i was very pleased to be interviewed in columbus on “writers talk” which is produced at ohio state … though mostly about the premiere production of “the last smoker in america” there, this ranges over a lot of my other work … the host doug dangler asked such intelligent questions and had really done his homework …
Check out the playbill.com article: The Last Smoker in America will open Off-Broadway in Spring 2011
hi there,
i’ve been out of town a lot lately and have really let this website slide … a bunch of stuff to post so i’ll try to do that …
here’s carly sakalove singing the title song from “the last smoker in america” as 11 broadway divas (in one take)
Last Smoker in America to Play Pre-New York Engagement in Ohio
By Andrew Gans
29 Mar 2010
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| Natalie Venetia Belcon and Felicia Finley in the NYMF run of The Last Smoker in America | |
| photo by Robert J. Saferstein |
| Natalie Venetia Belcon and Felicia Finley in the NYMF run of The Last Smoker in America | |
| photo by Robert J. Saferstein |
CATCO and Andy Sandberg (Hair) will present a pre-New York engagement of the new musical The Last Smoker in America Sept. 29-Oct. 24 in Columbus, OH.
Cast and creative team will be announced at a later date.
In a statement producer Sandberg said, “We are very excited to be presenting the world premiere of The Last Smoker in America in Ohio. We look forward to being a part of CATCO’s 2010-2011 Season and sharing this new musical comedy with Columbus.”
The Last Smoker in America features book and lyrics by Tony nominee Bill Russell (Side Show) and music by Drama Desk nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao).
The Last Smoker in America, according to press notes, “is an original, four-character musical comedy about a dysfunctional family struggling to survive in a world where smoking has recently been outlawed. Pam, an English lit professor at a small college, is having an impossible time trying to quit smoking. Her husband Ernie dreams of being a rock star and relentlessly practices his electric guitar in the basement. Their teenage son Jimmy listens to so much rap music he’s convinced he’s black. Their nosy, anti-smoking zealot neighbor Phyllis lurks around trying to catch transgressors mid-puff. Will Pam kick the habit or fight for the right to light up as The Last Smoker in America?”
The musical received a developmental workshop production at the New York Musical Theatre Festival in the fall of 2009 where it extended and played to sold-out audiences.
For more information visit www.lastsmokerinamerica.com or www.catco.org.
The world premiere of a New York-bound musical will launch the 2010-11 season of Contemporary American Theatre Company – its first under a merger with the Phoenix Theatre for Children.
“Change comes hard for people, but the staff is excited and energized by our choices,” said Steven Anderson, the Phoenix founder and leader who will take over in the summer from Geoffrey Nelson as artistic director.
“The merger doesn’t really happen until July 1, but we’re moving forward together and finding out what it means to work together.”
The 27th CATCO season will begin in September with The Last Smoker in America.
Broadway director Sheryl Kaller ( Next Fall) will stage the satirical musical about the dysfunctional family surrounding Pam, who is struggling to quit cigarettes in a future
when smoking is outlawed
in the United States.
“It’s an irreverent comedy that’s really not about smoking so much as the ways that we want to impose on each other,” Anderson said.
He praised the musical for its clever dialogue and witty lyrics and compared it to Urinetown, a similarly satirical, futuristic musical that reached Broadway.
The book and lyrics are by Bill Russell, a two-time Tony award nominee for the 1998 musical Side Show.
The eclectic rock-rap-gospel score was composed by Peter Melnick, a 2007 Drama Desk Award nominee for Adrift in Macao, an off-Broadway musical.
Based on audience reactions in Columbus, the producers plan to polish the show before its off-Broadway debut next year, Anderson said.
Click here: CATCO to open season with musical | The Columbus Dispatch