Jeff Hiller, Josh Sharp, Phillip Taratula, and Ruby McCollister Will Lead MURDER FOR BREAKFAST at Joe's Pub

Justin Elizabeth Sayre will return to Joe's Pub with a new play, Murder for Breakfast, a campy noir about murder and the munchies starring Jeff Hiller (Somebody, Somewhere), Josh Sharp (DICKS), Phillip Taratula (The Skin of Our Teeth), and Ruby McCollister (Search Party). The play will be offered as a staged reading and will be presented at Joe's Pub on Thursday, September 5th at 9:30 PM. Tickets available here: https://shorturl.at/xOFxz

Loosely based on the works of James M. Cain like The Postman Always Rings Twice, Mildred Pierce, and Double Indemnity, this new camp offering from Sayre tells the story of Miriam McCrory, a down-on-her-luck dancing gal who dreams of making it big in Hollywood. When her dream gets sidetracked by a lack of talent and an unwanted pregnancy, Miriam must choose to refocus her ambition on something more sustaining like breakfast. Miriam opens her all-night breakfast restaurant, with the help of her homosexual best friend, T. Dennison "Denny" Winthrop (Hiller), and her forgiving older husband, Nick Paprikash (Taratula), Miriam's restaurant begins to take shape.

Soon, Miriam's All-Night Breakfasts are popping up all over Southern California, and Miriam sees that while her dream of Hollywood might have been thwarted, at least she can project those hopes on her daughter Vida (McCollister). Life seems easy for Miriam and her ever-growing business until a sexy complication walks through the door in the form of a swarthy drifter, Jack Gutterman (Sharp). Jack and Miriam begin a heady affair that no number of flapjacks can cure the morning after. A tale of murder, lust, and eggs any way you want them unfolds until its bloody and hilarious conclusion.

A campy comedy tinged in the hard-talking noirs of classic Hollywood, Sayre channels the great ladies of the classic genre. "I love those films. The height and the glamour, and I guess I wanted a little of it for myself." Sayre has written numerous plays, crossing genre and style, but in noir, they feel as though they've found a home. "I love the wit of noir. Everyone is so smart and hip. Sarcastic and thrilling. I think all of us would love to be a Nick or Nora Charles, but rarely get the chance. This is a chance really, and I'm taking full advantage! I love this play and this tremendous cast! It's going to be a thrilling evening!"

Justin Elizabeth Sayre is a playwright and performer who Michael Musto called, "Oscar Wilde meets Whoopi Goldberg." Sayre is a fixture of the Downtown Cabaret Scene in New York, first with their long-running variety show, The Meeting (Bistro Award-winning & 2 MAC nominations). They are currently in residency at Joe's Pub at the Public with their new variety show, Assorted Fruit. As a playwright, Sayre's work has appeared at Dixon Place, The Wild Project, The Celebration Theatre, Dynasty Typewriter, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre. Their 12-part-epic Ravenswood Manor, a Camp-Horror-Soap-Opera, called "a sharply written and well-acted exemplar of the horror-comedy genre," by the LA Times. Sayre has written a series of YA Novels, Husky, Pretty, and Mean, released by Penguin Books, and the book, From Gay to Z: A Compendium of Queer Culture just released by Chronicle Books. Sayre has written for Television, working with Michael Patrick King on his Hit CBS comedy, 2 Broke Girls and Fox's The Cool Kids. Sayre also appeared on HBO's The Comeback with Lisa Kudrow. They are NYCLU artist ambassador and a 2023 MacDowell Fellow.