My Talented Cast

Here they are folks -- my talented and gorgeous cast for the James Tolin Memorial Fund's production of Charles Busch's comic thriller Die Mommie Die!

Standing from L: D.C. Hamm, Kathy Garofano and John Devennie. Seated from L: Matty Daley, Damian Geata and Kelly Reilly.

As of today we are exactly 24 days away from Opening Night. Rehearsals are going well and most of them are almost completely off book. And there's a lot of wonderful creative energy in the room when they get going (at least until they devolve into fits of giggling over something hilarious one of them does).

But that's all part of the process: Discovering new ways to say a line; new faces to make; new poses to take or new bits of shtick to throw in. The plot (as in so many of Busch's shows) is completely ridiculous and completely hilarious. Busch's love of old movies and his ability to parody them is unparalleled and his take on the Southern Gothic genre is no exception. Honestly, who else would kill off a character with a poisoned suppository?

For me, directing a small ensemble cast is always a joy. The camaraderie that develops is like bottled magic and the performances that come out that kind of group dynamic are priceless. If you are within driving distance of Central New Jersey, you owe it to yourself to see this hilarious play (and help out more than one good cause). For tickets, visit www.kelseyatmccc.org or call the Kelsey Theatre Box Office at 609-570-3333. For more information about The James Tolin Memorial Fund, visit www.jtmf.org.

Shameless Self Promotion # 128 is now concluded. Back to our regularly scheduled nonsense, soon.

More anon.

Prospero