Stella Starsky Debuts New Solo Work at Joe's Pub Tonight

Stella Starsky - acclaimed author, astrologist and performing artist - will celebrate the New York debut of her solo play Birth of the American Baroness at Joe's Pub at the Public Theater tonight, July 23 at 7:00 PM.

Starsky shines in her at turns funny and moving piece that explores both the mundane and the mystical implications of modern womandom free from motherhood, whether by choice or cast of the die. From her humble beginnings as a tweenage donut-maker in small-town Massachusetts, through a me-generational gauntlet of disco balls, body dysmorphia, designer dreams, and debatable dates with destiny, Starsky illumines our universal quest for value and validation alighting on some divinely human and hilarious realizations along the pro-creative path toward planetary parenthood. At Joe's Pub, Birth of the American Baroness - featuring Brian King and musical director Brett Every - is directed by Maria Silvaggi.

Birth of the American Baroness premiered to great acclaim last year at the Afterglow Festival, founded by Quinn Cox and John Cameron Mitchell in Provincetown. Frank DeCaro of Sirius XM Satellite Radio says, "Stella Starsky's Birth of the American Baroness is everything she is: smartly perceptive, riotously funny, and so chic you could spit...but you wouldn't. Go see it. Stella's not just a celebrity astrologist, she's a star." David Drake - Obie Award-winning playwright of The Night Larry Kramer Kissed Me - exclaims, "As lyrical as it is hilarious, Stella Starsky's solo-stage-path to self-actualization is like experiencing Choose Your Own Adventure with the love-child of Audrey Hepburn and Carly Simon. Groovy and gorgeous, I absolutely loved it."

Starsky herself comments, "The show is not about childlessness per se. It's a candid look at some seminal episodes in my experience that will be relatable to almost anyone. It's about life; it just happens to be mine. So there is disappointment and dignity, escapism and exultation. And there's some time travel and lots of comic relief. It's a layered piece, with music, spanning three decades in eighty minutes. But please don't call it a memory play because I mix remembrance with altered states of reality and some pretty screwball antics."

Stella Starsky is creator of the www.AmericanBaroness.com, a cultural site dedicated to empowering and ennobling childless women. "American Baroness is a project I've been incubating for a long time," Starsky continues. "My objective is to open up the conversation around childlessness, to break apart the biases and shatter the stigma. I believe that choosing not to procreate, or making your peace with not procreating, can give way to major stores of personal power. I see it as a transformation from barren to Baroness. Baronesses are given the special challenge of having to identify as other than mother. For me, it has indeed been a challenge and also, now, an ongoing privilege. I'd like to inspire a similar sense of exaltation in others who, by chance or by choice, do not have children. My website and my work with clients can be a serious affair, while my creative writing and performance allows me to take what's deeply personal and shake it out for laughs."

STELLA STARSKY (Writer / Performer) has performed at such venues as Joe's Pub at the Public Theater, Ars Nova and The Zipper Factory in New York City, and at Oberon/ART in Cambridge, mainly as half of the duo Starsky + Cox, co-authors of the bestselling books Sextrology (HarperCollins, 2004) and Cosmic Coupling (Random House, 2010). Starsky has appeared on many television and radio talk shows and has been a regular featured guest on Chelsea Handler's "Chelsea Lately" on E! TV. Starsky is a Positive Psychology practitioner, private consultant, and has been a columnist and contributor to such publications and websites as Paris Vogue, Elle, The Daily Beast, Cosmopolitan, Allure, Glamour, Red (UK), The Times (London) and The Mail on Sunday (UK). She also co-hosted the public radio program "The Cosmic Connection," which will return as a podcast later this year.

MARIA SILVAGGI (Director) has been involved in some form of theater since she was 10 years old and she has spent the last 30 years working in all aspects of theater in Boston and New York City. Most recently, she directed The Friends of Eddie Coyle. Maria is a founding member of Stickball Productions.

Stella Starsky's Birth of the American Baroness will be presented at JOE'S PUB at The Public Theater on Thursday, July 23 at 7:00 PM. The venue is located at 425 Lafayette Street (between East 4th and Astor Place) NYC, adjacent to The Public Theater. For tickets - which are $20 - call (212) 967-7555 or visit joespub.com, or visit in person at The Public Theater Box Office, which opens at 2:00 PM daily.

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