Provincetown Theater Bestows 2020 PAPA To Charles Busch

In Provincetown, Massachusetts, the board and artistic director of the Provincetown Theater have announced the third annual Provincetown American Playwright Award (PAPA) will be presented on August 15 to the trailblazing, gender-bending playwright Charles Busch for his outstanding contributions to the American Theater.

Initiated by the Provincetown Theater in 2018, the PAPA is given to an American playwright whose work has long enriched, empowered, and expanded the depth and scope of the American experience on the world stage.

States Mr. Busch, "I am extremely honored to be the third recipient of the PAPA and to follow my two great colleagues, Terrence McNally and Paula Vogel. My breakthrough play Vampire Lesbians of Sodom played at the Provincetown Playhouse in New York's Greenwich Village, which was founded by original Provincetown Players Eugene O'Neill and Susan Glaspell after their apprenticeship in Provincetown. So I am very touched by the symmetry of receiving this award by the Provincetown Theater."

Scheduled to receive his award in a 30-minute virtual online "show" on August 15, starting at 5:30pm, the mastermind behind such hits as The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Psycho Beach Party, The Divine Sister, Die Mommie Die, and the longest-running comedy in off-Broadway history Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, will be presented the 2020 PAPA by last year's PAPA recipient, Pulitzer Prize winner Paula Vogel.

The virtual benefit, hosted by internationally acclaimed interior designer Ken Fulk and his husband Kurt Wootton, will also include a star-studded congratulatory line-up from such friends and colleagues of Mr. Busch as Linda Lavin, Michele Lee, Julie Halston, Alison Fraser, Jennifer Van Dyck, Taylor Mac, Ryan Landry, Daryl Roth, and Jinkx Monsoon, to name but a few. Also a highlight during the virtual PAPA show will be a video walking tour of Mr. Fulk's dramatic refurbishment of the historic Mary Heaton Vorse house in Provincetown, MA. Longtime home to the legendary writer of "Time and the Town," Mr. Fulk has recreated the 18th century residence into a new creative working space for such non-profits as the Provincetown Theater, Provincetown Art Association and Museum, Provincetown Film Society, and Twenty Summers.

As the PAPA award celebration is also a major annual fundraising event for the Provincetown Theater, more information and details on how to pledge support and participate in the 2020 PAPA "House Party" on Sat, Aug 15,, please visit provincetowntheater.org. For frequent updates on the Theater, please follow us on Instagram and Facebook.