CHICAGO — October 1, 2012 — Following the upward trajectory from short play at Collaboraction's Sketchbook X (2010) to a full production in The New Colony's third season (2011) and most recently gracing the stages of The New York International Fringe Festival (2012), TNC's original creation — 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche — will now embark on an off-Broadway run at New York's SoHo Playhouse beginning Oct. 13 and running through Nov. 20.
The meteoric rise of what Time Out Chicago described as "smart, sharp and hysterically funny" played to a completely sold-out run at FringeNYC and went on to win a "Best Overall Production" award from the Festival, as selected by an independent panel of 40 theater professionals. The cast of five women then returned to New York for a six performance run as part of the Festival's by-invitation-only Encore Series at the SoHo Playhouse — the same venue where the off-Broadway run will begin later this month.
Helming the producing of 5 Lesbians' off-Broadway run is John Arthur Pinckard, among whose most recent success is the Tony, Pulitzer and Olivier Award-winning Clybourne Park. Pinckard is the co-founder, with FringeNYC Festival Administrator Britt Lafield, of the FringeNYC Encore Series, and has fostered the transfer of many other Fringe productions to more prominent venues including the transfer of 2005 FringeNYC entry Silence! The Musical! to the off-Broadway stage, where it continues to run at PS 122.
"Experiencing the rapid evolution of what was once just a short, silly sketch into a full-length, silly play has been an amazing journey" said Artistic Director Andrew Hobgood. "With a darkly hilarious cast and John's producing experience to back it all up, this next step onto the off-Broadway stage will only enhance the already compelling theater experience that is 5 Lesbians."
Since the close of last summer's wildly successful run in Chicago, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche has enjoyed regional premieres by theater companies in Omaha, Nebraska; Boulder, Colorado; Charleston, South Carolina and San Francisco, California. This summer's Fringe run restaged the original 2011 production with many of those same cast members, one of whom assumed a new role, along with two new cast members.
The off-Broadway run will feature this same cast and creative team.
"We are extremely excited to announce the addition of 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche which will make our fall season complete!" said SoHo Playhouse, Inc. Artistic Director Darren Lee Cole. "New York's theatrical elite hoped this show would never see the light of day but after the amazing response it received at the Fringe they had no luck trying to stick their finger in the dyke."
The SoHo Playhouse's season began last week with PigPen Theatre Co.'s The Old Man and The Old Moon (September 26-November 25 at the Gym at Judson), followed by Ingenious Nature written and performed by Baba Brinkman (November 20, 2012 - January 6, 2013 at the SoHo Playhouse), and Hamlet in Bed by Michael Laurence (January 2013 at the SoHo Playhouse.)
It's 1956 and the Susan B. Anthony Society for the Sisters of Gertrude Stein is meeting for their annual quiche breakfast. However, this year there is an unexpected agenda item — the dropping of atom bombs on their fair city. This normally idyllic gathering is upended when the Society's matriarchs; Ginny Cadbury (Caitlin Chuckta), Lulie Stanwyck (Rachel Farmer), Wren Robin (Megan Johns), Veronica "Vern" Schultz (Thea Lux) and Dale Prist (Maari Suorsa) must confront some startling revelations made by the Sisterhood while meeting the fallout from the Red Menace head on.
Presented by John Arthur Pinckard, 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche is written by Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder, with contributions by Mary Hollis Inboden, Megan Johns, Thea Lux, Beth Stelling and Maari Suorsa.
Sarah Gitenstein directs with Assistant Director Jaime Totti.
FACT SHEET
TITLE: 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche
PRESENTED BY: John Arthur Pinckard
WRITTEN BY: Andrew Hobgood and Evan Linder
DIRECTED BY: Sarah Gitenstein
DATES: October 13 — November 20, Saturdays at 10:00pm, Sundays, Mondays and Tuesdays at 7:30pm
LOCATION: SoHo Playhouse — Mainstage
15 Vandam Street
New York, NY 10013
TICKETS: Reserved — $40.00
Premium — $50.00
BOX OFFICE: 212-691-1555
sohoplayhouse.com
ABOUT THE ARTISTS
Andrew Hobgood (Co-Playwright) is the founding Artistic Director for The New Colony where he has directed Amelia Earhart: Jungle Princess, FRAT, and Hearts Full of Blood, which went on to the New York Fringe Festival and was featured in its Encore Series. He has served as co-writer on many of The New Colony's original works including That Sordid Little Story and Tupperware: An American Musical Fable, which he also directed. Most recently he directed and co-wrote lyrics for The New Colony's latest musical, Rise of the Numberless. Outside of The New Colony, Andrew won a 2006 FringeNYC award for 58! A Comedy about Bike Messengering. Andrew is an adjunct professor of theatre at the University of Chicago.
Evan Linder (Co-Playwright) is The New Colony's Associate Artistic Director. A graduate of the College of Charleston, Evan has worked with Victory Gardens Theatre, About Face Theatre, the side project, Promethean Theatre Ensemble and Bohemian Theatre Ensemble since moving to Chicago. For The New Colony, Evan has written FRAT, The Warriors, 11:11, Rise of the Numberless and The Bearsuit of Happiness which will premiere as part of The New Colony's 2013 season. Evan is an adjunct professor of theatre at the University of Chicago.
Sarah Gitenstein (Director) is a company member at The New Colony and Collaboraction Theater. She was the casting director at Collaboraction for four years where she worked on such plays as The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, Jon, and Sketchbook 7, 8, and 9. She has directed for various theaters in the Chicago area including American Theater Company, Pavement Group, and Victory Gardens Theater. She earned her bachelors degree in theater from Kenyon College.
