It's Official

I've just met with our producer... the rights are paid for and the scripts have been ordered; Charles Busch's hilarious send-up of 1960's potboilers Die! Mommie! Die! is the official 2011 JTMF fundraiser show.

We had one of our best successes with another Busch show in 2006 with Psycho Beach Party and hope that DMD will have the same kind of impact. Most of the cast is already in place (4 JTMF regulars - including my Dear D, plus a newbie who was so amazingly brilliant in my production of Top Girls last fall) and we're about to start gathering our production crew. And even though the show is 4 and a half months away, I'm already starting to get excited. A JTMF show is the tonic I need each Spring to remind  me of why I love theatre, and why it's so important to do things that benefit others. It renews my faith in performing arts and humanity, especially when I see how supportive our audiences are.

For those unfamiliar, Die! Mommie! Die! tells the story of Angela Arden, a once-famous singer and movie star who left the spotlight to raise her children from a loveless marriage to mobster Sol Sussman. When Sol cuts off her credit cards, Angela poisons him with an arsenic-laced suppository. In an effort to elicit a confession from her, her children Lance and Edith slip LSD into her evening coffee, only to be shocked to learn that Angela is really her twin sister Barbara, who killed Angela and took her place many years ago. An homage to and spoof of films like Dead Ringer; Whatever Happened to Baby Jane? and Portrait in Black, Die! Mommie! Die! continues the JTMF tradition of presenting edgy, LGBT-themed comedies that appeal to a broad spectrum of audiences. 

Here's the trailer for the hilarious 2003 film version, starring Busch; Jason Priestly; Natasha Lyonne and the always brilliant Frances Conroy as the maid, Bootsie:

JTMF is also about to release our own video for the It Gets Better Project and has recently added The Trevor Project (a suicide prevention hotline for GLBT and questioning youth) to our beneficiaries. Keep watching for updates about Die! Mommie! Die! and our upcoming 10th Anniversary Gala project in 2012.

We hope to see you there.

More, anon.
Prospero