THE DIVINE SISTER Closes 3/7 at Theatre for the New City

Theater for the New City is pleased to announce that Charles Busch's new comedy THE DIVINE SISTER will play a limited premiere showcase engagement at Theater for the New City's Cino Theatre. The developmental production, directed by Busch's longtime collaborator Carl Andress (The Third Story; Die, Mommie, Die!) will play a limited engagement of 24 performances from Saturday, February 6 through Sunday, March 7.

THE DIVINE SISTER is an outrageous comic homage to nearly every Hollywood film involving nuns. Evoking such films as The Song of Bernadette, The Bells of St. Mary's, The Singing Nun and Agnes of God, THE DIVINE SISTER tells the story of St. Veronica's indomitable Mother Superior (author Charles Busch) who is determined to build a new school for her Pittsburgh convent. Along the way, she has to deal with a young postulant who is experiencing "visions," sexual hysteria among her nuns, a sensitive schoolboy in need of mentoring, a mysterious nun visiting from the Mother House in Berlin, and a former suitor intent on luring her away from her vows.

This madcap trip through Hollywood religiosity evokes the wildly comic but affectionately observed theatrical style of the creator of Die, Mommie, Die! and Psycho Beach Party.

In a statement, Charles Busch said, "It gives me great pleasure to return to Theater for the New City to launch my new comedy, THE DIVINE SISTER. Crystal Field provides a great atmosphere in which one can try out new ideas and where a new production can find its sea legs. Carl and I first presented my play Shanghai Moon here in 1999 before we moved it to an Off-Broadway production, and we thought it was high time we returned to TNC, this time to give the ‘Sisters of St. Veronica's' their first home."

Crystal Field said, "Charles Busch is one of America's finest writers of High Comedy. He is a superb actor and, best of all, he has a philosophical bent that gives us a serious underpinning to a hilarious icing on a cake, so scrumptious and luscious, that we forget it's all organic and ‘good for you.' You will indeed be a healthier individual after seeing a Charles Busch play. And this one really does ‘take the cake.'"

In addition to Busch as ‘Mother Superior,' the cast will feature Alison Fraser (Gypsy, Romance/Romance), Julie Halston (Hairspray, Twentieth Century), Amy Rutberg (Our Leading Lady, "As The World Turns"), Jennifer Van Dyck (The Third Story, Hedda Gabler), and Jonathan Walker (The Third Story, Dinner with Friends).

The creative team includes: Scenic and Graphic Design by B.T. Whitehill (Shanghai Moon, Vampire Lesbians of Sodom), Costume Design by Fabio Toblini (Hedwig and the Angry Inch, Batboy: The Musical), Lighting Design by Kirk Bookman (Shanghai Moon, The Green Heart), Sound Design by Jill B.C. Du Boff (Shanghai Moon, What's That Smell?), and original music by composer Lewis Flinn (The Little Dog Laughed; Die, Mommie, Die!).

For more information on THE DIVINE SISTER, to get exclusive offers, and to follow the cast and creative team as they prepare to bring the show to Theater for the New City, join the Facebook fan group: The Divine Sister Onstage.

Tickets for THE DIVINE SISTER will go on sale to the general public on January 4 via OvationTix.com or by calling 212-352-0255 x115. Tickets are $25.00. Performance schedule for this showcase engagement is: SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 6 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 7 (2 performances): Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 3 PM THURSDAY, FEBRUARY 11 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 21 (5 performances per week): Thursday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM. The production will be dark on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday during these two weeks. WEDNESDAY, FEBRUARY 24 - SUNDAY, MARCH 7 (6 performances per week): Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 3 PM. The production will be dark on Monday and Tuesday during these weeks.

Charles Busch (Playwright, Mother Superior) is the author and star of such plays as The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, Shanghai Moon, The Third Story, and Vampire Lesbians of Sodom, which ran five years and is one of the longest running plays in Off-Broadway history. His play The Tale of the Allergist's Wife ran for 777 performances on Broadway and received a Tony nomination for Best Play. He wrote and starred in the film versions of his plays, Psycho Beach Party and Die, Mommie, Die!, the latter of which won him the Best Performance Award at the Sundance Film Festival. In 2003, Mr. Busch received a special Drama Desk Award for career achievement as both performer and playwright. Mr. Busch made his directorial debut with the film A Very Serious Person, which premiered at the 2006 Tribeca Film Festival. He is also the subject of the documentary film The Lady in Question is Charles Busch.

