Kristen Gehling to Play Bankhead in SHADES OF BLUE, 8/27-9/7

Beautiful Soup has announced that Kristen Gehling will replace the previously announced Francesca MacAaron as legendary stage and star screen Tallulah Bankhead in SHADES OF BLUE: THE DECLINE AND FALL OF LADY DAY... Gehling will also appear in repertory as famed director Margo Jones in WHAT WAS LOST.

After Beautiful Soup Theater's acclaimed and sold-out production of Little Wars in April, they proudly presents the last two works in Steven Carl McCasland's trilogy examining women in the arts. Complete casting for both plays has been announced.

Beginning on August 27th, What Was Lost will run in repertory with Shades of Blue: The Decline and Fall of Lady Day at the Dorothy Strelsin Theatre. McCasland is a rising voice in the world of theatre. Critics have called his plays "fascinating", "powerful", "outstanding", "heartbreaking" and "magical". After their acclaimed and sold-out production of Little Wars in April, Beautiful Soup is proud to present the last two works in a trilogy. The first play, Little Wars, imagined an evening between some of the greatest literary minds in history at the height of the Second World War.

After a six-year hiatus, beloved stage actress Laurette Taylor returns to the stage in McCasland's What Was Lost. For the first time in nearly a decade, she takes to the stage sober. Chronicling her process from the first rehearsal of Tennessee Williams' The Glass Menagerie through her legendary first performance as Amanda Wingfield, What Was Lost is a piercing look at the lies we tell ourselves in order to survive. Joining Gehling are Pennylynn White (previously seen as Alice B. Toklas in Little Wars) as Laurette Taylor and Paul Thomas Ryan as Tennessee Williams. Also featured are Colin Fisher (Liliom), Kimberly Faye Greenberg (Little Wars, One Night With Fanny Brice), Brian Piehl and Renee Heitmann.

In Shades Of Blue: The Decline and Fall Of Lady Day, McCasland takes a searing look at the final years of Billie Holiday's life. The intermission-less memory play chronicles Lady Day's sordid history of sexual, alcohol and drug abuse. Gardenias rarely survive the winter. Join Lady Day as she prepares to take her final bow .As previously announced, Suzanne Froix stars as the tortured but talented Holiday. She is joined by Gehling as Tallulah Bankhead and Orlando Iriarte as Joe Glaser. Ron Denson will appear as Louis McKay, Holiday's final husband, with Alana Inez and Carol Sims as women from her past.

The plays begin their limited engagement at The Dorothy Strelsin Theatre on August 27th and will run through September 7th, 2014. Beautiful Soup is best known for reviving lost or oft-forgotten works, but occasionally presents workshops of new plays and musicals. For full performance schedule, visit www.beautifulsouptheatercollective.org.

The Dorothy Strelsin Theatre is located at 312 West 36th Street on the second floor. Tickets for both productions are available at ShowClix now by visiting: http://beautifulsoup.showclix.com.

A teaser trailer for WHAT WAS LOST is available here:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P6-gwiVkNzg

A teaser trailer for SHADES OF BLUE is available here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AB_KbjJOfxg

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