Viagara Falls, a new comedy by Lou Cutell and Joao Machado, comes to New York this summer. Presented by Stanley Browne, John Finocchio and SJ Productions, Inc., Viagara Falls begins performances at the Little Shubert Theatre Monday, July 5th. Opening night is Wednesday, July 21. Directed by Don Crichton ("The Carol Burnett Show"), Viagara Falls features a trio of TV, stage and film veterans: Bernie Kopell ("The Love Boat"), Lou Cutell (original Broadway productions of How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying and Little Me) and Teresa Ganzel ("The Tonight Show," "Teachers Only").
Charley and Moe are widowers, war buddies and life-long pals. For his 77th birthday, rather than sitting around listening to old records, Charley decides that he and Moe need one more crack at sowing some wild oats. Moe is wary, but with the help of one loopy lady of the evening and some black market blue pills, Charley and Moe are in for the birthday party of their lives.
Viagara Falls features costume designs by the legendary
Bob Mackie, scenic design by Sydney Litwack, lighting design by Joshua Scherr and sound design by
Peter Fitzgerald.
"I was a Brooklyn kid, so it is a thrill to be coming home to New York in Viagara Falls," says Bernie Kopell. "This is not my first time playing 42nd Street. As a kid, I used to work at my fathers jewelry store just up the block from where The Little Shubert is now. Since then, I am lucky to have starred in some landmark television comedies - ‘The Love Boat,' ‘Get Smart,' ‘That Girl' - but it is always a joy to be back on a stage, in the same room with a live audience's laughter."
"Who says you can't write a sex farce for people of all ages?" says
Lou Cutell. "It's all about the timing, and who knows more about the passage of time than I do? We wanted to write a play that would make audiences laugh and warm their hearts too. Bernie and Teresa do just that. I could not have asked for a better pair of actors to share the stage with."
VIAGARA FALLS begins performances Monday July 5 at the Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street). Opening night is Wednesday, July 21. Performances are Monday, Wednesday, Friday and Saturday at 8PM, Tuesday at 7PM with matinees on Wednesday and Saturday at 2PM and Sunday at 3PM. Via subway, take the 1/2/3/A/C/E/N/R/W/Q trains to 42nd Street/Times Square. Tickets are $69. A limited number of premium seats are available at each performance. Tickets are available through
Telecharge.com, 212-239-6200.
ABOUT THE CAST
BERNIE KOPELL (Moe Crubbs) is best know to television audiences for his roles Dr. Adam Bricker on "The Love Boat," Siegfried on "Get Smart," Jerry Bauman on
Marlo Thomas' "That Girl," Louie Pallucci on "The
Doris Day Show," and Alan-a-Dale on "When Things Were Rotten." He's been starring on Television for over 50 years, his first big break was on "The
Jack Benny Show." More recently he has appeared on NBC's "My Name is Earl" and "Scrubs," The Disney Channel's "The Suite Life of Zack & Cody," and USA's "Monk." Kopell was seen in the 2008 film adaptation of "Get Smart" starring
Steve Carell and Ann Hathaway. A native of Brooklyn, Bernie attended Erasmus High School and then NYU. When he was a kid Bernie worked on 42nd Street and 6th Ave in his father's jewelry store. His father was convinced that outside the jewelry business, Bernie could never make a living.
Lou Cutell (Playwright/Charley Milhouse) made his Broadway debut as the lead comic in the musical Young Abe Lincoln. That led to co-starring Broadway roles in How To Succeed In Business Without Really Trying, the original company of Little Me and the off-Broadway Madam Aphrodite He penned and starred in the award-winning farce play, The Sicilian Bachelor. His career started at 11 years old in off-Broadway productions of " The Corn is Green," "Omerta," and "The Passion Play." Lou is a graduate of UCLA and has appeared in over 76 movies. Some classics are " The Wedding Crashers". "The Odd Couple II", "Laurel Canyon", "Little Big Man", "Foul Play", "Honey I Shrunk The Kids", "Frankenstein Meets the Space Monster", "Young Frankenstein," "The World's Greatest Lover," "Rhinoceros," "Every Little Crook and Nanny" and "Peewee's Big Adventure". On television, Lou has been a guest in over 200 shows. Some you may have seen are "Without A Trace", "Curb Your Enthusiasm", "Will and Grace", "Spin City", "Alice", "General Hospital" and "Barney Miller". Most are sure to remember Lou on "Seinfeld" playing the proctologist Dr. Cooperman, aka "The Assman".
Teresa Ganzel (Jacqueline Tempest) is often recognized for her numerous guest appearances and sketch work on "The
Johnny Carson Show. She has been a series regular on shows such as "Teachers Only", with
Lynn Redgrave, "Roxie", with
AndRea Martin, and "The Dave Thomas Show". Teresa has guest-starred on countless television shows, from her first on "Three's Company", to more recent shows such as 'Malcom in the Middle". Other favorite performances include her co-starring role opposite Jim Carey in "The Duck Factory", "Transylvania 5000" opposite
Jeff Goldblum, and the mini-series "Fresno", starring
Carol Burnett. Teresa also enjoys doing voice over work in animation.
