BUYER & CELLAR, Starring Michael Urie, Begins LA Run Tonight

Jonathan Tolins' outrageous new comedy "Buyer & Cellar" featuring Michael Urie (TV's "Ugly Betty") opens tonight, July 13, at the Center Theatre Group/Mark Taper Forum at 7 p.m. Directed by Stephen Brackett, this New York runaway hit continues through August 17.

In "Buyer & Cellar" Alex More (played by Urie) has a story to tell. A struggling actor in Los Angeles, Alex takes a job working in the Malibu basement of Barbra Streisand. One day, the Lady Herself comes downstairs to play. It feels like a real bonding in the basement but will their relationship ever make it upstairs? "Buyer & Cellar" is a hilarious comedy about the price of fame, the cost of things and the oddest of odd jobs.

"Buyer and Cellar" swept the Best of 2013 Theatre lists including The New York Times, Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, New York Daily News, NPR, Newsday, The Huffington Post, AM New York, The New York Observer, The Advocate, The Daily Beast, Entertainment Weekly, NBC New York, Playbill, Towleroad, Gay City News and Time Out New York. It has also received numerous awards and nominations for best solo show and Urie's performance, including the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Clarence Derwent Awards.

Prior to Los Angeles, Michael Urie and "Buyer and Cellar" have appeared in NYC, Chicago and Washington, D.C., and following L.A., will go on to San Francisco and Dallas. "Buyer & Cellar" will have its London premiere in spring 2015.

"Buyer & Cellar" had its world premiere in April 2013 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, where it received rave reviews and played a sold-out, extended run before transferring to New York's Barrow Street Theatre where it opened June 24, 2013. "Buyer & Cellar," is the longest-running comedy in New York and it recouped its initial investment faster than any off-Broadway show in recent history.

Michael Urie played Marc St. James on the hit series "Ugly Betty." His New York theatre credits include "How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying" (Broadway), "The Cherry Orchard" (CSC), "Angels in America" (The Signature), "The Temperamentals" (Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk, and Theatre World Awards, Drama League nomination), "The Revenger's Tragedy" (Red Bull) and "Another Vermeer" (HB Playwrights). Regionally, he's worked for The Old Globe, Vineyard Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Folger Shakespeare, Barrington Stage, Hyde Park (Austin) and The Blank (L.A.). Films include "He's Way More Famous Than You" (also directed), "Thank You For Judging" (co-director/executive producer), "Beverly Hills Chihuahua," "WTC View," "Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life," "The Decoy Bride" and "Petunia." He starred in the television series "Partners" and trained at Juilliard.

Jonathan Tolins' plays include "The Twilight of the Golds" (Booth Theater), "If Memory Serves" (Promenade Theater), "The Last Sunday in June" (Rattlestick and Century Center), and "Secrets of the Trade" (Primary Stages). Tolins co-wrote the films "The Twilight of the Golds" and "Martian Child." He was a consulting producer on the recent CBS comedy "Partners" and was co-producer on the first season of "Queer As Folk" on Showtime. He has written for the Academy Awards and the Tony Awards, and co-wrote Bette Midler's "Divine Miss Millennium Tour" and "The Showgirl Must Go On" in Las Vegas.

Stephen Brackett's NYC credits include "Percy Jackson and the Lightning Thief" (Theatreworks USA), Ken Urban's "The Correspondent" (Rattlestick), Dan Fishback's "The Material World" (Dixon Place), Micheline Auger's "American River" (Lesser America), Bekah Brunstetter's "Nothing is the End of the World (Except for the End of the World)" (Waterwell), Chad Beckim's "After" (Partial Comfort), Brunstetter's "Be a Good Little Widow" (Ars Nova), "The Tenant" (Woodshed Collective), David Mixner's "From the Front Porch" (Dixon Place), Nick Jones and Rachel Shukert's "The Sporting Life" (Studio 42), Rick Viede's "Whore" (Summer Play Festival) and Bixby Elliot's "PN1923.45 LS01 Volume 2" (Culture Project). His regional credits include "The Trouble With Doug" (TheatreWorks) and "Kilroy Was Here: A Styx Rock Opera" (Williamstown). Stephen is a company member of Lesser America and Partial Comfort and an alumnus of the Soho Rep Lab.

Tickets for "Buyer & Cellar" are available by calling (213) 628-2772, visiting www.CenterTheatreGroup.org, or in person at the Center Theatre Group box office at the Ahmanson Theatre. Tickets range from $25 - $85 (ticket prices are subject to change). The Mark Taper Forum is located at the Music Center, 135 N. Grand Avenue in Downtown L.A. 90012.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus