Ad Astria Live presents the West Coast premier of the hit New York solo play, Ben Rimalower: PATTI ISSUES, Written and Performed by Ben Rimalower and Directed by Aaron Mark. The play will run one night only on Sunday, November 25th at 8:00 pm at Rockwell Table & Stage!
When Ben Rimalower was eight years old, his father came out of the closet and embarked on a drug-fueled tear that left his family in tatters. Amid the chaos of his young life, Ben found comfort—like so many gay boys before him and after—in musical theater, and specifically in the transportive voice of Broadway star Patti LuPone.
PATTI ISSUES marks Rimalower's debut as a playwright and performer, after serving as the director of numerous Off-Broadway plays, concerts and all-star benefits (and blogging for the Huffington Post). With a mix of comic irreverence, stark candor and show-biz bravado, PATTI ISSUES poignantly explores the challenges facing LGBT parents and children while shining unique light on gay men’s time-old obsessions with divas.
Ben Rimalower: PATTI ISSUES, directed by Aaron Mark (Random Unrelated Projects, Commentary), is performed at Rockwell Table & Stage, which is located at 1714 N. Vermont, Los Angeles 90027. It will run for one performance only on Sunday, November 25th at 8:00 pm (doors open at 6:30 pm).
TICKETS are priced at $20 (http://showatbarre.inticketing.com/events/260309). Plus a two-drink minimum, per person.
Ben Rimalower is the writer and performer of the long-running hit off Off-Broadway solo play, PATTI ISSUES. Ben directed and produced the Off-Broadway plays Joy (Actors Playhouse, Out Magazine: "Top Ten Theatre") and The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero (Daryl Roth/DR2 Theatre). He also directed Justin Sayre Is Alive And Well… Writing (Ars Nova), Project Lohan (La Mama E.T.C.), Snoopy! starring Sutton Foster (Symphony Space), And/or (Hot Festival), Sodom the Musical (Kraine Theatre) and the all-star Night Of A Thousand Judys (Playwrights Horizons) as well as staged readings for Second Stage, The York, Dixon Place and Ensemble Studio Theatre. He conceived and directed Leslie Kritzer is Patti LuPone at Les Mouches (Time Out New York Award) and subsequently produced Sh-K-Boom/Ghostlight Records’ long-awaited recording, Patti LuPone at Les Mouches (Billboard “Heatseekers” Chart), digitally restored from archival tapes of LuPone’s legendary 1980 performances. In venues such as Joe’s Pub, San Francisco’s Plush Room and Los Angeles’ Upright Cabaret, Ben has earned the title the “Midas of Cabaret” (The Advocate) helming a slew of solo shows for artists including Alec Mapa, Cole Escola, Our Lady J, Natalie Joy Johnson, Lindsey Alley, Molly Pope, Wendy Ho, John
Hill, Scott Nevins, Kate Pazakis and Lance Horne in addition to producing and hosting the Laurie Beechman Theatre's recurring variety show, Saturday Night Underground. Ben writes a blog for The Huffington Post and “The New Old Gay” for akawilliam.com. Assistant Director
credits include Lonny Price’s productions of A Class Act (Manhattan Theatre Club, Broadway and Tokyo) and A Little Night Music (starring Patti LuPone, George Hearn and Zoe Caldwell) as well as the Emmy-winning Sweeney Todd. Ben studied Theatre Arts at U.C. Berkeley where he was the founding Artistic Director of BareStage (now celebrating its 16th anniversary). Follow @benrimalower on Twitter and visit benrimalower.com.
Aaron Mark is the writer/director of three independent feature films, Random Unrelated Projects (Best Experimental Feature, NYIFF), Zbornik Developing, and most recently, Commentary. His play Failed Suicide Attempts was presented by The Blank Theatre in Hollywood as part of their Living Room Series and seven of his other plays have received
readings in New York in the last four years. He directed Hedwig and the Angry Inch twice at New World Stages for BC/EFA, Space Oddity/Ziggy Stardust at the Producer's Club, and will soon premiere a series of his new plays at Barboncino in Crown Heights. For more information visit aaronmark.net.
Videos