Due to popular demand, CATCO (Columbus, OH), in association with Andy Sandberg (Hair), has added two performances to its regular schedule to the world premiere of the new musical comedy The Last Smoker in America on Saturday, October 23, at 10:30 p.m. and Sunday, October 24, at 7:00 p.m. in the Vern Riffe Center Studio One (77 S. High St., Columbus).
The Last Smoker in America has book and lyrics by Tony nominee Bill Russell (Side Show), music by Drama Desk nominee Peter Melnick (Adrift in Macao), direction by Andy Sandberg, choreography by Tony Award nominee AC Ciulla (Footloose), music supervision by Fred Lassen, and music direction by Andrew Resnick. The four-member cast features Natalie Venetia Belcon as Phyllis, Katy Blake as Pam, John Bolton as Ernie, and Teddy Toye as Jimmy.
"A comedic dream team!" raves Metromix, "Calling this a 'high profile snag by CATCO' would be the understatement of the year!" "Full of laughs and musical gems!" says City Scene, "A lovely addition to CATCO's production schedule - and a great way for rock 'n' roll fans to enjoy a night at the theater!" Joy Riley of WOSU Radio adds, "It's a fun piece! Lots of laughs...very witty!"
The Last Smoker in America 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.
The creative team includes Charlie Corcoran (sets), Jessica Shay (costumes), Jeff Croiter and Grant Yeager (lights), and Bart Fasbender & Dave Wallingford (sound). Roger Alan Gindi is the General Manager. Cheryl Ruschau is the Production Stage Manager.
Ticket information is available online at www.catco.org, or by calling the CATCO box office at (614) 469-0939. For more information about the show, please visit www.lastsmokerinamerica.com.
CATCO's 2010-11, 27th anniversary is sponsored by support from The Columbus Foundation and the Ohio Arts Council, which funds CATCO with state tax dollars to encourage economic growth, educational excellence and cultural enrichment for all Ohioans, Greater Columbus Arts Council, Shubert Foundation and Nationwide. CATCO is central Ohio's professional Equity theatre company. Its mission is to produce diverse, high quality, and exciting theatrical work that celebrates our common humanity. For more information, visit catcoistheatre.org. Artistic Director: Steven Anderson, Managing Director: T.J. Gerckens.
www.lastsmokerinamerica.com
