Photo Flash: 'Un Peu de Limonade' Benefit with Baldwin, Rowat, Pendleton & More!

A special party and company fundraiser "Un Peu de Limonade" took place Monday, March 1st to benefit the NYC Premiere of 'Limonade Tous Les Jours'. The evening featured Kate Baldwin (Finian's Rainbow), Graham Rowat (Boys in the Band), Eleanor Handley, Austin Pendleton, Susan Astin, Laura Gourdine, Anton Briones and more.

Joie de Théâtrale with The New Voice Project proudly present the NYC Premiere of "Limonade Tous les Jours," a romantic comedy (in english), written by Charles L. Mee, and directed by Diana Basmajian. The show will have a limited-run at The Cell Theatre in Chelsea (338 W. 23rd Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues) playing April 3rd - April 18th.

Performances are Saturday, April 3rd at 8pm, Sunday, April 4th at 3pm & 7pm, Monday, April 5th at 8pm (note new time), Wednesday, April 7th at 8pm, Thursday, April 8th at 8pm, Friday, April 9th at 8pm, Saturday, April 10th at 8pm, Sunday, April 11th at 3pm & 7pm, Wednesday, April 14th at 8pm, Thursday, April 15th at 8pm, Friday, April 16th at 8pm, Saturday, April 17th at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday, April 18th at 3:00pm. Tickets, $18, available Feb 1st at Ticket Central, (212) 279-4200, and www.TicketCentral.com. More show info. at www.Limonadetouslesjours.com

Set in Paris, Limonade Tous les Jours is a delightful & sparkling romantic comedy that tells the story of an American man who meets a French woman in a cafe. Both of them are recovering from recent ruined love relationships. They spend the day wandering through the city together, and speak of all the reasons why they shouldn't fall in love. And so of course, they do.

Limonade Tous les Jours' cast includes Austin Pendleton (film, TV, stage, director, playwright, actor), Eleanor Handley (Hudson Valley Shakespeare, Arts Center of Coastal Carolina, New School for Drama) and Anton Briones (Seussical with TheatreWorks).

The play is directed by Diana Basmajian (Kate Baldwin at Feinstein's, Asst. Dir. For MCC's Fifty Words and Uncle Vanya - both for Mr. Pendleton, Broadway's 24-Hour Plays). Limonade's creative team includes: Musical Director - Cris Frisco; Scenic Designer -Hilary Noxon; Costume Designer - Charles Schoonmaker; Lighting Designer -
Kathleen Dobbins; Choreographer - Erin Porvaznika; Associate Producer - Moira Boag; Production/Company Manager - Jennifer McKnight; and Photography - Maia Rosenfeld Photography. Wardrobe is provided by Darling (1 Horatio Street, West Village).

"I do love this play of Charles Mee's. I think it's one of his very best, out of a vast and to me glorious body of work," said Austin Pendleton "It's completely knowing and sophisticated about its wonderfully tricky subject - the romance between an older American man and a fabulously complicated young French woman, in Paris - and yet, under Diana's direction, it's as free and innocent as an unmuddied French fountain. And playing it with Eleanor Handley, is a joyous experience."

"We're thrilled to present this play and our amazing cast at The Cell Theatre in Chelsea," said director Diana Basmajian. "With universal themes of love and companionship, presented with humor and heart, we're sure audiences will delight in seeing this show. Plus how exciting to have the first pairing of two NY theatre legends - Pendleton and Mee."

Charles L. Mee is a popular and contemporary American playwright, historian and author known for his collage-like style of playwriting that utilizes radical reconstructions of found texts. Among other awards, Charles Mee is the recipient of a lifetime achievement award in drama from the American Academy of Arts and Letters, two OBIE Awards (Vienna: Lusthaus (1986) and Big Love (2002)), PEN/Laura Pels Foundation Award for Drama, and the Fisher Award given by the Brooklyn Academy Of Music. Mee's many works include Fire Island, Summertime, Belle Époque, Café le Monde, The Four Seasons, Memory Palace, and Night and Day. Limonade Tous les Jours has been hailed by critics as one of Mee's most accessible works. More info. available at www.CharlesMee.org

Photo Credit: Kathleen Chloe