A little bit of cross-dressing coming to Broadway,
Yep, its Harvey Fierstein latest play all about straight men who go away for a summer break, but spend the holiday acting and dressing as women. The play is inspired by the real life Chevalier d’Eon resort, aka Casa Susanna.
Casa Valentina is a play about straight men who congregate in the Catskills to dress and act like women. “Back in 1962, most men went to the Catskill Mountains to escape the summer heat, but others took the two-hour drive to escape something else entirely: being menâ€.
Broadway Cast
| Reed Birney | Charlotte | |
| John Cullum | Terry | |
| Gabriel Ebert | Jonathon/Miranda | |
| Lisa Emery | Eleanor | |
| Tom McGowan | Bessie | |
| Patrick Page | George/Valentina | |
| Larry Pine | The Judge/Amy | |
| Nick Westrate | Gloria | |
| Mare Winningham | Rita |
Nestled in the land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy sat an inconspicuous bungalow colony that catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men whose favourite pastime was dressing and acting as women. It was paradise for these men — white-collar professionals with families — to spend their weekends discreetly and safely inhabiting their chosen female alter egos. But when they got the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, these ‘self-made women’ had to decide whether the freedom they would gain by emerging from hiding was worth the risk of personal ruin.
Harvey Fierstein is an actor and playwright, noted for two Tony Awards distinctions. He has won Tony awards as Best Leading Actor in both a play and a musical. He also won an award for writing the play for which he won best actor. He is now a champion for gay civil rights.
He won Best Play and originated the Best Actor in a Play-winning lead role in his long-running play Torch Song Trilogy, about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family. He also wrote the book for the musical, La Cage aux Folles, for which he won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical. Additionally, he won Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for his role in Hairspray and wrote the book for the Tony Award for Best Musical-winning Kinky Boots. Fierstein was inducted into the American Theatre Hall of Fame in 2007.
Fierstein also wrote the book for La Cage aux Folles (1983), winning another Tony Award, this time for Best Book of a Musical, and a Drama Desk nomination for Outstanding Book. Legs Diamond, his 1988 collaboration with Peter Allen, was a critical and commercial failure, closing after 72 previews and 64 performances. His other playwriting credits include Safe Sex, Spookhouse, and Forget Him.
Creative
Written by Harvey Fierstein
Original Music by Fitz Patton
Inspired by the book “Casa Susanna†by Michel Hurst and Robert Swope
Scenic Design by Scott Pask
Costume Design by Rita Ryack
Lighting Design by Justin Townsend
Sound Design by Fitz Patton
Hair and Wig Design by Jason P Hayes
Make-Up Design by Jason P Hayes
Associate Scenic Design by Orit Jacoby Carroll
Associate Costume Design by Richard Schurkamp
Assistant Scenic Design: Lauren Alvarez, Jeffrey Hinchee and Jerome Martin
Assistant Lighting Design: Kirk Fitzgerald
Assistant Sound Design: Justin Stasiw
Assistant Hair and Wig Design Davion Edwards
Assistant Make-Up Design: Davion Edwards
Directed by Joe Mantello
Produced by Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer); Produced by special arrangement with Colin Callender, Robert Cole, Frederick Zollo and The Shubert Organization (Phillip J. Smith: Chairman; Robert E. Wankel: President); MTC Artistic Producer: Mandy Greenfield
Manhatten Theatre Club Opening 04/23/2014 SOON
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