Scope and arrangement
The Charles Busch papers date from 1967 to 2015 (bulk dates 1984-2014) and consist of materials chronicling Busch's career as a writer and performer in theatre and film. The collection encompasses the entirety of Busch's creative output, which also includes unpublished and unreleased works. Items are grouped together by format into the following categories: Correspondence; Theatre; Screenplays; Television Scripts; Cabaret; Writing; and Promotional Materials.
The correspondence dates from 1979 to 2012 and is mostly incoming communications. Included are letters written by individuals with whom Busch collaborated, as well as friends, colleagues, and fans of his work. Some of those who corresponded with Busch include Julie Andrews, Kathie Lee Gifford, Angela Lansbury, Paul Newman, Joan Rivers, and Stephen Sondheim. There are also letters of recommendation written about Busch by Michael Feingold, Daryl Hine, Christopher Isherwood, and Charles Ludlam.
Items from Busch's theatrical career comprise the bulk of the collection, and feature works from solo performances, early student plays, his work with Theatre-in-Limbo, plays in which he was a performer, and scripts he wrote. There is an assortment of early work, the earliest of which is a play entitled Lovely Lace, that was written and performed by Busch at age twelve. The collection also holds scripts written by Busch as a student at Northwestern University, as well as his debut New York City performance, Before Our Mother's Eyes. Most of the theatre files contain various drafts, rewrites, and revisions of scripts, many of which include notes and annotations. Busch also retained photographs, flyers, reviews, and press clippings, which can be found among the theatre files.
The screenplays encompass script drafts and notes for Busch's four films that were produced and released: Psycho Beach Party, Personal Assistant, Die! Mommie! Die!, and A Very Serious Person. There are also a number of unproduced screenplay drafts including a commissioned film adaptation for The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, and notes for a 1992 Disney Animated feature called Witches.
Busch worked on television scripts for six programs, none of which were produced. Among the television scripts is a commissioned HBO adaptation of his novel, Whores of Lost Atlantis, and the script for City of Bachelors, which Busch wrote for the HBO anthology film, If These Walls Could Talk II. Each production includes the unproduced pilot script, and some also contain notes and revisions.
The cabaret materials are comprised of notes, song lyrics, and flyers dating from Busch's 2012 return to cabaret performing.
Books, journalistic pieces, a creative journal, a grant proposal, and some early short stories comprise Busch's writings. Most of the book material is for his novel, Whores of Lost Atlantis, and contains a treatment, proposal, sample chapters, notes, and reviews. There is also a draft of an unfinished novel called Jeri, and a collection of writings for his in-progress and untitled memoir. Also held with Busch's writings are transcripts of interviews he conducted with Julie Andrews, Carol Burnett, Zoe Caldwell, and Terence Stamp; remembrances he wrote about Joan Rivers; short stories and dramatic sketches he composed while in high school; and a cover story he wrote for New York Magazine about the drag scene in 1995.
There is a small collection of promotional materials consisting of seven headshots and portraits; theatre programs; and reviews of Busch's writing and acting.
Arrangement
Materials are arranged chronologically.