A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Third Story

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  2w, 4m

Charles Busch

A faded screenwriter in the 1940s woos her troubled ex-writer son into collaborating on a screenplay.

The Third Story

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  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    2w, 4m
  • Duration
    Duration
    120 minutes (2 hours)
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Period, Science Fiction
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
A faded screenwriter in the 1940s woos her troubled ex-writer son into collaborating on a screenplay. The gangster/sci-fi B-movie in their imagination unfolds before us, involving a chic crime czarina, a beautiful but icy lady scientist, and her failed and understandably bitter human cloning experiment. A third story is a Russian fairy tale the screenwriter told her son as a child about a painfully shy princess who forges a diabolical pact with a terrifying but surprisingly vulnerable old witch. The fairy tale inspires the movie, which then inspires the mother and son to mend their fractured relationship.
History

The Third Story had it's World Premiere at La Jolla Playhouse in September, 2008. The New York premiere was produced by MCC Theater at The Lucille Lortel Theatre in January, 2009, directed by Carl Andress.

Keywords
Performing Groups

Actor One - VASALISA / VERNA 
Actor Two - BABA YAGA / QUEENIE BARTLETT / QUEENIE 2
Actor Three - PEG / DR. RUTENSPITZ
Actor Four - DREW / STEVE
Actor Five - DR. CONSTANCE HUDSON
Actor Six - ZYGOTE / BABA YAGA DOUBLE

The roles of Queenie/ Baba Yaga were originally played by the author, Charles Busch. It is not necessary for those roles to be played by a man in drag. The play tells three stories and most of the cast play several roles.

  • Time Period 1950s
  • Setting Omaha, Nebraska. 1949
  • Features Fantasy Costumes, Period Costumes
  • Additional Features Physical Comedy, Stage Combat, Drag Performance
  • Duration 120 minutes (2 hours)
  • Cautions
    • Alcohol
    • Gun Shots
    • Strong Language
    • Mild Adult Themes

Media

REVIEWS

"Mr. Busch and company explore and explode all sorts of vintage cinema clichés, an activity at which Mr. Busch is without peer" - The New York Times

"Ingenious! Laugh-packed! The Third Story proves a treat and throbs with heart as well!" - Hartford Courant

"Plays-within-plays require such intricate tailoring. So it's a pleasure to report that with The Third Story, the ever-captivating Charles Busch proves equally deft as both performer and seamstress." - TheaterMania

"Charles Busch says more with a curled lip than many plays say in a whole evening of talk." - Newsday

"The main joy of The Third Story is that its foolery embodies something substantive [...] No wonder The Third Story feels like such an energizing event." - The Village Voice

Videos

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    The Third Story

Music

  • Musical Style N/A (Not a musical)

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: $120 per performance

Scripts

Available Formats:
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Authors

Charles Busch

Charles Busch

Charles Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, The Confession of Lily Dare and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom; one of the longest-running plays in the history of off-Broadway. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s ...

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