Justin Sayre's RAVENSWOOD MANOR Camp-Horror-Soap Opera to Thrill at Joe's Pub

Celebrated performer and writer Justin Sayre will bring his "Camp-Horror-Soap Opera," Ravenswood Manor: The Box Set to Joe's Pub (425 Lafayette Street) on Saturday, November 17 and Sunday, November 18 at 9:30 PM. Ravenswood Manor will be presented episodically with episodes 1 thru 3 on Saturday, and episodes 4 through 6 on Sunday. Both evenings star Amanda Duarte ("Dead Darlings"), Nathan Lee Graham (Zoolander 2, "LA to Vegas"), Jenn Harris (Silence the Musical, New York is Dead), Jeff Hiller (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson, "Nightcap"), Aaron Jackson ("The Opposition" on Comedy Central), Shane O'Neill ("Today's Special," "Internetting" at NYTimes.com), Josh Sharp ("The Opposition" on Comedy Central), Rob Maitner (59E59, 54 Below) and Becca Blackwell ("Shameless"). Ravenswood Manor will be directed by Ellie Heyman with music by Henry Koperski. For tickets, visit JoesPub.com.

Taking a cue from television shows like "Dark Shadows," Justin Sayre's Ravenswood Manor is an episodic theatrical saga about the bloodcurdling goings-on in a small New England town with a dark past. Set in the summer of 1979, the show follows the lives of the last two Ravenswood Heirs; Sheridan, a shut in since the death of his overbearing mother, the leader of the infamous Ravenswood sisters and Bettina Doors, a movie star whose abrupt departure from Hollywood has sparked all kinds of rumors.

"It's a Camp-tastic romp!" says Sayre. "I wanted to write something scary and campy. I was obsessed with the melodrama of Dark Shadows and wanted to try to work in the form." Sayre will be playing Bettina Doors, and hopes to see the show moving forward to play with gender roles. "My original concept for the show, was double-casting with each actor playing both a male and a female role. But this time in New York, I wanted to get as many of my friends involved as possible."

While each night will be separate episodes, there will be recaps at the beginning of each evening. This is the first showing of this new project for Sayre, which is half of the first "season," of this episodic adventure. Sayre will continue the run of Ravenswood Manor with a reading of three episodes in Los Angeles on November 19 with Drew Droege, Sam Pancake and Jordan Black in association with Celebration Theatre. That reading will be produced by Jay Marcus and Tom Detrinis, who will also direct.

Justin Sayre is a writer and performer who Michael Musto called, "Oscar Wilde meets Whoopi Goldberg." Sayre has been a fixture of the downtown Cabaret scene in New York, first with their long-running monthly show, The Meeting of the The International Order of Sodomites, Bistro Award-winning and two MAC nominations, but now with new shows at Joe's Pub/The Public Theatre like "Peaches, Eggplants, and Tears" and "The gAyBC's," a five-part show which will be released in book form by Chronicle Books later this year. As a playwright, Sayre's work has appeared at Dixon Place, The Wild Project, The Celebration Theatre, The Players Club, and La MaMa Experimental Theatre. Sayre was amongst the first class of The Queer Art Mentorship, where he worked with Everett Quentin of Charles Ludlam's Ridiculous Theatre Company on their play, The Click of the Lock. Sayre also hosted and wrote, Night of a Thousand Judys, a benefit honoring the life and legacy of Judy Garland and raising money for The Ali Forney Center for Homeless LGBT Youth in New York. Sayre has written a series of YA Novels, Husky and Pretty, with the third in the series, Mean, released later this year by Penguin Books. Sayre is the host of the podcast, Sparkle & Circulate. Sayre's first comedy album, The Gay Agenda, was listed as The Comedy Bureau's Best of 2016. Sayre has also written for television, working with Michael Patrick King on his Hit CBS comedy, "2 Broke Girls." Sayre also appeared on HBO's "The Comeback" with Lisa Kudrow.

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