Act II Playhouse to Present Tony Braithwaite's DIDN'T YOUR FATHER HAVE THIS TALK WITH YOU?, 9/10-10/6
For 12 years, Tony Braithwaite taught both religion and sex ed to high school boys at St. Joseph's Preparatory School, a Jesuit high school in Philadelphia.
Braithwaite, the artistic director of Act II Playhouse and a celebrated local performer, has fashioned his memories from that time into a hilarious, entertaining and touching one-man show. The world premiere of Didn't Your Father Have This Talk With You? plays at Act II Playhouse in Ambler from Sept. 10 to Oct. 6, 2013.
Tickets for Didn't Your Father Have This Talk With You? are $23-$34. Discounts are available for subscribers, students, group of 10 or more, and seniors (65+). Tickets are now available online at http://www.act2.org, by calling the Act II box office at (215) 654-0200, or in person at 56 E. Butler Ave. in Ambler.
Didn't Your Father Have This Talk with You? will include storytelling, stand-up comedy, personal testimonies, one-liners, improvisation, audience interaction ... and even rap music!
"I'll read excerpts from old tests (where some answers were unintentionally funny), tell tales of harrowing questions that stumped me even at my most prepared, and share the off-beat version of the birds and bees that my own father had with me," Braithwaite said.
Some of the stories will address serious issues, such as when students came out of the closet to Braithwaite, or asked him for guidance during other important moments in their lives.
Mary Carpenter is the show's director. The design team includes Set Designers Joe Binck and Ryan George, Lighting Designer Andy Shaw, Sound Designer John Stovicek, and Properties Designer Avista Custom Theatrical Services. Both Binck and George, along with Act II Managing Director Howie Brown, are St. Joe's graduates and former students of Braithwaite.
Didn't Your Father Have This Talk With You? will be the first production in Act II Playhouse's 15th anniversary season, which also marks Braithwaite's second season as artistic director.
Described as "hands down, Philadelphia's finest comic actor" by Philadelphia Weekly, Braithwaite has previously written and performed such hit one-man shows as Look Mom, I'm Swell and First Impressions. As an actor, Braithwaite has performed in many of Act II's most popular shows, including My Fair Lady, Lend Me a Tenor and Art. He also won Barrymore Awards (Philadelphia's equivalent of the Tony Awards) for his performances in The Story of My Life and The Big Bang, both at Act II.
Before becoming a teacher at the school, Braithwaite was a student there. "I loved everything about the Prep, even Latin," he said. "I didn't do very well in Latin, but you know what they say: non omnes possumus omnia (not everyone can do everything)."
The school was life-changing in the best possible way. "At the Prep, everything that made me feel like a misfit in my life before then was suddenly celebrated and accepted," Braithwaite said. "The Jesuits encouraged wittiness, smarts, and critical thinking. There's a famous Catholic saying, 'You can always tell a Jesuit, you just can't tell him much.'"
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