Stage Blood was a comedy by Charles Ludlam

Charles Ludlam

Charles Braun Ludlam was an American actor, director, and playwright.-Early life:Ludlam was born in Floral Park, New York, the son of Marjorie and Joseph William Ludlam. He was raised in Greenlawn, New York, on Long Island, and attended Harborfields High School. The fact that he was gay was not a...

 that spoofed Shakespeare's Hamlet

Hamlet

The Tragical History of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark, or more simply Hamlet, is a tragedy by William Shakespeare, believed to have been written between 1599 and 1601...

, as well as the third-rate touring company who are performing it. The cast was headed by Ridiculous Theatrical Company veterans Black-Eyed Susan

Black-Eyed Susan

Black-Eyed Susan; or, All in the Downs is a comic play in three acts by Douglas Jerrold. The story concerns a sailor, William, who returns to England from the Napoleonic Wars and finds that his wife Susan is being harassed by her crooked landlord uncle and later by his drunken, dastardly captain,...

, Lola Pashalinski, Bill Vehr, Jack Mallory, John D. Brockmeyer and Ludlam himself, who played the dual roles of actor Carleton Stone Jr. and Hamlet. It opened off-Broadway

Off-Broadway

Off-Broadway theater is a term for a professional venue in New York City with a seating capacity between 100 and 499, and for a specific production of a play, musical or revue that appears in such a venue, and which adheres to related trade union and other contracts...

 at the Evergreen Theatre on Dec. 8, 1974, where it played 45 performances. It was revived at the Truck and Warehouse Theatre on July 1, 1977 and again at the Charles Ludlam Theatre (formerly One Sheridan Square) on May 24, 1978.