MADWOMEN'S LATE NITE CABARET Returns to the 2019 Indianapolis Theatre Fringe Festival

Madwomen's Late Nite Cabaret is a one-hour musical that celebrates mad, misunderstood and maligned women from history and literature, performing cabaret songs that uniquely pertain to their particular situations. Ethel Merman hosts and Lizzie Borden plays piano as over a dozen women, including Joan of Arc, Mata Hari, Amelia Earhart and Medusa sing favorites from "Smoke Gets in Your Eyes" to "Hair."

Performances will be at the Indyfringe Basile Theatre, 719 E. St. Clair St., Indianapolis, IN on the following dates and times: Friday August 16 at 10:30pm, Saturday August 17 at 7:30pm, Sunday August 18 at 9:00pm, Tuesday August 20 at 7:30pm, Saturday August 24 at 9:00pm, and Sunday August 25 at 1:30pm. Tickets can be purchased online at https://tinyurl.com/MadwomensLNC.

This project is made possible by support of the Indiana Arts Commission, a state agency.

The cast features Indianapolis favorites Georgeanna Smith Wade, Jaddy Ciucci, Shawnté Gaston and Julie Lyn Barber playing multiple roles, with Dave Ruark as "Ethel Merman", and Cody Ricks at the piano in the role of "Lizzie Borden."

Reviewers have said of the show, "The procession of singing madwomen is completely bizarre and a treat to behold. . . Cast members deliver endearing, over-the-top performances. . . So check your sanity at the door and give in to the madness." Stephen Blair, Our Town, Portland, OR, March 20, 2000. "Who would have dreamed that a group of madwomen could be so much fun?. . . a complete delight and a wonderful way to remember a little history." Delonda Hartman, The Star Press, Muncie, IN, 2005. "I don't know where Barber is planning to show Madwomen's Late Nite Cabaret in the future, I only hope it soon and close to the Circle City, for not only would I see the show again, I can't wait to see it again. ArtsMark Cline,FunCity Finer.com May 12, 2010.

Playwright and performer, Julie Lyn Barber has had many of her works produced at IndyFringe, including Indiana Squirrel Stampede, The Elves and the Shoemaker, and Christmas Through the Ages. Earlier this summer, played "Gertrude" in Hamlet at the Richmond Shakespeare Festival and directed her play, Rumpelstiltskin, for the Nettle Creek Players of Hagerstown, IN. She has played "Berenice" in Q Artistry's Cabaret Poe every year since 2009 (a role she shares with Jaddy Ciucci). She is an Assistant Professor in the Department of Theatre & Dance at Western Kentucky University in Bowling Green and is a member of The Dramatists Guild.

Dave Ruark appeared in last year's festival playing "Father" in Act VI Scene I, a zombie Shakespeare play by Matthew Walls. He played "Dr. Frank N. Furter" in Zach and Zack's hit production of The Rocky Horror Show last fall and has appeared in productions at The Phoenix Theatre, Beef and Boards Dinner Theatre, and Actor's Theatre of Indiana.

Georgeanna Smith Wade is the Artistic Director of Young Actors Theatre, and co-founder of Summit Performance Indianapolis, Indy's first professional women focused theatre company. She has worked as an actress with numerous companies across the city including NoExit Performance, Phoenix Theatre and Eclectic Pond. She was named one of IndyStar's Top 15 to watch in 2015 and is the former Artistic Director of NoExit Performance.

Shawnté Gaston, most recently seen playing the role of "Rosalind" in the Indianapolis Shakespeare Company's production of As You Like It, portrays "Eve" (mother of us all), and "Medusa." Shawnté is a graduate of the University of Southern Indiana who has been in several productions around the city and is an actor in the Sapphire Theatre Company.

Jaddy Ciucci was recently seen in the Indianapolis Repertory Theatre production of Elephant and Piggie's "We are in a Play," (along with fellow castmate Shawnté Gaston). She has done a number of shows with Q Artistry, including Zirkus Grimm, and Cabaret Poe. She has also been a regular onstage at Beef and Boards and Actors Theatre of Indianapolis as well as on professional stages around the country.

Cody Ricks plays "Lizzie Borden" at the piano for the evening. He music directs and performs with many Indiana theatre companies as well as playing piano for the Department of Theatre & Dance at Ball State University. He recently music directed Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat and Gershwin and Friends for Nettle Creek Players in Hagerstown, IN.

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