John Arthur Pinckard (Producer) is a Tony Award winning producer of theatre and film, most recently represented on Broadway by Clybourne Park which won the Tony Award, Pulitzer Prize and Olivier Award for Best New Play. Other current productions include Roger Rees' What You Will on the West End, the international tour of Green Day's American Idiot, and the long running Off Broadway hit Silence! The Musical!, which he originated at the 2005 New York International Fringe Festival. Other Broadway credits include Green Day's American Idiot (Tony nomination) Slava's Snowshow on Broadway (Tony nomination).
At last year's FringeNYC John produced Yeast Nation: the Triumph of Life, Greg Kotis & Mark Hollmann's musical follow-up to Urinetown, starring Harriet Harris, which sold out six enthusiastic houses at the Ellen Stewart Theater and is currently in further development. John is the co-founder, with FringeNYC Festival Administrator Britt Lafield, of the FringeNYC Encore Series, now in its seventh year. In addition to 'Outstanding Production' winners 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche, Silence! And Yeast Nation, John's other FringeNYC credits include Never Swim Alone and Dog Sees God. John is an associate member of the Broadway League and has been a guest lecturer and faculty member at Columbia University, the University of Central Florida, and the University of Florida, which named him an Outstanding Young Alumnus in 2009.
He is an inaugural recipient of Hal Prince's T. Edward Hambleton Fellowship for creative producers.
Caitlin Chuckta (Ginny Cadbury) moved to Chicago from New York City in 2008 and became a company member with The New Colony. Additional Chicago credits include: Chicago Shakespeare Theater, The House Theatre, First Folio Theatre, The Victory Gardens Theatre "Fresh Squeezed" series, and Appetite Theatre. Her most epic role to date was playing Tiny Tim in American Drama Group Europe's tour of A Christmas Carol. A native of New England, regional credits include: The Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Connecticut Free Shakespeare, Connecticut Repertory Theatre, Downtown Cabaret Theatre, and a coast to coast tour with National Theatre for Arts and Education. She holds her BFA in Acting from the University of Connecticut. More information at caitlinchuckta.com .
Rachel Farmer (Lulie Stanwyck) has been creating, improvising, and performing around Chicago since she fell off the watermelon truck from Mobile, Alabama. Rachel has performed with Second City Theatricals, iO (formerly Improv Olympic), The Playground and The Annoyance Theatre in Chicago. Currently Rachel improvises with Bella and womyns fusion trio, WiseSnatch, who was just featured at the 2012 Chicago Just For Laughs Festival.
Meg Johns (Wren Robin) is a native Virginian who moved to Chicago in 2003. She has trained in improvisation at iO Chicago and the Annoyance Theatre, performing in a variety of sketch, improv, and scripted original shows, including playing with the all-female comedy group WiseSnatch, and creating the show Love is Dead: A Necromantic Musical Comedy which ran at The Annoyance in Chicago and went on to showcase at The Fringe Festival in NYC in 2008. Meg began teaching improv at The Annoyance in early 2008. She directed her first full-length original show there, Chasing Dumb, which she and the cast took to Austin's Out of Bounds Festival. Shortly afterwards she got to be a part of "sexy in the face" in Late Nite Tit Bits Burlesque at The Annoyance, which ran for 3 years. Meg is also a company member of The New Colony, having performed in FRAT, Tupperware: An American Musical Fable, Pancake Breakfast, and directed 11:11.
Thea Lux (Vern Schultz) originally created the role of Ginny in 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche. Last year, she took second place in Chicago's Impress These Apes talent competition and won a Joseph Jefferson Award for original incidental music contributions in The New Colony's bluegrass musical, That Sordid Little Story.
She's a regular performer in Chicago's comedy community and frequent contributor to The Paper Machete and TheSnackpot.com .
Maari Suorsa (Dale Prist) devised and originated the role of Dale in 5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche in Collaboraction's Sketchbook 2010 and the hit full-length run in 2011. Previous credits include Victory Gardens Theater's One Minute Play Festival and Jack in The New Colony's 11:11.
5 Lesbians Eating a Quiche also features contributions by: Jaime Totti (Assistant Director/Associate Producer), Noah Lemaich (Associate Producer), Kevin McClintock (Scenic Design), Nicholas J. Carroll (Lighting Design), Gary Tiedemann (Sound Design), Nathan R. Rohrer (Costume Design), Curtis Cassell (Costume Alterations) and Smyra Yawn (Production Stage Manager).
The newly renovated SoHo Playhouse continues to serve New York's downtown theater community as an historic 199 seat Off Broadway venue. The Huron Club situated below the main theatre is an intimate 55 seat cabaret and bar steeped in the history of Old New York. SoHo Playhouse stands on land that was once Richmond Hill, a colonial mansion that served as headquarters for General George Washington and later home to Aaron Burr. Purchased from Burr in 1817, the land was then developed into federalist-style row houses by fur magnate John Jacob Astor. 15 Van Dam Street, was designated as the Huron Club, a popular meeting house and night club for the Democratic Party. The main floor was transformed into a theater in the 1920's, and in the 60's operated as the Village South, home to Playwrights Unit Workshop under the direction of Edward Albee. It was on this stage that Mr. Albee produced many first works of Terrance McNally, John Guare, Lanford Wilson, Sam Shephard, A.R. Gurney, and Leroi Jones. More recently The Playhouse has been home to Tracy Letts, Charles Busch, Adam Rapp, and many others.
The New Colony, the 2011 recipient of the Broadway In Chicago Emerging Theater Award, strives to contribute original material to the American artistic canon and develop a new kind of theater going audience.
Through collaboration with emerging artists of all disciplines, The New Colony continually develops new work and fresh perspectives. With the goal of exploring enticing subject matter and the common language of experience, The New Colony will cultivate the next generation of arts supporters.
