"sku":"9781609389192","price":28.45,"currency_code":"GBP","in_stock":true}],"thumbnail_url":"\/\/cdn.shopify.com\/s\/files\/1\/0817\/1739\/5799\/files\/9781609389192.jpg?v=1750951177","url":"https:\/\/bookcurl.com\/products\/beyond-ridiculous-making-gay-theatre-with-charles-busch-in-1980s-new-york-9781609389192","provider":"Book Curl","version":"1.0","type":"link"}