One of the season's tastier hits doesn't show signs of getting stale, as the producers Dana Matthow and Philip Roger Roy of Playhouse Productions, Inc. have tossed another block of tickets onto the barbie. Now their little-hit-that-could "My Son the Waiter, A Jewish Tragedy," Brad Zimmerman's self-skewering account of three decades of underachievement as a beloved bad waiter, is now on sale at the Triad Theatre, 158 West 72nd Street, THROUGH THE END OF 2015!
The show that The New York Times calls, "Delicious, distinctly original and bittersweetly on target" was originally scheduled to end its twelve-week, Off-Broadway premiere engagement on New Year's Eve 2014. It added shows to March 2; then it stretched its legs to April 5; then it banged the table 'til May 31; then it smacked its lips to June 29, and now it's biting off another chunk of time 'til December 31. The show passes the 1-year mark on October 10.
Written and directed by Zimmerman, "My Son the Waiter" tells the story of how Zimmerman, now 61, waited tables in New York for a mind-numbing 29 years, before finally overcoming his fears to study stand-up comedy, and write a one-man show about waiting until his mid-50s to perform on stage.
A unique hybrid of long-form stand-up and theatre, "My Son the Waiter" has been called "easily the funniest show to hit Off-Broadway since 'Old Jews Telling Jokes," by Curt Schleier in The Forward, who pulls no punches by adding that it's "belly shaking funny." In her glowing review in The Times, Anita Gates called "My Son the Waiter" "powerfully poignant."
An Oradell NJ native, Zimmerman attended Riverdell High School and was bar mitzvahed at Temple Emmanuel in Westwood, NJ. He started his waiting career in the late '70s eventually working at a string of now defunct restaurants where he insists he never memorized the menu, making an art form out of underselling the food.
In the past decade the late-blooming Zimmerman finally broke his losing streak as a struggling waiter, opening for comedy legends
Joan Rivers and George Carlin. (Rivers once called him "the best comic... in his price range.") But he continued waiting tables, still unable to fully commit himself to acting and comedy. He handed out his last check at Chat 'n Chew in 2012.
Waiter keeps it fresh on these days: Monday at 7pm; Friday at 7pm; Saturday at 2pm & 7pm, and Sunday at 2pm. For tickets, which range from $45 to $99 (+ a 2-drink minimum), call Smarttix at
212/868-4444 or visit
www.mysonthewaiter.com (Running time is 90 minutes.)
In addition to "My Son the Waiter," Playhouse Productions, Inc. is responsible for the successful tours of "My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy," "RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women," "Old Jews Telling Jokes" and "You Say Tomato, I Say Shut UP!"
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