CATCH AS CATCH CAN Comes to the Kitchen Theatre Company

The 2019-2020 season continues at Kitchen Theatre Company with Catch As Catch Can, an exciting reinvention of the American family drama by Mia Chung. Performances of Catch As Catch Can begin at the Kitchen Theatre Company in the Percy Browning Performance Space on Sunday, March 15 and will run through Saturday, April 4. Generously sponsored by Travis Hyde Properties and WCNY, Catch As Catch Can will offer patrons the opportunity to "Pay What You Want" for its first three preview performances (3/15, 3/17, 3/18).

The LaVecchias and the Phelans are working class New England families and long-time neighbors. Their kids grew up together, and even though the kids are adults now themselves, everyone still gets together for the holidays-holidays filled with reminders of old wounds and a simmering discontent just below the surface. Sound like your typical family drama? It is, with one important difference. Just three actors play all six parts: two mothers, one father, a daughter, and two sons. The result is a generation- and gender-crossing tour de force that has to be experienced to be believed. Catch As Catch Can is an unpublished work by acclaimed young playwright Mia Chung, and she has created a new version of the script just off its hit NYC run, for the Kitchen Theatre production. After its run at the Kitchen, the play will be produced at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre.

The Kitchen Theatre Company production is helmed by Zoë Golub-Sass, former KTC Artistic Fellow and director of last season's 2.5 Minute Ride. "I've never encountered another story that so fearlessly investigates the mechanics-the highs, lows, and status quos-of family," says Golub-Sass. "By blurring the boundaries between parent and (adult) child, Mia takes us on a phenomenal genre-bending journey, wherein we grapple with major questions of nature vs. nurture, cultural assimilation, and American identity. I can't wait to dive into this curious, hilarious, and brutally honest work with such an extraordinary creative team."

Catch As Catch Can will mark the return of Karl Gregory, Lena Kaminsky and Craig Wesley Divino, a Cornell University alum, to Kitchen Theatre Company. Kaminsky says "Mia uses so much truth and humor to explore the dynamics between the two families in her play Catch As Catch Can. I'm really looking forward to the unique opportunity to play two roles in the same family. I can't wait to get in the room with these incredibly talented people to explore, play, and figure out how to put this puzzle together."

The creative team for Catch As Catch Can will be rounded out with Scenic and Costume Design by Robin Vest (The Two Kids That Blow Sh*t Up), Lighting Design by Aja Jackson and Sound Design by Rasean Davonte Johnson (Smart People). Properties Master is Rodrigo Hernandez, Master Electrician is Indigo Shea, both Ithaca College alumni. Technical Director is Brendan Komala, Scenic Artist is Stiller Zusman and Production Stage Manager is Jennifer Schilansky.

Special events for Catch As Catch Can include Pay What You Want Nights featuring post-show discussions with Producing Artistic Director, M. Bevin O'Gara on March 15, 17, and 18, and Actors' Forums on March 27 and April 3. Opening Night is on Thursday, March 19 and includes a post-show reception with delicious food and drinks. For more events and information, visit kitchentheatre.org.

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