BORN FAT to Make New York Debut at MITF

After critically-acclaimed runs at the Philadelphia Fringe Festival and Connecticut's Seven Angels Theatre, Fat Kid Productions brings the funny and heartbreaking solo play, Born Fat, to New York City for three performances only. The 70-minute show by Jacques Lamarre, based on the real life weight struggles of Elizabeth Petruccione, will be featured as part of the Midtown International Theatre Festival. Starring MITF Best Actress-winner April Woodall (member, Actors Equity Association) and directed by Steve Raider-Ginsburg, the comedy will be performed at the WorkShop Theatre's Jewel Box space at 312 West 36 th Street, NYC. Born Fat will be performed Wed, July 20 at 6pm; Fri, July 22 at 8:15pm; and Sunday, July 24 at 1pm. For tickets and information, visit www.midtownfestival.org. For more on the play, visit www.bornfat.org.

Born Fat looks at our national obesity epidemic and body image issues through the lens of one woman's struggles. Elizabeth Petruccione was told by her mother at young age that she was "born fat." Haunted by those words, Elizabeth yo-yoed from 150 pounds to 250 pounds for decades. After a succession of terrible marriages, backstabbing friends, and dead-end jobs, she grabbed her life by the horns and transformed her compulsive and destructive eating habits into a healthy lifestyle that caused her to lose (and keep off) 93 pounds. The play is equal parts weight loss meeting, comic confessional, and tent revival ultimately proving that joy can be found at any size. Earlier performances received raves from theatre critics including Philadelphia Magazine, which stated, "Ms. Woodall's Elizabeth is superb, and you can't help but root for the unlikely underdog of a woman who is irresistibly likable... It was a truly unique moment that encapsulated why theater is so powerful: It's not larger than life, but life itself, and in the case of Born Fat, there is plenty of it to go around.;" The Waterbury Republican-American called it, "absolutely inspirational," while The Middletown Press raved that Born Fat is "the perfect inspirational play."