Frequent readers know that in honor of Pegasus Theatre’s 30th anniversary, we are counting down our top 30 favorite shows. This week: #21, Psycho Beach Party by Charles Busch.
It was the summer of 1989, the end of our 4th season. And what better way to celebrate summer than with a beach blanket play!
But this was no ordinary beach blanket story! This was one written by Charles Busch, he who brought us Vampire Lesbians of Sodom. So it was bound to be something with a twist.
And so it was! The main character was a teenage girl with an unusual problem: a multiple personality disorder! And as these things go, her alter ego was not a nice person.
As it turns out, we had just befriended someone (a Dr Lefkov), a psychiatrist who was something of an expert on multiple personality disorders. It was a perfect opportunity to blend life and art. We asked Dr. Lefkov to be a guest speaker after one of the shows and answer questions about the disorder.
Remember, this was over 27 years ago! Today people are a little more educated about a variety of mental illnesses. Not so in 1989. So we had a robust post-show discussion between our guest speaker and the audience. It wasn’t comedy but it was definitely engaging.
For all these reasons, we remember this show very fondly! And so Psycho Beach Party joins the array of our favorites as #21 in the lineup.