Previews will begin Oct. 10 at the Off-Broadway venue with an official opening Oct. 21. The play, featuring Busch as Angela Arden, will run through Feb. 17, 2008. Die Mommie Die!, according to press notes, concerns "Angela Arden, a fallen pop diva trapped in a hateful marriage to film producer Sol Sussman. Desperate to find happiness with her younger lover, Angela gruesomely murders her husband with the aid of a poisoned suppository, leaving her two children to avenge their father's death."
The design team comprises Michael Anania (scenic design), Jessica Jahn (costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design) and Lewis Flinn (sound design/music composition). Busch's costumes were designed by Michael Bottari and Ron Case for the "Die Mommie Die!" film; the stage production will feature several of those 40 costumes.
Die Mommie Die! was first presented in Los Angeles. Busch also starred in the film version of Die! Mommie! Die!, which was part of the 2003 Sundance Film Festival.
Complete casting and ticket information will be announced shortly. Daryl Roth and Bob Boyett are producing the Off-Broadway run.
Charles Busch is both a celebrated playwright and performer. His play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which began life at the Manhattan Theatre Club, later transferred to Broadway and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. He wrote the book for the Broadway mounting of Taboo, and he also penned the screenplays for and starred in the films "Die, Mommie, Die" and "Psycho Beach Party."
New World Stages is located in Manhattan at 340 West 50th Street. For more information visit www.dmdtheplay.com.