Zach Reiner-Harris Joins THE GAY CAMP CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR at The Duplex

The creators of the hit comedy show GAY CAMP are returning with a one-night-only cabaret titled THE GAY CAMP CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR, playing at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre on Friday, December 11 at 7pm.

Kicking off the holidays with a fabulous bang, this hilarious cabaret night will feature New York's finest Broadway singers, drag stars, improvisers, go-go boys, and comedians.

Winner of this year's SO YOU THINK YOU CAN DRAG competition Juicy Liu will headline the event. Joining her onstage will be Zach Reiner-Harris from the original Broadway production of SPRING AWAKENING.

Comedic actors Christian Mansfield, Ken Urso, Bradford Proctor, and Philip Mutz will reprise their Gay Camp roles as hosts of the cabaret evening. Rounding out the cabaret cast are dancers Dan Gutierrez and Quincy Ellis.

THE GAY CAMP CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR: A VERY JUICY CHRISTMAS will perform on Friday December 11 at 7pm at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, upstairs at 61 Christopher Street, NYC. The show runs 60 minutes with no intermission. Doors open at 6:30pm. Show starts at 7pm. Tickets are now available on www.purplepass.com. Tickets are $16 in advance, $20 at the door (plus a 2 drink minimum).

For more information on THE GAY CAMP CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR, contact GayCampThePlay@gmail.com or visit www.gaycamptheplay.com.

THE GAY CAMP CHRISTMAS SPECTACULAR is inspired by the play GAY CAMP by Philip Mutz and Susan-Kate Heaney. GAY CAMP most recently played a run at the Crown and Anchor in Provincetown last summer. The show also played the Duplex Cabaret Theatre in NYC from August 2013 - April 2014 and has toured to Cherry's on the Bay in Fire Island, Interplayers Theatre in Spokane, and Mirabar in Providence.

GAY CAMP was initially part of the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival and ran from August 11 - August 22 at the HERE Mainstage Theatre in SoHo. Following its initial run, GAY CAMP received the Overall Excellence Award from FringeNYC for "Best Ensemble 2012", and was selected as one of 19 shows (out of the 187 Fringe shows) to receive an extension as part of Fringe's Encore Series (subsequently playing at the Players' Theatre). The production starred Mansfield, Urso, and Mutz playing more than a dozen different zany characters, and was also directed by Phillip Fazio.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Zach Reiner-Harris - Performer
In addition to appearing in Spring Awakening on Broadway in 2008, Zach once starred as the Dogcatcher in Annie in 1996 at Temple Beth Shalom in Sacramento, CA. His favorite color is the same as his favorite flavor of Gatorade (blue). If you'd like to contact Zach for a booking, take the A train from 168th to 42nd, hope you spot him, make unequivocal eye contact if you do, but do not say hello; he'll post a Missed Connection on Craigslist when he's ready, so check your inbox frequently. Finally, he wishes you and your families happy holidays, especially Christmas, because the restaurant Zach currently works for is closed then!

Juicy Liu - Performer
Juicy Liu is brand new to the New York drag scene and fresh off of her first place finish in the 2015 So You Think You Can Drag competition. Juicy has performed at gay bars throughout the city, and looks forward to hosting her own upcoming show at New World Stages in January 2016.

Ritzy Bitz - Performer
Ritzy Bitz is NYC's Drag Bombshell. After she won the first ever Miss West End Pageant she competed in So You Think You Can Drag. After an incredible run including the first win of the competition, she went on to 6th place. Now she has set her sights on the pageant circuit.

Phillip Fazio - Director of Gay Camp
Phillip Fazio graduated from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theatre and Directing. Regional Directing credits include Proof, Rent, Ragtime, Grey Gardens, Hidden in this Picture, West Side Story, Macbeth, The Last Five Years, Rocket Man, Cabaret, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and Almost Maine. Assistant Director credits include the Center Theatre Group/Deaf West revival of Pippin (Directed by Tony Award Nominee Jeff Calhoun) at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and the New England Premiere of Take Me Out at Speakeasy Stage Company in Boston. New York City directing credits include Gay Camp for the 2012 Fringe Festival and subsequent Duplex run, Ben and Leslie Save the World and SuperBen for The Think Theater Project, and The Real Life with The Identity Theatre Company. Phillip is a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab and Actors' Equity Association.

Christian Mansfield - Performer
Mansfield was recently seen in last year's Duplex run of Gay Camp in NYC. His previous Fringe endeavors include Gay Camp, The Penguin Tango at both Actors Playhouse and Theater Row, and Odysseus DOA where his cast was awarded "Best Ensemble". Other NYC credits: That Other Woman's Child (NYMF) and Christmas Rappings. Some regional favorites include 42nd Street (nat'l tour), Cabaret (Barter), and Romeo and Juliet (South Florida Shakes.) Christian is a Long Island native with a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Miami.

Ken Urso - Performer
Urso has served as director, actor, producer, guest artist, and dramaturg throughout the U.S. Favorite roles include June in Gay Camp (Fringe; Duplex), Jules in Boom (Interplayers Theatre), Valentine in Twelfth Night (Manhattan Rep), Davey in Lieutenant of Inishmore (Strollers Theatre), and Philip in The Shape of Things (Actor's Repertory Theatre). Directing credits include regional productions of Chicago, Always...Patsy Cline, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), Steel Magnolias, The Producers, and New York productions of Red Light Winter, Fallen Angels, Kidnapping Laura Linney, and Never the Sinner. Ken holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and an MFA in Directing from the Actors Studio Drama School.

Philip Mutz - Co-Author of Gay Camp and Performer
Mutz is a writer and actor in New York City. Recent acting credits include Comedy of Errors, Henry V, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Cymbeline (Shakespeare Theatre of NJ), Kidnapping Laura Linney (Midtown International Theatre Festival), Gay Camp (Fringe; Duplex), King John (NY Shakespeare Exchange), and Romeo and Juliet (Columbia Stages). His writing credits include The Real Life (Identity Theater Co), Gay Camp (the PIT), Kidnapping Laura Linney (MITF), and SuperBen (Think Theater Project). He is currently head writer for the web series The Reality Whores (webisodes can be viewed at www.therealitywhores.com). His recent viral video Sh*t Gay Guys Say to Straight Guys has over one million views on YouTube. Philip holds a B.F.A. in Drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has trained in sketch writing and improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Susan-Kate Heaney - Co-Author of Gay Camp
Susan-Kate Heaney is an actor and writer currently based out of Los Angeles. She is a graduate of New York University with a BFA in Drama. Most recently, she has been performing her comedic solo show Mop-oholic in New York and Los Angeles, at UCB, the Pit, iO West and Second City. Susan-Kate is a co-creator and lead actor in comedic web series The Reality Whores. She has performed in theaters all around New York including Bank Street and Rattlestick. Recent work includes roles on Mercy (NBC) and Masters of Sex (Showtime).

Bradford Proctor - Performer and Accompanist
Proctor is not only the most recent addition to the Gay Camp cast, but he also wrote the lyrics and book (along with Alaina Kunin) and the music for BUNKED!:A New Musical, which premiered at FringeNYC 2010. BUNKED! was extended as part of the Fringe Encores series, and won the prize for "Best Overall Production of a Musical". Bradford was commissioned to write a song for Lincoln Center's Holiday Songbook series and has also participated as a composer for 8 Minute Musicals, produced by AWOL. Bradford is a recent graduate of the BMI Lehman Engel Musical Theater workshop.