CHRISTMAS SMACKDOWN to Make New York Premiere at Laurie Beechman Theater, 12/19

After acclaimed premieres in Hollywood and Chicago, CHRISTMAS SMACKDOWN makes it highly anticipated New York Premiere. Written by Mark Nutter (Re-Animator: The Musical, Bicycle Men) and Cynthia Carle (The Sixth Man), performances begin December 19 at The Laurie Beechman Theater (inside West Bank Cafe at 407 West 42nd Street -- at Ninth Avenue, accessible from the A,C,E,N,R,V,F,1,2,3 trains at 42nd Street). This limited engagement runs for 2 nights only: Thursday, Dec. 19 & Friday, Dec. 20 at 7:30pm. Tickets are $20 plus a $15 food/drink minimum. To purchase tickets call 212-352-3101 or visit www.SpinCycleNYC.com.

CHRISTMAS SMACKDOWN celebrates the birthday of the sweetest little Jewboy in the world with well-crafted, vicious songs of loathing and laughter. All the best-loved traditional Christmas themes are here: Arson. Alcohol. The deadly incompetence of angels. Divorce. Dogs. Punishment. Odd, evil, and unspeakable gifts. And of course the decapitation of Swedes, by Norwegians. The Smackdown is not so much a show for those who hate Christmas as it is a show for those who really, really hate Christmas. If hearing Burl Ives sing Holly Jolly Christmas makes you suicidal, Christmas Smackdown is your show.

CHRISTMAS SMACKDOWN is performed by Cynthia Carle, Lyndsay Hailey, Jesse Merlin & Mark Nutter.

Mark Nutter is the winner of both the Los Angeles Critics Circle Award and the LA Weekly Theater Award for his music & lyrics for Re-Animator: The Musical. He wrote the music, lyrics, book, and performed in The Bicycle Men, named Outstanding Overall Production at the New York International Fringe Festival. He wrote the music & lyrics for Wild Men! a satire of the men's movement that played in Chicago and Off-Broadway in New York. Mark has also written for television (3rd Rock from the Sun, Saturday Night Live) and movies (Almost Heroes, starring the late Chris Farley). Mark and partner Cynthia Carle co-wrote and directed Christmas Smackdown at Chicago's iO, and they frequently perform it themselves in LA (under its original title The Christmas Suicide Hotel). www.marknutter.com.

Cynthia Carle has written or co-authored films including The Sixth Man (starring Marlon Wayans and Kadeem Hardison), and was a Humanitas Award finalist for You Wish. A CMU grad, she's acted on Broadway, Off-Broadway, in regional theaters including the Guthrie, Actors Theater of Louisville, Trinity Rep, and Denver Center, and in films including Louis Malle's Alamo Bay. She was Dr. Harrod in the Mark Nutter-Stuart Gordon Re-Animator: The Musical, which she also choreographed, at the Steve Allen Theater in LA. As a singer-songwriter, she has performed at venues in LA and NY. As part-time choral geek, she's sung Beethoven's 9th with Zubin Mehta, Esa-Pekka Salonen, and Gustavo Dudamel. She and partner Mark Nutter co-wrote and directed Christmas Smackdown at Chicago's iO, in addition to performing it themselves in LA. Two CDs are available of her original songs: 15 Songs, and Live and Unmedicated. www.cynthiacarle.com

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