Resident Alien

Bette Bourne (of Bloolips fame) plays Quentin Crisp in the American premiere of Resident Alien, a play based on the life, writings, and musings of the famous “naked civil servant.” Written by Tim Fountain, the play imagines Crisp on a recent day, not long before his death, holed up in his East Village quarters awaiting the arrival of two visitors to whom he is to grant an interview in exchange for lunch — by all accounts, a standard routine for Mr. Crisp. As the show proceeds, an inner view of the man behind the mascara is revealed through his ruminations on life, love, and the 20th century. Mike Bradwell directs.