Charles Busch's Olive and the Bitter Herbs Adds Sept. 4 Performance | Playbill

Related Articles
News Charles Busch's Olive and the Bitter Herbs Adds Sept. 4 Performance Even though theatergoers didn't stand a ghost of a chance of seeing a Broadway or Off-Broadway show this past weekend thanks to Hurricane Irene, Primary Stages has announced that it will add a special performance of Charles Busch's Olive and the Bitter Herbs on Sept. 4 at 59E59 Theaters.

Tony nominee Busch's world-premiere comedy was originally scheduled to end its Off-Broadway run Sept. 3 following the 8 PM performance, but has added a 3 PM matinee on Sept. 4 to accommodate ticket holders affected by the cancellation of the Aug. 28 performances.

Primary Stages commissioned the comedy about a woman contacted from "beyond" and from the apartment next door, which began previews July 26 and officially opened Aug. 16. Mark Brokaw (Cry-Baby) directs.

Marcia Jean Kurtz (The Loman Family Picnic) stars as Olive, alongside Julie Halston, a veteran of Busch's plays (including The Divine Sister), as Wendy, Dan Butler ("Frasier") as Trey, David Garrison (By The Way, Meet Vera Stark) as Robert and Richard Masur ("Rhoda," "One Day at a Time") as Sylvan.

According to Primary Stages, "Actress Olive Fisher sees a ghost in her mirror, but that's the least of her problems. Her radiator's broken, the couple next door stink up her apartment with exotic cheeses, and the highlight of her long career was a sausage commercial in the '80s. While she's not the most popular tenant, her neighbors invite themselves over and she finds herself hosting a Passover Seder. But are Olive's guests there to see her or the mysterious man in her mirror? Olive and the Bitter Herbs is a comedy about connecting to the people in our lives — those with us and those who have passed on."

The creative team includes Anna Louizos (set design), Suzy Benzinger (costume design), M.L. Geiger (lighting design) and John Gromada (sound and original music). Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. His play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway and won Busch the Outer Circle Critics John Gassner Award and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. His latest play, The Divine Sister, was produced in 2010 by Daryl Roth and Bob Boyett at the Soho Playhouse.

Tickets for Olive and the Bitter Herbs, at the 59E59 Theaters, are available by calling (212) 279-4200. For more information, visit primarystages.org.

 
RELATED:
Today’s Most Popular News:
 X

Blocking belongs
on the stage,
not on websites.

Our website is made possible by
displaying online advertisements to our visitors.

Please consider supporting us by
whitelisting playbill.com with your ad blocker.
Thank you!