Mink Stole News

Kentwood Players will present 'Sordid Lives' by Del Shores from tonight, July 11 to August 16, 2014 for a six-week run on Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm with Sunday matinees at 2pm at the Westchester Playhouse, located at 8301 Hindry Avenue, Westchester, CA 90045. The production is directed by Kirk Larson and produced by Lori Marple-Pereslete and Virginia Mekkelson by special arrangement with Samuel French, Inc.

SORDID LIVES, a black comedy about white trash, centers on a colorful family from a small Texas town who must come to grips with the accidental death of the elderly family matriarch during her clandestine meeting in a seedy motel room with a much younger, married neighbor. The woman's family must deal with their own demons while preparing for what could be an embarrassing funeral. This play is filled with adult situations and language.

Over 150 celebrities - actors, musicians, writers, models, photographers, performers - are auctioning off unique personal photos and selfies as part of the MIX NYC #NakedEye Camera Benefit. To bid, visit mixnyc.org/nakedeye. A full list of participating celebrities is included below; auctions close today, May 22nd.

Starting today, over 150 celebrities - actors, musicians, writers, models, photographers, performers - are auctioning off unique personal photos and selfies as part of the MIX NYC #NakedEye Camera Benefit. To bid, visit mixnyc.org/nakedeye. A full list of participating celebrities is included at the end of this release; auctions close on May 22nd.

The DRAG QUEENS OF COMEDY, starring: MISS COCO PERU GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS and TRICK;LADY BUNNY Founder of WIGSTOCK, DJ and Icon; PANDORA BOX RuPaul's Drag Race; BLANCA DEL RIO RuPaul's Drag Race - Season 6 - 2013/14; DWV (Detox, Willam, and Vicky Vox) RuPaul's Drag Race; SHANGELA RuPaul's Drag Race; and SASHA SOPRANO Drag Queens Of Comedy, is set for tonight, March 29, 2014 at 7 p.m. & 10 p.m. at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Hosted by HEKLINA and PEACHES CHRIST.

The DRAG QUEENS OF COMEDY, starring: MISS COCO PERU GIRLS WILL BE GIRLS and TRICK;LADY BUNNY Founder of WIGSTOCK, DJ and Icon; PANDORA BOX RuPaul's Drag Race; BLANCA DEL RIO RuPaul's Drag Race - Season 6 - 2013/14; DWV (Detox, Willam, and Vicky Vox) RuPaul's Drag Race; SHANGELA RuPaul's Drag Race; and SASHA SOPRANO Drag Queens Of Comedy, is set for Saturday, March 29, 2014 at 7 p.m. & 10 p.m. at The Castro Theatre in San Francisco. Hosted by HEKLINA and PEACHES CHRIST.

Following a November 10th opening that was met with positive reviews, the producers of the current revival of The Mutilated by Tennessee Williams have added a post show discussion with cast members associated with the original 1966 Broadway production, where in ran with The Gnadiges Fraulein under the collective title Slapstick Tragedy. Four-time Tony winner Zoe Caldwell (Polly in The Gnadiges Fraulein, her first Tony award), Jordan Charney (Cop in The Mutilated) and Art Ostrin (Bernie understudy in The Mutilated, Cocaloony Bird in The Gnadiges Fraulein) will join Mink Stole, Penny Arcade and director Cosmin Chivu in a free talk following the November 23 at 3pm performance. The panel is moderated by Tennessee Williams editor Thomas Keith.

In response to popular demand, the first New York revival in 38 years of The Mutilated by Tennessee Williams will extend to December 1. Directed by Cosmin Chivu and starring legendary avant-garde performers Mink Stole and Penny Arcade, the production features original music composed by Jesse Selengut, performed by the three-piece combo Tin Pan. In anticipation of the production's opening, Charles Isherwood in The New York Times wrote, "What Penny Arcade and Mink Stole will make of Williams's radiantly lurid characters could well be one of the livelier sideshows in a theatrical season rich in promising double acts.'

Like nearly all of Williams's later, more experimental plays, The Mutilated was met with stinging reviews, disappointment and even anger when it premiered on Broadway in 1966 (with The Gnadiges Fraulein, under the collective title Slapstick Tragedy). "I know Mr. Williams is trying to do something ambitious and ambiguous but, gee, I wish he would just give something old and square like A Streetcar Named Desire," wrote John McClain in the New York Journal-American. Directed by Cosmin Chivu, legendary avant-garde performers Mink Stoleand Penny Arcade will star in the first New York revival of The Mutilated in 38 years. The production features original music composed byJesse Selengut, performed by the three-piece combo Tin Pan.