Carl Andress (Director). Directing credits include: Die, Mommie, Die! (New World Stages); the acclaimed Actors Fund benefit performance of Sheldon Harnick and Joe Raposo's A Wonderful Life at the Shubert Theatre (named one of Time Magazine's Best Theater Events of 2005); Charles Busch & Julie Halston: Together on Broadway (Music Box Theater); Douglas Carter Beane's The Cartells (Drama Dept.); Shanghai Moon (Drama Dept., Bay Street Theater, Theater for the New City); The Tale of the Allergist's Wife (Paper Mill Playhouse; Coconut Grove Playhouse; Royal Poinciana Playhouse); Crush the Infamous Thing (Coconut Grove Playhouse); Carmen Pelaez's Rum & Coke (Abingdon Theater Co.); J.A.P. Chronicles - The Musical (Perry Street Theater); Queen Amarantha (WPA Theater); Times Square Angel (Theater for the New City); It's Not My Fault, It Was On Fire When I Got There (FringeNYC/Theater for the New City); True Colors (Rose Hall, Jazz at Lincoln Center); "Broadway for Medicine" (NY City Center); and "Literacy Partners Annual Gala" (NY State Theater). Also, co-writer and co-star of the independent feature, A Very Serious Person (Tribeca Film Festival).

Alison Fraser. Broadway: Gypsy, The Secret Garden (Tony and Drama Desk nomination), Romance/Romance (Tony nomination), Tartuffe: Born Again, The Mystery of Edwin Drood. Off-Broadway: Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams, March of the Falsettos, In Trousers, Prodigal, The Green Heart, Beehive, Todd Rundgren's Up Against It, Swingtime Canteen. American premieres: Come Back, Come Back Wherever You Are, Lizzie Borden, Honk!, High School Musical. Regional (select): Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Lend Me a Tenor; Gunmetal Blues (1st Barrymore Award recipient). Film/TV (select): "Between the Lions," "Law & Order: SVU," "Third Watch," The Thing About My Folks, Jack and His Friends, and In the Blood. Heard on many voiceovers, radio ads, audio books and Grand Theft Auto IV.

Julie Halston. Broadway: Recent credits include Hairspray, Gypsy, Twentieth Century (Outer Critics Circle nom.), The Women. Off-B'way: White Chocolate, The Butter and Egg Man, The Vagina Monologues and numerous others. A founding member of Charles Busch's company, she co-starred in many productions, including The Lady in Question and Red Scare on Sunset (Drama Desk nom.). She is best known on television as Bitsy Von Muffling on "Sex and the City" and is a multi-award winning standup comedienne. Miss Halston co-wrote the acclaimed audition book Monologues for Show-Offs with Donna Daley published by Heinemann Press.

Amy Rutberg. Highlights include NY theatre: Charles Busch's Our Leading Lady (Manhattan Theatre Club), The Jazz Age (59E59), Perfect Harmony (Clurman, Theatre Row). LA theatre: Dracula the Musical (La Jolla Playhouse), Grave White Way (Hudson), The Rocky Horror Show (The Tiffany). National Tours: The Civil War, Man of La Mancha. TV/Film: HBO Film's Emmy Award winning "Recount," NBC's "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," ABC's "The Unusuals," CW's "Everwood." Amy can also be seen in Upright Citizens Brigade's Gravid Water, voted NYC's Best Improv Show (2008) by Time Out New York Magazine. UCLA Graduate. Champion poker player. Visit www.amyrutberg.com for more info.

Jennifer Van Dyck was delighted to create the role of Dr. Constance Hudson in Charles Busch's The Third Story, both at the Lucille Lortel (MCC) and at the La Jolla Playhouse. Broadway: Hedda Gabler, Dancing at Lughnasa, Two Shakespearean Actors and The Secret Rapture. Off-Broadway: The Third Story (MCC), Orson's Shadow (Barrow St.), Suzan Lori-Parks' 365Days/365 Plays (Barrow St./The Public), Keen Company, Playwrights Horizons, Naked Angels. New plays by Austin Pendleton, Bathsheba Doran, Keith Bunin, Ellen McLaughlin, Catherine Filloux, Douglas Post. Film/TV: Across the Universe, Michael Clayton, Stealing Martin Lane, Series 7, States of Control, numerous "Law & Order" episodes, "Fringe," "New Amsterdam." And narration of many audiobooks.

Jonathan Walker. Broadway: Twentieth Century, After The Fall. Off-Broadway includes numerous productions at The Public Theater, MCC, Manhattan Theatre Club, The New Group, Playwright's Horizons, Roundabout, La Mama, PS 122, BAM, Variety Arts, The Women's Project. Regional includes: The Old Globe in San Diego; The Huntington and A.R.T. in Boston; Yale Repertory; La Jolla Playhouse; Williamstown Theater Festival; The McCarter. Recent Film: Far From Heaven, People I Know, Heights, Michael Clayton, Malevolence 2. Recent television: "The Good Wife," "Eli Stone," "6 Degrees," "3 Lbs," "Sex and the City," "Ed," "Chapelle's Show," and lots of "Law and Order."

 

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