THEATRE + COMEDY

Passionate, heartfelt, and incredibly human, Harvey Fierstein and John Bucchino’s hit musical, A Catered Affair, comes to Main Street Theater this January. With previews January 1, 2 and 5, A Catered Affair opens January 6 and runs through January 23 at Main Street Theater – Chelsea Market, 4617 Montrose Blvd.

This funny, poignant musical tells the story of a Bronx mother’s efforts to give her only daughter the elaborate wedding she never had – and her daughter never asked for –- as it explores our need for love and the true meaning of family. A Catered Affair opened on Broadway on April 17, 2008, with 116 regular performances and 27 previews performed between March 24 and July 27, 2008. The production received 12 Drama Desk Award nominations, the most of any show from the 2007-2008 season, as well as three Tony nominations.

About Librettist Harvey Fierstein
Born in Brooklyn, Fierstein is likely best known for his play and film Torch Song Trilogy, which he wrote and starred in both Off-Broadway (with Matthew Broderick) and on Broadway (with Estelle Getty and Fisher Stevens). The 1982 Broadway production won him two Tony Awards, for Best Play and Best Actor in a Play, two Drama Desk Awards, for Outstanding New Play and Outstanding Actor in a Play, and the Theatre World Award, and the film adaptation earned him an Independent Spirit Award nomination as Best Male Lead.

He has played numerous roles on Broadway, on television, and in film. In 2007, Fierstein wrote the book to the musical A Catered Affair in which he also starred.

Fierstein is a champion for gay civil rights. He currently resides in Connecticut.

About Composer and Lyricist John Bucchino
Bucchino made his Broadway debut with A Catered Affair. Off-Broadway, Bucchino was musical director of Holly Near: Fire in the Rain in 1993.

Bucchino has released several CDs with his own music and has been featured in Broadway revues and concerts, including Lincoln Center's American Songbook series. He is the recipient of the Johnny Mercer Songwriter Award (1997), the Songwriters' Fellowship Award (1998), the ASCAP Foundation Richard Rodgers New Horizons Award (1998), the Second Stage Constance Klinsky Award (2000), the Gilman & Gonzalez-Falla Commendation Award (2000), the Jonathan Larson Performing Arts Foundation and Kleban Awards (2001), and the Fred Ebb Award (2005).

Discussion Series
Main Street is pleased to continue its Post-Show Discussion Series with A Catered Affair. Following the performance on Sunday, January 16, the audience is invited to stay for a discussion with the director and the cast.

UPDATE:  John Bucchino, the composer and lyricist for A Catered Affair, will be coming in from New York for our production and will be participating in the post-show discussion after the matinee on Sunday, January 16. This is a rare and wonderful opportunity, and we hope you will join us!

About the Production
Andrew Ruthven directs A Catered Affair after directing the world premiere of Breakfast at Eight at MST earlier this season. Miriam Daly is the music director.

Luisa Amaral-Smith (The Last Night of Ballyhoo, The House of the Spirits, Awake and Sing!) and Jeff Galligan (Sweeney Todd) are the parents Aggie and Tom at odds over how much to spend on their little girl’s wedding. Christina Stroup (The Light in the Piazza) and Jamie Geiger (The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Awake and Sing!, The Light in the Piazza) are the young lovers Janey and Ralph.

The rest of the cast includes Terry Jones (Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris), Shondra Marie (Tomfoolery, Ps and Qs: the ABCs of Manners), Erin Roche, Bethany Daniels Shapiro (Jacques Brel Is Alive and Well and Living in Paris), and David Wald (The Heidi Chronicles, The Doctor’s Dilemma).

The design team includes Meghan C. Hakes (set design), Macy Perrone (costume design), John Smetak (lighting design), Chris Bakos (sound design), and Richard Solis (properties design). Janel J. Badrina is the production stage manager.

Performances are on Thursdays at 7:30pm, Fridays and Saturdays at 8pm, and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets range from $26 - $40 (Previews are $10, and $5 Friday is January 7), depending on date and section, and are on sale in person at the Main Street Theater Box Office, 2540 Times Blvd., via phone at 713.524.6706, or online at MainStreetTheater.com.

Since 1975, Main Street Theater has produced high quality professional theater for audiences of all ages through its MainStage productions and Main Street Youth Theater. The Main Street Theater Kids On Stage program offers performing arts classes and camps for children 5 years to 14 years of age. The organization produces plays at two locations, 2540 Times Boulevard in Rice Village and 4617 Montrose Boulevard at Chelsea Market.

Main Street Theater is a member of the Fresh Arts Coalition, a collaboration of 25 arts organizations that work collectively to raise awareness of the size and diversity of the arts in Houston, and a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national service organization for not-for-profit theaters. Main Street Theater offers a lively year-round repertory of classic and contemporary plays for audiences of all ages and provides a much-needed showcase for Houston theater professionals.

Main Street Theater is also a member of Actors’ Equity Association and of ASSITEJ, the world theatre network of theatre for children and young people. Main Street Theater is funded in part by grants from the City of Houston through the Houston Arts Alliance, and the Texas Commission on the Arts.

Pictured above:  Pictured are parents Tom (Jeff Galligan) and Aggie (Luisa Amaral-Smith) with daughter Janey (Christina Stroup)

(ALL photos by www.RicOrnelProductions.com).