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Psycho Beach Party
Book by Busch, Charles
96 pages, Paperback
First published January 1, 1988
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Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews
October 5, 2024
I recently attended a stage production of this play and thought "What the hell did I just watch?!" I watched the film version in 2005 and only remember it being campy and that there were some murders. Since there were no murders in the play I saw (except a last second murder that seemed so odd), I had to read the play. After doing so, I can say that the poor production I saw was 20% the director and 80% the actual play. Some of the strangest parts of the play--stilted dialog, weird cuts, unusual character exits--were taken straight from the page. (That weird murder, though, was the director's decision.) I know I am not the audience for this show since I have never watched 50s teen beach movies, but I AM the audience for this show because of its queer content (including the fact that in the original production the lead female character was played by a man--Charles Busch specifically--and the mother is typically played by a man). Even so, I totally don't understand what the hell this is supposed to be. I saw an interview with Busch where he said it is a play about finding out who you are and the various roles that people have to play. Sure, that's in the play, but (I'm just going to say it) it's not done well at all. I will not be seeking out the play again . . . but I am curious to see the movie once more.
May 26, 2022
I've always been a Charles Busch fan. Still working my way through all his plays, which I'm finding very satisfying. Psycho Beach Party, written/produced first in 1987, is a wonderful 60s satire.
It's about Chicklet, a naive teenage surfer who is trying to get into the big leagues with the boys who surf on Malibu Beach, especially the king of all surfers, the big Kanaka. But Chicklet has a problem, she starts to go into split personalities and becomes a dominatrix named Ann Bowman!
This is a perfect play for actors. Busch wrote it while he was young and in a sort of summer stock theatre group, which meant he had to write plays that featured members of the group. This is not just a fun satire on the 60s beach bimbo movies, it's also a commentary on teenage angst, childhood trauma, and growing up while going through all the problems young people go through. Yes, it's done in a wild and wacky manner, but that's the beauty of Charles Busch.
Busch is a rare talent, very underrated, but he has always been an inspiration to me as a writer. When I was growing up, I majored in theatre. Read all the great, word-famous plays of the day. I really felt that writing for theatre was far beyond my means. But then I discovered Busch, and Christopher Durang, and was introduced to a world of comedy and satire, and it was very liberating to read.
I don't know which edition I read. Busch, I know, has been known to revise his scripts throughout the years. I think the only thing in this script that might not hold up well today is the Asian siamese twin skit. But that's an easy fix, though I understand the metaphor he was intending as in reference to the two best friends.
So why not 5/5 instead of 4/5... Well, it's like this. I saw the famous cult classic this play was made into for the big screen back in 2000. If you haven't seen it, you should, it's the perfect summer fun movie. The film, however, changes much of the plot. New characters are added, and the film becomes a kind of comedic slasher film, which I have always enjoyed.
The play isn't a slasher film, and I think, for me, I missed that. I realize they're two different mediums, and the play does hold up on its own, without the murderous rampage, but I'm all about fun murder mysteries and things like that. The film would feature future stars like Amy Adams, Nicholas Brendan, and Thomas Gibson.
Still, just the play alone, without my wanting to stare and compare, is a fun script. I think a lot of people don't get Busch or satire, even actors. It can definitely be acted as too cornball, if not played right. People seem to think that camp means overdoing everything. The thing with camp is that everybody involved takes it seriously, but it's just too outrageous to be taken seriously. And that, to me, is high camp. So it all depends on how it's played and for what effect. Still, a fun read to kick off summer. Psycho Beach Party, by Charles Busch. My rating - 4/5
It's about Chicklet, a naive teenage surfer who is trying to get into the big leagues with the boys who surf on Malibu Beach, especially the king of all surfers, the big Kanaka. But Chicklet has a problem, she starts to go into split personalities and becomes a dominatrix named Ann Bowman!
This is a perfect play for actors. Busch wrote it while he was young and in a sort of summer stock theatre group, which meant he had to write plays that featured members of the group. This is not just a fun satire on the 60s beach bimbo movies, it's also a commentary on teenage angst, childhood trauma, and growing up while going through all the problems young people go through. Yes, it's done in a wild and wacky manner, but that's the beauty of Charles Busch.
Busch is a rare talent, very underrated, but he has always been an inspiration to me as a writer. When I was growing up, I majored in theatre. Read all the great, word-famous plays of the day. I really felt that writing for theatre was far beyond my means. But then I discovered Busch, and Christopher Durang, and was introduced to a world of comedy and satire, and it was very liberating to read.
I don't know which edition I read. Busch, I know, has been known to revise his scripts throughout the years. I think the only thing in this script that might not hold up well today is the Asian siamese twin skit. But that's an easy fix, though I understand the metaphor he was intending as in reference to the two best friends.
