SOCIAL SECURITY at Dressing Room Theatre

SOCIAL SECURITY (the comedy) RETURNS TO CURTAIN CALL!When an octogenarian and nonagenarian "hook up", sparks are still possible. And that's a small plot point of Andrew Bergman's comedy, Social Security playing Curtain Call's Dressing Room Theatre, Stamford, beginning September 19.This hilarious Broadway comedy surrounds a married couple who are art dealers. Their domestic tranquility is shattered upon the arrival of the wife's goody-goody nerd of a sister, her uptight CPA husband, and her archetypal Jewish mother. They are there to try to save their college-student daughter from the horrors of living only for sex. (Yes, this play would likely receive an NC-17 rating in the movies.) When mom hits it off with the elderly minimalist artist who is the art dealers' best client, anything can happen."Social Security is an hilarious look at love, marriage and sex and what these things do to drive normally sane people crazy," said director Gordon Casagrande, who added, "I'm excited to be back directing my 11th production at Curtain Call."Producer, Lou Ursone noted that due to many requests, this is the third time the comedy has played at Curtain Call. "This is my second time working on the show (I've seen it many times) and I'm thrilled to have Gordon working on it with such a strong cast and production team," Ursone said. Ursone had seen the original NY production which starred, among others, the well-known actor, Stefan Schnabel, who had taught theatre classes at The Kweskin Theatre."Social Security works extremely well in the Dressing Room Theatre, with the audience up close and on three sides of the performers. The audience will feel like they're right in David and Barbara Kahn's living room on the upper East Side of Manhattan." Ursone noted that many of Curtain Call's older audience members will relate to the idea of new found relationships later in life, while younger patrons may see their own parents in these aging - yet lively - characters.The cast of six include Brian Bianco, Anne Cavaliere, Donna Fox, Elayne Gordon, Larry Greeley and Jim Muthersbaugh. Set design is by Peter Barbieri, Jr, lighting design by Jamie LaJoie, costumes by Helen Adams and stage management by Jeff Bianco and Laurie Logan. "I'm thrilled to have a fantastically talented cast; some I've directed before, some I've seen in other productions, and one completely new to both me and Curtain Call. They not only make the characters real but are wonderfully funny." Ursone said, "While they have performed together and worked on other the creative team together for many shows, this is the first time that real life married couple, Donna and Brian, are playing a married couple on stage."Social Security will play for three weekends - September 19 through October 6 - in The Dressing Room Theatre at the Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue, Stamford. Performances will be Thursday, Friday and Saturday evenings at 8:00pm and Sunday afternoons at 2:00pm. Seating in the Dressing Room Theatre is cabaret-style. Doors open one hour before show time for a Bring Your Own Everything format. Tickets prices: Adult $35, Senior Citizens: $25 and children up to age 21, $17.50. Call the Box Office for tickets at 203-461-6358 or go online to www.curtaincallinc.com.Curtain Call's 29th season also includes Grease (running concurrently with Social Security) and the Fairfield County premieres of A Christmas Story The Musical, Something Rotten and Kinky Boots as well as several other plays and musicals, comedy nights, and an interactive murder mystery. Discounted Flex Pass subscriptions offer savings of 25% and more. Additional information is available at www.curtaincallinc.com or by calling 203-461-6358.Curtain Call is the non-profit community-based theatre company in residence at The Sterling Farms Theatre Complex, 1349 Newfield Avenue in Stamford. Year-round productions and educational workshops for all ages are presented by and for area residents in The Kweskin Theatre and The Dressing Room Theatre.Curtain Call was voted Fairfield County's BEST LOCAL THEATRE GROUP ten years running in the Annual Readers' Poll of the Fairfield County Weekly and has received similar BEST OF awards from Stamford Magazine and StamfordPlus magazine for 2008 through 2018. Curtain Call received The Governor's Award for Excellence in the Arts in 2011 and the ACE Award for Excellence in Arts & Culture from the Cultural Alliance of Fairfield County.

Authors

• Andrew Bergman