Ridiculous! Theatrical Artist Charles Ludlam as Subject of Panel Discussion at The Library for the Performing Arts, Feb. 5th

Ridiculous Theatrical Company Alums Black-Eyed Susan and Lola Pashalinski, Along With Ridiculous-Influenced Artists, To Speak About the Late Ludlam

New York, NY, January 28, 2005 -- Theatrical anarchist and Ridiculous Theatrical Company Founder Charles Ludlam will be examined in Not So Ridiculous: The Theatrical World of Charles Ludlam, a panel discussion held at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts on Saturday, February 5, at 3:00 p.m. Ridiculous alum Black-Eyed Susan will give a special performance. The program takes place at the Library’s Bruno Walter Auditorium, located at 40 Lincoln Center Plaza. Admission is free.

The panel includes Ridiculous Theatrical Company veteran Lola Pashalinski, Ludlam’s biographer and theatre critic David Kaufman, Argentinean visual artist and photographer Leandro Katz, and “glitter” artist Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt. Joe E. Jeffreys, a theatre studies teacher at NYU and Stony Brook University and theatre reviewer, will be moderating the discussion.

Charles Ludlam was a founder, playwright, director and lead actor for the Ridiculous Theatrical Company, the counterculture Off-Broadway theatre he led for two decades. He wrote, directed, designed, and starred in about 30 plays at the company. Categorized in the realm of queer theatre, his pieces and performances employed many elements of camp and gay camp, including drag. A spoof of Gothic horror flicks, The Mystery of Irma Vep (1984) was Ludlam’s most well-known play, winning awards and recognition from publications such as Time and The New York Times and went on to be one of America’s most frequently produced plays. Ludlam was diagnosed with AIDS in November 1986 and died May 28, 1987.

In addition to the discussion panel, the Library for the Performing Arts is displaying Bedlam Days: The Early Plays of Charles Ludlam and The Ridiculous Theatrical Company until March 5, 2005. The exhibit comprises 67 photographs by one of the panel speakers, Leandro Katz, who documented Ludlam’s productions. The Library’s Billy Rose Theatre Collection houses Ludlam’s papers, scripts, and notebooks.

The panel discussion is held at The New York Public Library of the Performing Art’s Bruno Walter Auditorium on Saturday, February 5, 2005, 3:00 p.m. The Library is located at 40 Lincoln Plaza, which is west of Broadway and Columbus Avenue from 62nd to 65th Street. The Library is between the Metropolitan Opera House and the Vivian Beaumont Theater. Admission is free. Seating is unreserved, on a first-come, first-served basis.

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Contact: Lindy Regan 212.221.7676