Allue as Ma. It is directed by Alejandro Vilallobos in his directorial debut and produced by Gabriel Guevara; the cast included Jose Peralta as David. Hoboken Library produced a staged reading of 'Torch Song Trilogy: Widows And Children First’ on August 28th, 2021. It featured NYC cabaret luminary Sidney Myer as Arnold, Florence Pape as Mrs. Beckoff, Michael Stever as Ed, Logann Grayce as David and was directed by Ethan Galvin. Casts Reception and impact International Stud first premiered in 1978 at La MaMa, where Fierstein made his professional acting debut in Andy Warhol's play Pork in 1971. Fierstein has spoken about the difficulty he faced as an openly gay playwright. In an archived 1982 interview with Playbill republished to commemorate the show’s anniversary, he reminisced on the attitude producers and critics took towards his work: “Fabulous writer. Fabulous play. But gay. Goodbye.” Mel Gussow of The New York Times panned the play as a "sincere but sentimentalized view of a transvestite extremes." Despite the criticism, Ellen Stewart, founder of La MaMa, chose to produce A Fugue in the Nursery and Widows and Children First! in 1979, though she personally found the work "too talky." The Glines, a nonprofit organization dedicated to forwarding gay-themed cultural endeavors, financially supported Fierstein in reworking the three one-act plays as a singular theatrical event, which became Torch Song Trilogy and earned excited praise from Mel Gussow. "Arnold's story becomes richer as it unfolds," he wrote, saying that Fierstein's performance "[was] an act of compelling virtuosity." Theatre scholar Jordan Schildcrout notes that some critics viewed Torch Song Trilogy as "the most truly conservative play to come along in years" because of its focus on "fidelity and family" (Jack Kroll), while others declared the play a radical breakthrough because of its forthright depiction of gay sexuality, gay youth, and gay families during an era of political backlash against the gay rights movement. Today, the play is primarily remembered as a groundbreaking moment for LGBTQ theatre. It is lauded for touching on issues such as gay marriage and adoption before they were acceptable. In a 2018 review revisiting the play, PopMatters writer Elizabeth Woronzoff remarked that Torch Song Trilogy laid the groundwork for many modern queer television shows such as Queer as Folk, Modern Family, and Will and Grace. Additionally, the play addressed intersectionality in a newfound way. The inclusion of both the Jewish and queer identities