BUYER & CELLAR is an outrageous new one-man comedy about an out of work actor who signs up to take on the oddest of odd-jobs: the only shopkeeper in the private shopping mall beneath Barbra Streisand's Malibu mansion. Will she get him his big break? Or will life with the demanding diva try his patience and his love life? This campy comedy, directed by Darren Sextro, features KC's favorite Bat Boy, Seth Golay as Alex More.
BUYER & CELLAR is on Unicorn Theatre's Jerome Stage located at 3828 Main Street, Kansas City, MO 64111. The show runs December 9th - 27th, 2015. Previews are December 9th, 10th and 11th. Opening Night is December 12th.
Featured pre-show events are scheduled for Friday, December 18th at 7:45 p.m. and Sunday, December 20th at 2:45 p.m., featuring director Darren Sextro, actor Seth Golay and dramaturg Amanda Boyle, these talks will offer behind-the-scenes stories, cultural background and insights into the production before the play begins.
Performances run Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 8:00 p.m., Friday and Saturday at 8:30 p.m., and Sunday at 3:30 p.m. If you are unable to afford a ticket, you may Pay What U Can at performances on Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Thursdays, because we believe art is for everyone. The week of Christmas, there will be a Monday Pay What U Can performance on December 21st at 8:00 p.m. and a Saturday matinee on December 26th at 3:30 p.m. There will be no performances on December 24th and 25th.
Tickets are now on sale. Call 816-531-PLAY (7529) EXT. 10, go online at www.UnicornTheatre.org or buy in person at the box office located at 3828 Main St., Kansas City, MO 64111. Special discounts are available for seniors (65+), students, and patrons under age 30.
Darren Sextro (DIRECTOR) makes his Unicorn Theatre directing debut with BUYER & CELLAR. Earlier this year, he directed Crimes of the Heart for Kansas City Actors Theatre and God of Carnage for both The Wright Opera House (Ouray, CO) and OCTA. Over the past decade, he has directed nearly 20 productions on regional professional and community stages, including The House of Yes for The Fishtank; To Kill a Mockingbird for the White Theatre; ART for The Wright Opera House; August: Osage County, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Prelude to a Kiss and Wonder of the World for The Barn Players; Harvey for the Bell Road Barn; and Crimes of the Heart, Our Town, Doubt: A Parable, The Glass Menagerie, and The Diary of Anne Frank for OCTA. He is a member of the Artistic Committee for Kansas City Actors Theatre and the Board of the Heart of America Shakespeare Festival. Sincere thanks to Cynthia for the opportunity to tell this story on her stage, as well as John Rensenhouse for all of the at-home support.
Seth Golay (ALEX MORE) is a Kansas City stage actor, and very grateful to have been a part of the city's theatre community for the past 15 years. Unicorn audiences may remember Seth as Bat Boy in Bat Boy: The Musical, George Gould Strong in Grey Gardens, and Hunter in [title of show]. This is his first one-man show on earth and he's grateful to the Unicorn Theatre - and YOU - for this incredible opportunity! Originally from Pittsburg, KS, Seth has had the pleasure of performing professionally on stages across the nation including Minneapolis (Minnesota Musical Theatre: West Side Story, The Music Man), Key West (Waterfront Playhouse: Howard Crabtree's Whoop-dee-doo), Hilton Head Island, SC (Arts Center of Coastal Carolina: Aida, Anything Goes) and New York City: Soar Like an Eagle (Lion Theatre), Lucky Duck (New Victory). Kansas City credits include The Coterie Theatre: Seussical (Horton), Stuart Little (Stuart), Twice Upon a Time (Onceler), Lucky Duck (Drake). Quality Hill Playhouse: Love is Here to Stay, Tin Pan Alley, New York State of Mind, Tapestry, Music of the 1940's, Curtain Up, Closer Than Ever. Starlight Theatre: Anything Goes (starring Rachel York), Cinderella. KC Rep: The Front Page (Earl Williams) A Christmas Carol (Topper/Albert Hall), The Pirates of Penzance, A Christmas Story: The Musical, Winesburg Ohio, Sunday in the Park with George (Franz). Theatre for Young America: The Magic Mrs. Piggle-Wiggle. Musical Theatre Heritage: Bernstein's Broadway, Big River, Musical Mondays. American Heartland Theatre: 1940's Radio Hour, Forever Plaid, The Rainmaker, Dames at Sea, A Dog's Life, I Love You Because, Plaid Tidings, Life Could Be a Dream. New Theatre: The Foreigner (Ellard), Hairspray (Corny Collins). Thanks to Cynthia, Darren, and the Unicorn Theatre audiences, board, staff, and volunteers. This one is for Jason, who knows how to run lines...and a business.
The creative team for BUYER & CELLAR is Kelsey Brennan York (stage manager), Michael Thayer (assistant director/understudy), Gary Mosby (scenic designer), Alex Perry (technical director/lighting designer), David Kiehl (sound designer), Ian R. Crawford (costume designer), Bret Engle (properties designer), Jamie Lindemann (assistant technical director), Amanda Boyle (dramaturg), and Jessica Franz (sound board operator).
Jonathan Tolins (PLAYWRIGHT) is the author of BUYER & CELLAR, which was named "Best Unique Theatrical Experience" by the Off-Broadway Alliance when it premiered at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Other plays include The Twilight of the Golds (Broadway, Booth Theatre), If Memory Serves (Promenade), The Last Sunday in June (Rattlestick, Century Center), and Secrets of the Trade (Primary Stages). A collection of his plays has been published by Grove/Atlantic. His film work includes The Twilight of the Golds and Martian Child. For television, he was a writer for Queer as Folk, the Academy Awards, the Tony Awards, and Partners. He was the author of Pushkin 200: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall, acted as script consultant on Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular, and co-wrote The Divine Millennium Tour and The Showgirl Must Go On for Bette Midler. He has written articles for Opera News, Opera Monthly, TheaterWeek, Time Magazine, and the Huffington Post, and is a panelist on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Quiz. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut with his husband, the writer and director Robert Cary, and their children, Selina and Henry. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Writers Guild of America.
Founded in 1974, Unicorn Theatre enhances Kansas City by developing and producing professional, provocative new plays. We create opportunities for the advancement of emerging and established actors, directors, playwrights, designers, technicians and administrative staff. Unicorn Theatre is under the artistic and executive leadership of Producing Artistic Director Cynthia Levin, who joined the company in 1979. From a newly expanded home in the Midtown neighborhood of Kansas City, Missouri, the Unicorn houses two stages-The Levin Stage (formerly The Main Stage) and The Jerome Stage (added in 2008). A fully professional not-for-profit theatre, the theatre operates under agreement with Actor's Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The Unicorn is a founding member of the National New Play Network, an alliance of not-for-profit professional theatres that champions the development, production and continued life of new plays for the American theatre; and is a constituent member of Theatre Communications Group, Inc., the national service organization for the not-for-profit professional theatre. Financial assistance for this theatre has been provided by The National Endowment for the Arts, a federal agency; the Missouri Arts Council, a state agency; corporate and foundation gifts; and the generous individuals throughout the community we serve.
Videos