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Tickets Remain for
SIMPLY SENSATIONAL
on Monday, November 14,
and for the final four performances
of the hit comedy
LOVE SUCKS! |
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Michael A. Leppen
and the Board and Artistic Ensemble
of Pride Films and Plays
invite you to an evening that is
SIMPLY SENSATIONAL,
featuring the best music, dance,
comedy, and theater talent in Chicago!
Tickets still remain and can be purchased at the door on the third floor lobby of Center On Halsted at 6 pm Monday or purchased on line now here.
The evening includes appetizers and
a complimentary beer and wine bar from 6:30 to 7:30.
The performance begins at 7:30;
desserts will be featured at intermission.
VIP tickets are $50
and include reserved seating,
program recognition, and one ticket to
PFP's comedy Love Sucks!
(currently running through November 26).
General admission tickets are $25.
Tickets may be purchased at
Brown Paper Tickets,
1 800 838 3006 or ordered on-line here .
Performers include
Tom Michael,
Natalie Myre,
Honey West,
Keith Stoneking,
Nicholas Harper,
Michelle McKenzie-Voigt,
Aaron Page,
Salsation Theater Company,
comedy from ThoraBurch,
dance from the Crush Dance Collective,
performances by the
Pride Films and Plays Artistic Ensemble,
and a scene from Rob Mersola's Love Sucks!
Our hostess for the evening is Joan McGrath!
Simply Sensational is at
the Hoover-Leppen Theater
of Center on Halsted, 3656 North Halsted.
We hope to see you there! |
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There are only four performances remaining of Love Sucks!,
Rob Mersola's comedy playing on Friday and Saturday at 8 at Hydrate. In case you missed Mary Shen Barnidge's review from Windy City Times this week, here it is:
"Our setting is swinging Manhattan, but could as easily be any city, anywhere. Flighty Josie and her gay-boy chum, Calvin, decide that their social lives have too much sex and not enough romance. Their assessment is correct: Josie's boyfriend, Harlan, is a lout focused on his own jaw-dropping package while stockbroker Charlie, whom Calvin - uh, meets in a public restroom, says he already has a significant other. He does - his bossy fiancée Elaine, who is appalled to learn that her rich hub-to-be is queer, even to calling him the (gasp!) f-word. The wild card in this shuffle is a flirtatious gypsy named Giuseppi, who cheerfully dispenses candid advice and judgment-free comfort. "At first glance, Rob Mersola's bed-and-bathroom-stall farce would seem to occupy the same territory as the long-running Women Are Crazy Because Men Are Assholes: attractive young people in thrall to their appetites, who swill alcohol by the gallon and open wide at the drop of an "oh-why-not?" What distinguishes Love Sucks! from its genre, however, is its wholesale acknowledgment of its sheer artificiality. "The theme, introduced by the lone player in this screwball game, is that everybody is a liar. Josie and Elaine claim to love their beaux but are, in fact, intent on bettering their social status. Charlie claims to desire a het lifestyle-with an occasional excursion onto the down-low, but really wants a cozy same-sex relationship. Harlan claims to like people for reasons other than his own sexual gratification and Calvin's lofty vows to play harder-to-get crumble at the first glimpse of foreskin. Even Giuseppi's accent is a polyglot pastiche of Latin-lover croons. The plot resolution doesn't bring everyone to a realization that honesty is the best policy - no way! - but self-awareness enabling them to recognize truth from fiction, and to keep both in their proper place. "Under John Nasca's direction, the six cast members embrace their live-action-cartoon universe with an enthusiasm rendering its amoral inhabitants immediately engaging. The vocal range of most young actors essaying screwball comedy tend to grow only louder and shriller, but Chad Ryan, Cyra K. Polizzi and Edward Fraim, playing, respectively, Calvin, Josie, and the thoroughly charming Giuseppi, exercise their voices with the virtuosity of opera singers, while Kevin Webb works his face into expressions revealing subtext belying his buttoned-up appearance. The results make for an intimate bar entertainment that you don't need a drink to enjoy!" For tickets call Brown Paper Tickets at 1 800 838 3006 or purchase on line here. |
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About PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS
Pride Films and Plays, based in Chicago, links an international network of writers with professionals working in film and theater.
PFP fosters excellent writing for the stage and screen that speaks not only to the LGBT community, but is essential viewing for our friends, family, and co-workers.
Using stories with gay, lesbian, bisexual, and transgender characters or themes, Pride Films and Plays develops human stories that become a cultural bridge to understanding.
Through readings, contests, classes, screenings, and full theater productions, PFP engages artists and audiences in the full developmental process needed to make great artistic experiences.
PRIDE FILMS AND PLAYS
3023 N Clark 327,
Chicago, IL 60657
www.pridefilmsandplays.com
David Zak
Executive Director
John Nasca, Andrew Souders
Artistic Associates
Allison Fradkin
Literary Coordinator, Women's Work
Artistic Ensemble
Steve Anderson, Derek Van Barham,
Charles A. Berglund, Derek Bertelsen,
David Besky, Tom Chiola, Brian Grey,
Sean-Edward Hall, Jude Hansen, Nicholas Harper, Valerie Heckman, John Highberger, Kris Hyland, Juliane Johnson, Kelley Keough, Michael Lasswell, Joan McGrath, Michelle McKenzie-Voigt,
Tiffany Nasca, Cyra K. Polizzi, Brian Rooney,
Chad Ryan, Patrick Rybarczyk, Mark Smaglinski, Jamie Smith, Jake Szczepaniak, Kelli Walker,
Kevin Webb, Honey West, Lee Wichman
Pride Films and Plays is a member of the
League of Chicago Theaters,
Central Lakeview Merchants Association,
and the
Chicago Area Gay and Lesbian Chamber of Commerce
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