Erin Markey to Play Joe's Pub 3/15

Erin Markey has announced a return to Joe's Pub. Known for her dark wit and absurdist transformations, Markey has been likened to Kristen Wiig, Kathy Acker and Eileen Brennan. Erin weaves together an exciting bill of R&B, 90's pop and grunge, standards and original music under the direction of Ben Rimalower (Leslie Kritzer is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches) with musical direction by Tony-nominated Kenny Mellman (Kiki and Herb).

Erin Markey creates conceptual musical performances for stage and video. Major works include Puppy Love: A Stripper's Tail (P.S. 122), The Dardy Family Home Movies by Stephen Sondheim by Erin Markey (San Francisco Film Society), and, in collaboration with Joseph Keckler, Looking for Limbo (Lincoln Center Director's Lab). She is a featured regular in the critically acclaimed performance series Our Hit Parade at Joe's Pub. In collaboration with comedian Cole Escola, Markey has written and performed in "NIGHT MOTHER" (Dixon Place) and "Check It Out" (Afterglow Festival). She has shown other work at New Museum, Leslie Lohman Museum, Michelle Tea's Sister Spit Tour, The Sex Workers' Art Show, and Deja Vu Showgirls and Love Boutique. As an actress, Markey is a company member of Half Straddle, has performed with Young Jean Lee's Theatre Company, and starred in the NYC premiere of Tennessee Williams' Green Eyes (Hudson Hotel, Ames Hotel), for which she received Boston's Elliot Norton Award for Outstanding Performance by a Lead Actress. On television, she was a series regular on Jeffery and Cole Casserole (LOGO Network). She is currently adapting her live show The Dardy Family Home Movies by Stephen Sondheim by Erin Markey into a musical TV series. She is the recipient of NYFA's 2012 Cutting Edge Artist Fund Grant. New York Press described Erin Markey as "a tangled mash-up of humor, horror, brains and balls." Follow @erinmarkey on twitter and visit erinmarkey.com

Ben Rimalower is the author and star of the Bistro Award-winning, critically acclaimed smash hit solo play Patti Issues, now in its sixth month at The Duplex with no end in sight and beginning a string of engagements around the world. He directed and produced the Off-Broadway plays Joy (Actors Playhouse, Out Magazine: "Top Ten Theatre") and The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero (Daryl Roth/DR2 Theatre). He also directed Justin Sayre Is Alive And Well... Writing (Ars Nova), Project Lohan (La Mama E.T.C.), Snoopy! starring Sutton Foster (Symphony Space), And/or (Hot Festival), Sodom the Musical (Kraine Theatre) and the all-star Night Of A Thousand Judys (Playwrights Horizons) as well as staged readings for Second Stage, The York, Dixon Place and Ensemble Studio Theatre. He conceived and directed Leslie Kritzer is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches (Time Out New York Award) and subsequently produced Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records' long-awaited recording, Patti LuPone at Les Mouches (Billboard "Heatseekers" Chart), digitally restored from archival tapes of LuPone's legendary 1980 performances. In venues such as Joe's Pub, San Francisco's Plush Room and Los Angeles' Upright Cabaret, Ben has earned the title the "Midas of Cabaret" (The Advocate) helming a slew of solo shows for artists including Alec Mapa, Cole Escola, Our Lady J, Natalie Joy Johnson, Lindsey Alley, Molly Pope, Wendy Ho, John Hill, Scott Nevins, Kate Pazakis and Lance Horne in addition to producing and hosting the Laurie Beechman Theatre's recurring variety show, Saturday Night Underground. Ben writes a blog for The Huffington Post and "The New Old Gay" for akawilliam.com. Assistant Director credits include Lonny Price's productions of A Class Act (Manhattan Theatre Club, Broadway and Tokyo) and A Little Night Music (starring Patti LuPone, George Hearn and Zoe Caldwell) as well as the Emmy-winning Sweeney Todd. Ben studied Theatre Arts at U.C. Berkeley where he was the founding Artistic Director of BareStage (now celebrating its 16th anniversary). Follow @benrimalower on Twitter and visit benrimalower.com.