So why not 5/5 instead of 4/5... Well, it's like this. I saw the famous cult classic this play was made into for the big screen back in 2000. If you haven't seen it, you should, it's the perfect summer fun movie. The film, however, changes much of the plot. New characters are added, and the film becomes a kind of comedic slasher film, which I have always enjoyed.
The play isn't a slasher film, and I think, for me, I missed that. I realize they're two different mediums, and the play does hold up on its own, without the murderous rampage, but I'm all about fun murder mysteries and things like that. The film would feature future stars like Amy Adams, Nicholas Brendan, and Thomas Gibson.
Still, just the play alone, without my wanting to stare and compare, is a fun script. I think a lot of people don't get Busch or satire, even actors. It can definitely be acted as too cornball, if not played right. People seem to think that camp means overdoing everything. The thing with camp is that everybody involved takes it seriously, but it's just too outrageous to be taken seriously. And that, to me, is high camp. So it all depends on how it's played and for what effect. Still, a fun read to kick off summer. Psycho Beach Party, by Charles Busch. My rating - 4/5
December 15, 2024
With the understanding that this play surely is WAY MORE fun in person, I wonder 2 things: 1) in the 80's people were probably a little bit familiar with the 60's movies being spoofed, but now we're 60 years from the 60's so would people get it? and 2) without taking this too seriously, isn't it still a little stigmatizing a treatment of mental health (and Multiple Personality Disorder?) I find myself questioning whether this holds up.…
January 7, 2019
I wrote a two-thousand word review on my Dreamwidth about precisely why I hate this play so much. I'll sum it up as: I read the whole thing, from introduction to property list and all three alternate opening scenes. I actually -auditioned- for the lead role a few years ago without realizing exactly what I was doing. The theatre company played it all dead fucking straight. This play is disgusting. How on earth was any of it supposed to be funny?
September 4, 2020
Another play I had to read for class, absolutely terrible but also I was stuck with stomach cramping laughter. So I would still recommend it for a good laugh, because the best part it is only 80 pages
October 3, 2021
This was very strange but not terrible. Definitely would be better to see it than to read it I think. Would be fun to perform. A little tone deaf in some spots but progressive in others.
August 16, 2025
maybe closer to a 3.5, would love to see a production of this reworked to include some of the movie plot lines! also would love to play berdine
April 20, 2009
I liked this in spite of myself - I could obviously tell from page one that it was going to be intensely wacky and began to dread it, thinking to myself, "OH NO, this will be like all the stupid, kooky plays I read last semester in my 21st century drama class." But lo, instead of something purely nonsensical, there were nuggets of true hilarity and intelligence strewn throughout; as someone in my playwriting class put it, we know that Busch isn't an idiot because he makes really highbrow references to things like, well, The Idiot.
The thing is, I think, that this play doesn't take itself seriously at all and thus is TOTALLY GUTBUSTING - with absolutely preposterous teenage surf language and a plot both ridiculous but still narrative, it perfectly straddles the line between satire and utter nonsense.
The thing is, I think, that this play doesn't take itself seriously at all and thus is TOTALLY GUTBUSTING - with absolutely preposterous teenage surf language and a plot both ridiculous but still narrative, it perfectly straddles the line between satire and utter nonsense.
October 4, 2015
Fair to middling...trying to decide if I want to audition for this and curious about the text so I picked it up yesterday. It feels a bit to transparent (Star Cat's blatant diagnosis and the whole reveal scene is more tedious than hysterical), but there are a few moments that are cute. It certainly could be funny if done correctly.
February 11, 2013
I am beyond excited to be in this play.
I just finished reading the entire thing and I was laughing hysterically, alone in my house, like a mad woman.
It's just so bizzare and camp and wacky - even the stage directions are hilarious.
I can not wait to start rehearsing this.
I just finished reading the entire thing and I was laughing hysterically, alone in my house, like a mad woman.
It's just so bizzare and camp and wacky - even the stage directions are hilarious.
I can not wait to start rehearsing this.
December 2, 2015
Call me unimaginative, but this isn't a script I can imagine flying live. This piece was written around a cast and production and parades so deep into bizarre cornball territory, I simply can't visualize it being done well. Maybe you just had to be there?
June 11, 2008
I had the lead role in this play back in college. It was honestly the funniest play I ever did and the play was SO MUCH BETTER than the movie!!!!
January 23, 2010
Co-stage managed this play. Completely wacky!
June 29, 2024
Parody of the beach movie of the sixties.
Displaying 1 - 16 of 16 reviews