The Performing Arts Center at 32 Below to Present '2 BY FIERSTEIN' This Fall

On Friday, November 3, the Performing Arts Center at 32 Below in New Milford will open 2 By Fierstein: The International Stud (part one of the multiple Tony Award-winning Torch Song Trilogy) and On Tidy Endings (from the award-winning Safe Sex). Both one act plays are written by Connecticut local, Harvey Fierstein.

In The International Stud, the life of Arnold Beckoff, a lovable torch song-singing drag performer living in New York City in the late 1970s is told with humor, joy, and a few songs as he struggles through love, loss, and the challenges of walking in heels. Set in the late 1980s, On Tidy Endings is a funny and ultimately poignant portrait of how the universal experience of losing a loved one is reexamined in the context of AIDS, when a gay man and a straight woman meet to tidy up loose ends following the death of the man they both loved.

"For more than 30 years, Mr. Fierstein has been a celebrated and very original voice in theater," said director Bill Hughes of New Milford. "His sense of humor and humanity consistently shine in his writing. It's something any playwright would be envious of."

"It really is tremendously exciting to be performing in roles that Mr. Fierstein not only wrote but also created in performance," said Joseph Russo, of New Milford, who is performing roles in both pieces. "Exciting and a bit intimidating," he added, laughing. "His writing is extraordinary. He's created characters who can make you laugh, cry, and laugh again in a single line. It's beautiful."

Along with Mr. Russo, the casts include: Aaron Kaplan (Bethel), Jacqueline Decho Holm, Patrick Fergus (both New Milford), and Beth Bonnabeau (Washington). Scenic, lighting, and sound design are all by Bill Hughes.

The International Stud premiered on February 2, 1978 at La MaMa, E.T.C., an Off-Off-Broadway theater in NYC, where it ran for two weeks. The Off-Broadway production opened on May 22, 1978 at The Players Theatre, where it ran for 72 performances. Mr. Fierstein created two successive one act plays, Fugue in a Nursery and Women and Children First!, that premiered in 1979. The three plays were performed together Off-Broadway in 1981 under the title Torch Song Trilogy; it subsequently transferred to Broadway in 1982 starring Mr. Fierstein, Matthew Broderick, and Estelle Getty where it won the Tony Awards for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play (for Mr. Fierstein's performance).

On Tidy Endings was performed on Broadway in 1987 as part of Mr. Fierstein's collective, Safe Sex. It was subsequently adapted as a television film in 1988 starring Mr. Fierstein and Stockard Channing.

2 By Fierstein: The International Stud and On Tidy Endings runs November 3,4 10,11,12 at 8:00 p.m. on Fridays & Saturdays and 2:00 p.m. on Sunday, November 12. Tickets are $15 at the door for general admission. The plays are recommended for audiences over 13 years of age. For more information, visit "The PAC at 32 Below" on Facebook.

The Performing Arts Center (P.A.C.) at 32 Below is a new, non-Equity theatre company located in the lower level of CSA, 32 Still River Drive, New Milford, CT.