The backroom plays a central role in the act. The bar had a backroom where men engaged in anonymous sex. The first act derives its name ( International Stud) from an actual gay bar of the same name at 117 Perry Street in Greenwich Village in the 1960s and 1970s. The play revolves around Arnold’s struggle to move on following Alan’s death as he is forced to deal with his mother's ('Ma') intolerance and disrespect when she visits from Florida. Ed is separated from Laurel, and stays at Arnold’s to help him. It is revealed that just before receiving David from the state, Alan was the victim of a violent hate crime, resulting in his death and leaving Arnold to raise a child on his own. In the third, several years later, Arnold is a single father raising gay teenager David. The segment ends with Laurel telling Arnold she and Ed are engaged. The couple visit Ed and Laurel in their country home, where the group deals with tensions resulting from Ed and Arnold’s previous relationship. In the second, one year later, Arnold meets Alan, and the two settle down into a blissful existence that includes plans to adopt a child. Arnold is heartbroken because he still loves Ed. This becomes an increasing source of conflict between the two, causing Ed to eventually leave Arnold and settle down with a woman named Laurel. In the first, Arnold meets Ed Reiss, who is uncomfortable with his bisexuality.

She is around 60.Įach act focuses on a different phase in Arnold's life. Ma: Arnold’s extremely strict, traditional Jewish mother.David Beckoff: Arnold’s 15-year old adopted son, “a wonderfully bright and handsome boy.”.

Alan: Arnold’s young lover, who is beaten to death by a group of homophobic boys.Laurel: Ed’s lover and eventual fiancee.Young Stud: a young man who Arnold hooks up with in the backroom of the International Stud.Ed Reiss: Arnold’s bisexual lover and friend.In the stage directions, Fierstein playfully describes him as a ' kvetch (someone who complains habitually) of great wit and want.'

Arnold Beckoff: the central character of the play.According to Fierstein’s stage directions, she is to be “dressed in period, a torch song in the manner of Helen Morgan or Ruth Etting.'

Lady Blues: a character who appears between scenes in International Stud.

The four-hour play begins with a soliloquy in which he explains his cynical disillusionment with love. Torch Song Trilogy is a collection of three plays by Harvey Fierstein rendered in three acts: International Stud, Fugue in a Nursery, and Widows and Children First! The story centers on Arnold Beckoff, a Jewish homosexual, drag queen, and torch singer who lives in New York City in the late 1970s and early 1980s. Actors' Playhouse, Greenwich Village, New York City

Harvey fierstein torch song trilogy