Synopsis
The Nance - Acting Edition
Published by Dramatists Play Service
4 Male 4 Female
In the 1930s, burlesque impresarios welcomed the hilarious comics and musical parodies of vaudeville to their decidedly lowbrow niche
A headliner called “the nance” - usually played by a straight man - was a stereotypically camp homosexual and master of comic double entendre
The Nance recreates the naughty, raucous world of burlesque’s heyday and tells the backstage story of Chauncey Miles and his fellow performers
At a time when it was easy to play gay and dangerous to be gay, Chauncey’s uproarious antics on the stage stand out in marked contrast to his offstage life
REVIEWS
“A heartfelt new play set in the twilight of burlesque” ~ NY Times
“A nearly perfect work of dramatic art…” ~ The New Yorker
“Douglas Carter Beane has found a way to use the campiness that is his primary theatrical color to relevant and moving effect … The Nance never hides its emotions behind a cloud of camp, nor does it settle for easy applause-sign trickery. (Even the political jokes are understated.) It shows you the real pain of a real man, and makes you feel what he feels” ~ Wall Street Journal.