Torch Song Trilogy is a 1988 American comedy-drama film adapted by Harvey Fierstein from his own Tony Award-winning Broadway play of the same name. Directed by Paul Bogart, it stars Fierstein as Arnold Beckoff, a gay Jewish drag queen and torch song performer in New York City. Key Cast • Anne Bancroft as Arnold’s mother • Matthew Broderick as Alan, Arnold’s lover • Brian Kerwin as Ed, a bisexual schoolteacher The story spans the 1970s and early 1980s, following Arnold’s search for love, respect,