Charles Ludlam Lives!
Charles Busch, Bradford Louryk, Taylor Mac, and the Queer Legacy of the Ridiculous Theatrical Company
Format:Paperback
Publisher:The University of Michigan Press
Published:15th Jun '17
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Playwright, actor and director Charles Ludlam (1943–1987) helped to galvanize the Ridiculous style of theater in New York City starting in the 1960s. Decades after his death, his place in the chronicle of American theater has remained constant, but his influence has changed. Although his Ridiculous Theatrical Company shut its doors, the Ludlamesque Ridiculous has continued to thrive and remain a groundbreaking genre, maintaining its relevance and potency by metamorphosing along with changes in the LGBTQ community.
Author Sean F. Edgecomb focuses on the neo-Ridiculous artists Charles Busch, Bradford Louryk, and Taylor Mac to trace the connections between Ludlam’s legacy and their performances, using alternative queer models such as kinetic kinship, lateral historiography, and a new approach to camp. Charles Ludlam Lives! demonstrates that the queer legacy of Ludlam is one of distinct transformation—one where artists can reject faithful interpretations in order to move in new interpretive directions.
“Sean Edgecomb thinks beyond pre- and post-Stonewall definitions of camp (without neglecting their significance) to argue that camp not only persists but remains a relevant tactic of transformational queer performance. Charles Ludlam Lives! is a smart, beautifully written book that will make a lasting contribution to gay and lesbian performance history.”
—Shane Vogel, Indiana University
ISBN: 9780472053551
Dimensions: unknown
Weight: unknown
246 pages