Company of Fools to Stage Reading of CASA VALENTINA This Winter

Company of Fools (COF) and The Sun Valley Center for the Arts will present an evening reading of the play CASA VALENTINA, from four-time Tony Award winner Harvey Fierstein (Kinky Boots, Newsies, La Cage aux Folles). The reading takes place Saturday, January 16, 2016, at 6:30pm at The Liberty Theatre in Hailey and is part of The Center's BIG IDEA multidisciplinary project, Role Play: Changing Ideas about Gender. Role Play runs from December 11, 2015, through February 20, 2016.

Back in 1962, most men went to the Catskill Mountains to escape the summer heat, but others took the two-hour drive to escape something else entirely: being men. Nestled in the land of dirty dancing and borscht belt comedy sat an inconspicuous bungalow colony that catered to a very special clientele: heterosexual men whose favorite pastime was dressing and acting as women. It was paradise for these men -- white-collar professionals with families -- to spend their weekends discreetly and safely inhabiting their chosen female alter egos. But when they got the opportunity to share their secret lives with the world, these "self-made women" had to decide whether the freedom they would gain by emerging from hiding was worth the risk of personal ruin.

The play is based on the true story of Casa Susanna -- a little-known refuge for heterosexual transvestites in the 1950s and early 1960's in the Catskills of New York. Infused with Fierstein's trademark wit, this moving, insightful and delightfully entertaining work offers a glimpse into the lives of a group of unforgettable characters as they search for acceptance and happiness in their very own Garden of Eden.

Don't miss your chance to experience a script that the New York Times hailed as "Funny and provocative. Genuinely arresting." Denise Simone directs an outstanding cast featuring Andrew Alburger, Scott Creighton, John Glenn, David Janeski, Keith Moore, Cameron Needham, Denise Simone, Joel Vilinsky and Patsy Wygle.

Programming for this BIG IDEA, Role Play: Changing Ideas about Gender, considers the way we understand how gender is shifting from strict categories of male and female toward looser definitions that give us all more freedom. At the same time, traditional expectations of gender roles remain entrenched in our culture in sometimes surprising ways. The project explores not only how we transcend gender stereotypes -- but also what more fluid definitions of gender mean for how we organize our society and raise our children.

Admission to the play reading is free with a suggested $10 donation. For more information and to reserve your seat, visit www.sunvalleycenter.org or call 208.726.9491. SPACE IS LIMITED.

Established in 1971, the mission of the Sun Valley Center for the Arts is to enrich our community through transformative arts and education experiences. The Center provides art classes, seminars, concerts, lectures, film, dance, gallery exhibitions and more -- 12 months a year. The Sun Valley Center for the Arts merged with Company of Fools Theatre in January of 2013 and through this partnership now presents theatre productions and play readings. More than 40,000 people attend these events annually. Our programs are supported through the Engl Trust, the Idaho Commission on the Arts, the Idaho Humanities Council, the National Endowments for the Arts and Humanities, private foundations, proceeds from the Sun Valley Center for the Arts Wine Auction, grants, donations and membership dues.

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