MRS. SMITH LIVE!, Ruby Wax and More Set for OBERON, Fall 2013

OBERON, the American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.)'s Second Stage and club theater venue, continues its mission to bring exciting and original programming to Boston area audiences. A destination for theater and nightlife on the fringe of Harvard Square, OBERON is the home of the A.R.T.'s hit productions The Lily's Revenge, Futurity, The Donkey Show, Cabaret, Prometheus Bound, and Ryan Landry's Rocky Horror Show, OBERON is also a thriving incubator for local and visiting artists.

October brings the return of two of OBERON's favorite artists: the beloved cat lady in MRS. SMITH LIVE!, a one-woman musical comedy spectacular, and the return of The Tiger Lillies, an extraordinary three piece Brechtian cabaret band creating music that is a startling mixture of opera, gypsy song and left bank Paris. November features legendary comedian and writer, Ruby Wax, in her one-woman show, Out of Her Mind, leading audiences through the bittersweet ups and downs of mental illness.

MRS. SMITH LIVE!

Wednesday October 23rd and Friday, October 25th at 7:30pm

Tickets: $22 in advance, $30 at the door

America's Favorite Cat Lady - Mrs. Smith presents her musical comedy spectacular, MRS. SMITH LIVE! in a limited engagement. Actor and Boston native DavidHanbury, returns to A.R.T's OBERON with his original comic persona, Mrs. Smith.

Mrs. Smith has been searching for her beloved cat, Carlyle, for two-and-a-half years. To get over this "personal apocalypse", she's tried a variety of things: psychoanalysis, New Age therapies, and even appearing on America's Got Talent. In this latest attempt to exorcise her personal demons she has mounted a Broadway-style one-woman show where her bizarre life story is re-enacted in song and dance with the help of her dapper Broadway Boys! Along the way, Smith puts her indelibly surreal stamp on Great White Way favorites such as "Cabaret", "One Night in Bangkok", "The Cat That Got Away" and "The Ladies Who Lunch." Hanbury's alter-ego combines deftly executed character comedy with razor-sharp improvisational skills that have audiences laughing through tears.

The production, directed and choreographed by frequent collaborator, Andrew Rasmussen, incorporates puppetry, video flashbacks, slideshows, live singing, tap dancing, virtuosic electric guitar playing and more props than you can shake a stick at. When Smithy sings favorites by Streisand, Garland, and Minnelli in their original keys you will find audiences leaping to their feet and cheering.

Hanbury, who cut his teeth with Ryan Landry's critically acclaimed Gold Dust Orphans says the show "draws inspiration from the redemptive autobiographical, one-woman shows of Judy Garland, Liza Minnelli and Lily Tomlin and Great White Way camp favorites like Sandra Bernhard's Without You I'm Nothing and Elaine Stritch at Liberty." The production blends ridiculous comedy with authentic diva stylings and also delivers surprising poignancy.

Hanbury has developed the character over the course of several years in countless cabarets, nightclubs, benefits and in several full-length plays and spectaculars in Minneapolis, moving on to national stints at Ars Nova in New York and A.R.T.'s own OBERON withMrs. Smith Presents.... He and collaborator Rasmussen have recently returned from Berkeley Rep's Ground Floor residency, where they have created an original rock musical for children (and hip-minded adults), titled Mrs. Smith & Carlyle: To Mars and Back Again!

The team is also currently developing a children's television series based off of the character and her repertoire. "The Broadway one-woman show is a perfect comedic container for Mrs. Smith's overblown and ridiculous life tale," continued Hanbury. "It allows for both comedy and pathos, which has always been a hallmark of my work as Smith." Mrs. Smith promises, "I will finally tell the whole story. Even if it kills me. And it might. I definitely have mixed feelings about the fact that we're selling tickets to what might end up being my 'live on stage' bodily death!"

The Tiger Lillies

One night only! Sunday, October 27th at 8:00pm

TICKETS: $22 in advance, $30 at the door

OBERON is thrilled to welcome back The Tiger Lillies for a special pre-Halloween show. The world of The Tiger Lillies is dark, peculiar and varied, with moments of deep sadness, cruel black humour and immense beauty. Their music is a mixture of pre-war Berlin cabaret, anarchic opera and gypsy music, echoing the voices of Bertolt Brecht and Jacques Brel. The Tiger Lillies shock, amuse and entertain in a postmodern vaudevilleway, singing savage and passionate songs, their voices soaring and growling like men possessed.

The forefathers of Brechtian Punk Cabaret, The Tiger Lillies, were founded in 1989 and 21 years later their sound remains one of the most unique and original things one could come across. Founded by Martyn Jaques who spent most of his twenties in a flat above a brothel in London's Soho, peeping through his window at the buzz of Soho's lowlife. In 1989 he got his first accordion and The Tiger Lillies were formed shortly after. The ensemble stood out immediately for their distinct sound and style and worked their way up from London pubs to the Piccadilly Theatre to the Sydney Opera House. Soon they were touring the world giving concerts and participating in various art and Theatre Projects. Among the many highlights in their career was the Olivier Award they won for the cult hit musical Shockheaded Peter and the Grammy nomination for their album 'The Gorey End.' In 21 years The Tiger Lillies they have released25 albums, participated in numerous shows and toured most of the world, never seizing to surprise, shock and entertain their audience with their inimitably deviant musical style.

Ruby Wax

OUT OF HER MIND

Tuesday, November 12th and Wednesday, November 13th at 8pm

TICKETS: $25-40

The legendary writer, comedienne, interviewer and documentary-maker will lead audiences through the bittersweet ups and downs of mental illness, its stigmas, and the freedom discovered when you share life's darkest moments. Following hugely successful runs in the West End, Australia and Cape Town, Out Of Her Mind is a hilarious, sometimes dark show. It breaks the rules of theater and touches on the toxins of our time: envy, fame, television, getting rich, getting the perfect body, marriage, kids, careers, the insatiable drive to win and above all, staying busy while looking like you're having a nice day.

A former member of The Royal Shakespeare Company, Ruby Wax recently graduatedfrom Oxford University with a Master's Degree in mindfulness based cognitive therapy. Ruby has written for and co-edited every episode of "Absolutely Fabulous," and her best-selling memoir How Do You Want Me? has become a classic autobiography.

Ruby comes fresh from Losing It, her most recent stand-up show, which enjoyed rave reviews and an extended run by popular demand. Joanna Lumley called it "too important, too funny, and thought provoking, too touching and inspiring to miss."

With 25 years hosting her own television shows, Ruby's interview technique quickly gained notoriety. She has interviewed Eddie Izzard, Pamela Anderson, Madonna, Boy George, OJ Simpson, Joanna Lumley, Jeanne Moreau, Liza Minnelli, and many others. She was nominated for a BAFTA for her interview with Sarah, Duchess of York that attracted over 14 million viewers. Her TED talk, 'What's so funny about mental illness?' has over half a million views online to date.

At some point in our lives, one in four of us will be affected by mental illness. This acerbic and honest show sees Ruby bring her distinctive wit and worldly wisdom to tell how she is one of those people.

For information on these productions and other fall events, as well as tickets, visit www.cluboberon.com.

OBERON is located at 2 Arrow Street at the corner of Mass Ave. in Harvard Square, Cambridge.