Category: news
other couples
are intriguing
in the ways
we are the same
stimulating
and fatiguing
always weighing
who’s to blame
“that was rude
and hurtful, honey”
“you’re too soft
and insecure”
“what a way
to spend our money”
“why are you
so immature?”
each exchange
or interaction
holds potential
to derail
every statement
a transaction
which one’s ego
will prevail?
the slightest slight
can be explosive
“why’d you dis me?
what’d i do?”
little barbs
can be corrosive
especially
when they are true
every play
negotiation
over details
large and small
every day
accommodation
in the constant
free-for-all
other couples
might be viewing
us the way
we look at them
they might well be
misconstruing
behavior
easy to condemn
other couples
are amusing
do you and i
come off that bad?
sometimes signals
are confusing
was that a fight
that they just had?
other couples
give perspective
“that’s exactly
how we are!”
none of us
can be objective
“are we really
that bizarre?”
other couples
are inspiring
“i guess we
are not alone”
hard-earned balance
can be tiring
ev’ry couple
makes their own
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.
theater
CATCO to open season with musical
Sunday, March 28, 2010 2:54 AM
THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH
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