The curtain will rise for preview performances for the new Billie Holiday musical Lady Day starring Tony and multiple Grammy Award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater on Thursday, September 19th (7PM) at the Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). Written and directed by Stephen Stahl, the musical will make its New York debut having been produced at the Theatre de Boulogne-Billancourt and Theatre du Gymnase Marie Bell in Paris as well as The Donmar Warehouse and The Piccadilly Theatre in London, where it received critical praise and garnered an Olivier "Best Actress in a Musical" Award nomination for Ms. Bridgewater. Produced by Misty Road Productions (Thomas Gentile) the show is slated to open on Thursday, October 3rd (6:30PM). Check out a first look at Bridgewater as Holiday below!

Performances of The Mutilated will take place November 1-24 at the New Ohio Theatre. Critics are welcome as of Thursday, November 7 for an official opening of Sunday, November 10 at 7pm. The running time is 90 minutes with no intermission. New Ohio Theatre is located at 154 Christopher Street in Manhattan. Tickets are $35 and can be purchased by visiting newohiotheatre.org or calling 888.596.1027.

Tickets will go on sale for the new musical Lady Day about Billie Holiday, starring Tony and multiple Grammy Award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater today, August 9th at 12noon at the Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) . Tickets will also be available on phone and online. Preview performances are slated to begin Thursday, September 19th (7PM) and an opening is set for Thursday, October 3rd (6:30PM).

'It may be disappointing to some, but despite the title there is no gore in The Mutilated,' says David Kaplan, curator of the Tennessee Williams Theater Festival. 'Instead we have broad humor, cryptic Christmas Carols, and touching characters seeking redemption in all the wrong places. Altogether a really good time at the theater."

Tickets will go on sale for the new musical Lady Day about Billie Holiday, starring Tony and multiple Grammy Award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater on Friday, August 9th at 12noon at the Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues) . Tickets will also be available on phone and online. Preview performances are slated to begin Thursday, September 19th (7PM) and an opening is set for Thursday, October 3rd (6:30PM).

In an interview in this week's The Hollywood Reporter, director, screenwriter and actor John Waters spoke about the long-term success of HAIRSPRAY and revealed some interesting news about what may lie ahead for the film's future.

David Ayers (Wicked and SILENCE!) in the role of 'Robert,' Billie Holiday's Manager along with newcomer Rafael Poueriet in the role of the 'Assistant Stage manager' as well as Jim Cammack (veteran bass player for legendary jazz pianist Ahmad Jamal), Ken Hitchcock (NY Saxophone Quartet & Manhattan Jazz Orchestra's acclaimed tenor sax player), Jerome Jennings (performer & drummer for Benny Golson and Sonny Rollins) and Bill Jolly (three-time Emmy Award winning pianist/composer/arranger) in the speaking roles of the onstage musicians complete the acting ensemble for the upcoming Billie Holiday musical 'Lady Day' starring Tony and multiple Grammy Award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater. With an opening set for Thursday, October 3rd (6:30PM) the production will take residence at Times Square's Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). Written and directed by Stephen Stahl, the musical will make its New York debut having been produced at the Theatre de Boulogne-Billancourt and Theatre du Gymnase Marie Bell in Paris as well as The Donmar Warehouse and The Piccadilly Theatre in London, where it received critical praise and garnered an Olivier 'Best Actress in a Musical' Award nomination for Ms. Bridgewater. Produced by Misty Road Productions the show's creative team also includes Mr. Jolly, who will also serve as musical director. Preview performances are slated to begin Thursday, September 19th(8PM).

This September theater artists from around the globe will converge on the seaside village of Provincetown, where Williams worked over several summers, to celebrate America's great playwright with a program of plays, dance, film and performance art organized around the theme of Tennessee Williams and Women: 50% Illusion.

Multi-award-winning set designer Beowulf Boritt, along with noted costumes designer Patricia A. Hibbert, and acclaimed lighting designed by Ryan O'Gara will head the design team for the upcoming Billie Holiday musical "Lady Day" starring Tony and multiple Grammy Award-winner Dee Dee Bridgewater. With an opening set for Thursday, October 3rd(6:30PM) the production will take residence at Times Square's Little Shubert Theatre (422 West 42nd Street, between 9th and 10th Avenues). Written and directed by Stephen Stahl, the musical will make its New York debut having been produced at the Theatre de Boulogne-Billancourt and Theatre du Gymnase Marie Bell in Paris as well as The Donmar Warehouse and The Piccadilly Theatre in London, where it received critical praise and garnered an Olivier "Best Actress in a Musical" Award nomination for Ms. Bridgewater. Produced by Misty Road Productionsthe show's creative team also includes three-time Emmy Award winning composer & arranger Bill Jolly, who will serve as musical director. Preview performances are slated to begin Thursday, September 19th(8PM).

The con-con production of SORDID LIVES is a hoot. Simon has pulled out all the farcical stops. His cast has fun, the audience has even more fun. If you want an evening of outlandish theatre, this is it!