A SAMUEL FRENCH, INC. TITLE

The Confession of Lily Dare

Full-Length Play, Comedy  /  8w, 7m

Played against the gaudy tapestry of turn-of-the-century California's notorious Barbary Coast, The Confession of Lily Dare tells the story of one woman's tumultuous passage from convent girl to glittering cabaret chanteuse to infamous madame of a string of brothels.

The Confession of Lily Dare

  • Cast Size
    Cast Size
    8w, 7m
  • Duration
    Duration
    90 minutes
  • SubGenre
    Subgenre
    Parody/Spoof
  • Audience
    Target Audience
    Adult

Details

Summary
Behind Lily's every move lies her greatest secret: her undying devotion to the child she was forced to abandon. The Confession of Lily Dare is the latest comic melodrama written by the legendary master of theatrical parody, Charles Busch (Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, Die Mommie Die!, The Divine Sister). The play celebrates the gauzy "confession film" tearjerkers of early 1930s pre-code cinema, such as The Sin of Madelon Claudet, Frisco Jenny, and Madame X.
History
The Confession of Lily Dare opened off-Broadway on January 29, 2020, at the Cherry Lane Theatre in New York City.

(In Order of Appearance)

Actor 1: EMMY LOU
Actor 2: MICKEY
Actor 3: AUNT ROSALIE, THE BARONESS, MRS. CARLTON, LOUISE
Actor 4: LILY DARE
Actor 5: BLACKIE LAMBERT
Actor 6: LOUIS, THE BARON, DR. CARLTON, MAESTRO GUARDI, PRIEST

  • Time Period 1940s/WWII, 1930s, 1920s, 1910s/WWI, 1900-1910
  • Setting Various Locations in San Francisco, 1906 through 1950.
  • Features Period Costumes
  • Duration 90 minutes

Media

“Charles Busch's mash-up of mother-love weepies finds both pathos and hilarity in the tough talk of Hollywood divas.” – New York Times

“Charles Busch keeps the camp fire burning in a tongue-in-cheek tearjerker par excellence.” – Time Out New York

“As usual with the witty Busch, the script is a Godiva-chocolates-boxful of clever lines.” – New York Stage Review

“An amusing parody that even manages to tug at the heartstrings. Returning to the parodistic style with which he made a name for himself... the actor-writer here delivers an amusingly loving sendup of the sort of melodramatic, pre-Code weepies that used to star the likes of Ruth Chatterton, Barbara Stanwyck and Bette Davis.” – Hollywood Reporter

Videos

  • The Confession of Lily Dare - Sneak Peek youtube thumbnail

    The Confession of Lily Dare - Sneak Peek

  • The Confession of Lily Dare - Primary Stages Promo youtube thumbnail

    The Confession of Lily Dare - Primary Stages Promo

Licensing & Materials

  • Minimum Fee: £55 per performance plus VAT when applicable.

Scripts

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Authors

Charles Busch

Charles Busch is the author and star of such plays as The Divine Sister, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, 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 ...

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