The Edge Theater's CASA VALENTINA Begins Performances This Week

The Edge Theater presents the regional premiere of "Casa Valentina" April 22 through May 22 at 1560 Teller Street in Lakewood. Performances are Fridays, Saturdays and Monday, May 9 at 8 p.m.; Sundays at 6 p.m. No show on Sunday, May 8. Tickets are $24-$30 and available online at www.theedgetheater.com or by calling 303-232-0363.

Based on actual events, "Casa Valentina" is set in the 1960s and tells the tale of men who went to the Catskill Mountains to escape the summer heat, and 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.

The show features Scott McLean (George/Valentina), Patty Ionoff (Rita), Stuart Sanks (Isadore/Charlotte), Jim Hunt (Judge/Amy), Chris Kendall (Theodore/Terry), Warren Sherrill (Albert/Bessie), James O'hagan-Murphy (Michael/Gloria), Luke Sorge (Jonathan/Miranda) and Haley Johnson (Eleanor).

Harvey Fierstein has won the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for his own play "Torch Song Trilogy" (about a gay drag-performer and his quest for true love and family) and the Tony Award for Best Actor in a Musical for playing Edna Turnblad in "Hairspray." He also wrote the book for the musical "La Cage aux Folles," for which he won the Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical and wrote the book for the Tony Award-winning "Kinky Boots." He was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame in 2007.