PSYCHO BEACH PARTY
DEC 27, 2023 - JAN 11, 2024
WRITTEN by Charles Busch
DIRECTED by by Epic Jones
To close our 10th Anniversary year, we are bringing back WSSR favorite, Psycho Beach Party!
Teenage tomboy Chicklet desperately wants to be part of a surf gang on Malibu Beach— but standing in her way is her unfortunate tendency towards split personalities!
From the writer of Vampire Lesbians, Psycho Beach Party is a hilarious drag-filled mash up of Gidget, the Beach Party movies, Hitchcock thrillers like Spellbound, and a bit of Mommie Dearest for good measure.
TICKETS
Free Public Access Tickets are available for reservation starting 1 week prior to show time.
Early Access Tickets are available ahead of time with a WSSR Membership.
SHOW TIMES
FRI Dec 27: 8pm + 10pm | WSSR 11th Anniversary
SAT Dec 28: 8pm
SUN Dec 29: 7pm
THU Jan 2: 8pm
FRI Jan 3: 8pm + 10pm
SAT Jan 4: 8pm
SUN Jan 5: 7pm
THU Jan 9: 8pm
FRI Jan 10: 8pm + 10pm
SAT Jan 11: 8pm
SUN Jan 12: 7pm
““But that’s not all that’s whirring in [Chicklet’s] brain. Beneath the surface of this innocent creature and seemingly simple epoch lurk psychosexual beats that can devour Cleveland in one bit, then turn around and eat Chicago.””
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT
CHARLES BUSCH
CHARLES BUSCH has forged a unique place in the world of entertainment as playwright, actor, director, novelist, cabaret performer and drag icon. He is the author and star of over twenty-five plays including The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, The Tribute Artist, The Confession of Lily Dare and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, one of the longest running plays in the history of Off-Broadway. His play The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway, won the Outer Circle Critics’ John L. Gassner Award for playwrighting, received a Tony nomination for Best Play and is the longest running Broadway comedy of the past twenty-five years.
He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die Mommie Die, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. For two seasons, he appeared as Nat Ginzburg on the HBO series OZ and is the author of the auto-biographical novel Whores of Lost Atlantis. He has directed two films; the Showtime short subject, Personal Assistant, and a feature, A Very Serious Person, which won an honorable mention at the Tribeca Film Festival. Due to his love and knowledge of film and theatre history, he has appeared as a guest programmer and in numerous documentaries for Turner Classic Movies, and has lectured and conducted master classes at many colleges and universities including NYU, Harvard, UCLA and Amherst College. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright and was given a star on the Playwrights Walk outside the Lucille Lortel Theatre. He is also the subject of the acclaimed documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch.
He is a two-time MAC award winner and has performed his cabaret act in many cities including San Francisco, Los Angeles, Chicago, New Orleans, Philadelphia, London, Paris, Barcelona and New York. In winter of 2016, his show The Lady at the Mic premiered at Jazz at Lincoln Center’s American Songbook series. His first CD, Charles Busch Live at Feinstein’s 54 Below, was released by Broadway Records.
PUBLIC ACCESS THEATER
WE BELIEVE EVERYONE SHOULD BE ABLE TO EXPERIENCE THEATER…
Here’s how it works:
1. We make all of our tickets FREE
2. You help us do it by DONATING
This simple, yet powerful approach makes sure everyone can attend!
BECOME A MEMBER
When you become a WSSR Member, you are partnering with us to support Public Access Theater and make sure everyone can come to the show!
With a WSSR Membership, you can reserve more than 2 tickets at a time!
Plus, you get things like early access to tickets, guaranteed seats, WSSR merch, invites to special events, and more!
CONTENT INFO
PSYCHO BEACH PARTY is an hilarious burlesque. It contains profanity, adult humor, and sexual situations.
For specific information about the content, please contact us.
COVID SAFETY
MASKS ARE ENCOURAGED BUT NOT REQUIRED
If you aren’t feeling well or are experiencing symptoms, please stay home.
Any questions? contact@wssr.org
RUNNING TIME
90 Minutes
ADDITIONAL INFORMATION
Profanity + Adult Humor
Map + Directions
CONTENT ADVISORY
The West Side Show Room believes in freedom of expression and we present all works in their entirety. We encourage people of all ages to expose themselves to a wide range of art, and to engage in critical discussions about the content they encounter. For specific information about the language, content, and effects in a particular production, please contact us.