Hell in a Handbag Productions will kick off their season today with a tale so big there's barely room to contain its bubbling melodrama. A tale of mendacity; of greed and avarice; of longing and lesbians; all set in the hot and steamy South.
Ryan Landry's Pussy on the House takes Cat on a Hot Tin Roof and turns it into a tale of languid melodrama, gut busting laughter, and oh so bitter truths that made the original a classic of epic proportions.
Meet Brick Pollup (Eric Lindahl), the tragic ex-TV star and his gorgeous, sexually frustrated wife, Maggie (Jeremy Myers) as they battle it out on the roof of the Pollup mansion where Brick has retreated to avoid facing the hard truths of his life. Maggie has dragged the bed up to the roof in a desperate struggle to win the attention of her husband. See Maggie battle Mae (
David Cerda), her determined and very fertile, harpy of a sister-in-law for their rightful place in the Pollup family legacy led by Big Mama Pollup (Honey West), the "richest, butchest lesbian in six counties who built the biggest polyester plantation the South has ever seen." When it looks like Big Mama is dying, the struggle to see who will inherit the Pollup polyester dynasty begins. Brick is Big Mama's favorite, but her natural son, Gooper (
Christopher Carpenter), an estranged Elvis impersonator, thinks differently; especially since the union of Big Mama and her lesbian lover, Sukie (
Ed Jones) is not legal, or 'normal' in the eyes of proper society.
Pussy on the House originally opened in Boston in 2004 and was the recipient of the prestigious
Elliot Norton Award. The demand for the show was so great that Ryan Landry and his theater company The Gold Dust Orphans remounted the show in early 2011 to sold out houses. "When I saw the show I was blown away by the fact that although there were these hysterically, over the top moments, the cast still managed to convey the very the very real emotional heft in the original work. says
David Cerda, Artistic Director of Hell in a Handbag. 'We have a top notch cast and this is the perfect vehicle for Hell in a Handbag and Matthew Gunnels", he adds.
Pussy on the House will directed by Matthew Gunnels who continues his long relationship with Hell in a Handbag after directing several incarnations of Rudolph the Red Hosed Reindeer and most recently, POSEIDON: An Upside Down Musical at the Chopin Theater. "
Tennessee Williams is one of my all-time favorite playwrights and I have a special place in my heart for Cat. Mr. Landry's play is clearly a love-letter to the original material, but adds tons of campy fun, and touches upon current events like gay marriage, the effects of cancer on family members, and same-sex adoption," says Gunnels. "Since being diagnosed with cancer this spring, it has changed the way I view the characters in the play and has added importance and a sense of urgency to present this amazing script to Chicago."
Hell in a Handbag is approaching their 10 year anniversary in the Chicago theater scene. Formed in 2002, Hell in a Handbag Productions is dedicated to the preservation, exploration, and celebration of works ingrained in the realm of popular culture via theatrical productions through parody, music, and homage.
Digital press photos and available at our website:
www.handbagproductions.org
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