RATED P FOR PARENTHOOD to Hold MDR Fundraiser, 3/2

Midtown Direct Rep will hold a fundraising event to benefit the company during the opening week of Rated P for Parenthood, it was announced today. The Special MDR Off-Broadway fundraiser ticket will include prime orchestra seats to the Friday, March 2nd 8:00 p.m. performance, exclusive talk back with the cast and the creators of Rated P, and a champagne after-party coach ride back to SOPAC with members of the cast, Ms. Rustin, Mr. Dobrish and producers who all call South Orange/Maplewood home.

Rated P for Parenthood will begin performances on Wednesday, February 8, 2012 with Opening Night set for Wednesday, February 29th upstairs at the Westside Theatre (407 West 43rd Street).

With book and lyrics by Sandy Rustin, music and lyrics by Dan Lipton & David Rossmer and direction by Jeremy Dobrish, Rated P for Parenthood chronicles every stage of modern-day parenting, from conception to college, with giant doses of heart and humor. A versatile cast of four takes the audience through the ups and downs of childrearing – from the sublime to the ridiculous – in a series of comic and musical vignettes in under 90 minutes. A hilarious, fresh, and decidedly irreverent look at an age old topic, Rated P provides all the wistful joy of childrearing …at a fraction of the cost of braces!

Last May, The South Orange Performing Art Center’s (SOPAC) resident theater company, MDR, produced Rated P for Parenthood and sold out four shows at the art center last. Now, less than a year later, the show has moved to Off-Broadway, at the Westside Theatre—known for the long-running hits I Love You, You’re Perfect, Now Change and The Vagina Monologues.

Tickets for this special evening are $115 with the after-party, $95 for without, and can be purchased through http://mdr4ratedp.eventbrite.com/.

The cast features Courtney Balan ([title of show], Cry Baby), Chris Hoch (La Cage Aux Folles, Shrek), David Josefsberg (The Wedding Singer, Grease!) and Joanna Young (The Drowsy Chaperone, Grease!) with Natalie Charle Ellis (9-5, National Tour) and Spencer Moses (Guys and Dolls).

The creative team includes Rachel Bress (Choreography), Steven Capone (Scenic Design), Emily DeAngelis (Costume Design), Michael Gottlieb (Lighting Design), Jill BC DuBoff and David Sanderson (Sound Design), Jeena Youn (Props), Cambra Overend (Stage Management), Gina Rattan (Associate Director) and Parker Esse (Associate Choreographer),

Rated P for Parenthood is produced by Andrew Asnes, Timothy Schmidt, Evan Fleischer and Eve Chilton in association with Jed Bernstein, Charlotte Cohn, Larry Hirschhorn, and Joe and Sandi Black.

Tickets are $89.50 and can be purchased through Telecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200. Rated P for Parenthood will play the following schedule: Tuesday – Thursday at 7:00, Wednesday and Saturday at 2:30, Friday and Saturday at 8, and Sunday at 3:00.

The World Premiere of Rated P for Parenthood was produced by Midtown Direct Rep at the South Orange Performing Arts Center in May 2011.

About Midtown Direct Rep (MDR)

With perhaps more professional theater artists than any suburb of NYC, Maplewood/South Orange (NJ) is “where Broadway comes home to sleep.” MDR, a theatre company created by and for these NJ-based artists, develops and presents relevant, world-class theatre for its community. www.midtowndirectrep.org.