Lincoln Center Library to Host Panel on Charles Ludlam and the Ridiculous Theatrical Company

The Lincoln Center Library for the Performing Arts will host a panel on pioneering queer playwright and performer Charles Ludlam and the Ridiculous Theatrical Company. Titled “Not So Ridiculous: The Theatrical World of Charles Ludlam, ” the multimedia talk and discussion will take place on Saturday, February 5 at 3pm in the library’s Bruno Walter Auditorium.

Participants will include Ridiculous actress Lola Pashalinski, photographer Leandro Katz, Ludlam biographer David Kaufman, and artist Thomas Lanigan-Schmidt. Joe E. Jeffreys, Ridiculous scholar and NYU Tisch School of the Arts professor, will moderate. The event will also feature a special live performance by Ridiculous actress Black-Eyed Susan. The event is being held in conjunction with the exhibit “Bedlam Days: The Early Plays of Charles Ludlam and the Ridiculous Theatrical Company,” on display in the library’s plaza lobby and Steinberg Room Gallery through March 5, 2005. The exhibit features 70 photos by Leandro Katz of Ludlam’s first seven productions from 1967 to 1973, including Turds in Hell and Camille.

The panel is also held in conjunction with Applause Books’ January 2005 release of the first paperback printing of David Kaufman’s award winning Ludlam biography Ridiculous! The Theatrical Life and Times of Charles Ludlam. (To access TheaterMania’s review of the book, click here.)

The entrance to the Bruno Walter auditorium is at 111 Amsterdam Avenue between 64th and 65th Street; the sign above the entrance reads “Dorothy and Lewis B. Cullman Center.” Admission to the February 5 program is free and seating is on a first come, first served basis. For further information, call 212-870-1630.