Mark Brokaw's Cast for Charles Busch's Bitter Herbs Includes Julie Halston and Richard Masur | Playbill

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News Mark Brokaw's Cast for Charles Busch's Bitter Herbs Includes Julie Halston and Richard Masur Dan Butler, Julie Halston, Marcia Jean Kurtz and Richard Masur will star in Primary Stages' world-premiere production of the Charles Busch comedy Olive and the Bitter Herbs, a ghost story, which will arrive Off-Broadway July 26.

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Julie Halston

Mark Brokaw (Cry-Baby) will helm the play, which will officially open Aug. 16 at 59E59 Theaters for a run through Sept. 3.

Halston, a veteran of Busch's plays including The Divine Sister, will play Wendy, with Kurtz (The Loman Family Picnic) as Olive, Butler ("Frasier") as Trey and Masur ("Rhoda," "One Day at a Time") as Sylva. Casting for the role of Robert will be announced shortly.

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 will include Anna Louizos (set design), Suzy Benzinger (costume design), M.L. Geiger (lighting design) and Lewis Flinn (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.

 
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