Celebration Theatre Presents THE BOYS UPSTAIRS 1/24-2/1
By: Kelsey Denette Jan. 23, 2012
Jason Mitchell's THE BOYS UPSTAIRS will receive its West Coast debut in workshop form at Los Angeles's Celebration Theatre January 24th through February 1st as part of CT: TUESDAYS, a workshop series featuring talk-backs with the playwright, director, and actors. Celebration Theatre is located at 7051 B Santa Monica Blvd. in Los Angeles.
The workshop, directed by Jeremy O'Keefe, will star Jeffery Self (LOGO'S Jeffery & Cole's Casserole, 30 Rock), Daniel Taylor (Celebration Theatre's What's Wrong With Angry?), Ben Baur, Chris Sams (CT Tuesday's revolver) and Kyle David Pierce (CT Tuesday's revolver and Elysian Fields).
ABOUT THE BOYS UPSTAIRS:
Sex, Dating, Friendship, and all the blurry lines in between...The Boys Upstairs invites you into the fabulous living room of Josh, Seth, and Ashley. These three Hell's Kitchen Boys encounter all of the challenges, thrills, disappointments, tops and bottoms that young adult New York life has to offer.
ABOUT THE WORKSHOP:
While the previous New York production was a huge hit, O'Keefe and CT Artistic Director JohnMichael Beck will be work-shopping this New York-centric story to see how a West Hollywood based audience connects with it.
ABOUT PREVIOUS PRODUCTIONS:
THE BOYS UPSTAIRS premiered in New York in the 2009 Fringe Festival where it played an entirely sold-out run and received critical praise, with the Village Voice calling it "Hilarious! Sex in the City meets Boys in the Band." It was then invited to be in the Fringe Encore Series where it went on to be the only play to sell out the Soho Playhouse. The original Fringe production was directed by Matthew Corozine and starred Josh Segarra, Joel T. Bauer, Kristen-Alexzander Griffith, Nic Cory and David Rudd.
In 2011, the Fringe Festival celebrated its 15th Anniversary and presented a reading series of the top 15 shows from 15 years. Under the direction of Darren Katz (Broadway's THE LION KING) THE BOYS UPSTAIRS was presented once again alongside other Fringe hits such as Urinetown and Dog Sees God. The cast included two-time Tony nominee Robin DeJesus, Zach Booth, Ven Daniels, Michael Zahler, and Mark Fisher.
ABOUT THE PLAYWRIGHT:
Jason Mitchell was honored THE BOYS UPSTAIRS was a part of the 2011 Fringe Anniversary Series after its debut in the 2009 Fringe Festival. Mitchell's first play, THE RED BOX, is a love story of a different genre that premiered in NYC in 2006. It continues to be presented in university settings, such as in Montreal and Connecticut, as it investigates the subject of homosexual persecution during the Holocaust, a subject Mitchell has studied and lectured on around the world. Mitchell is currently writing his first book entitled GETTING GROOMED, a how-to book on wedding planning geared towards gay men. Jason attended the conservatory New World School of the Arts in Miami and graduated magna cum laude with a B.F.A. in Theatre from the University of Florida.
ABOUT THE DIRECTOR:
Jeremy O'Keefe recently completed production on his second feature film as writer/director called SOMEWHERE SLOW. Starring Jessalyn Gilsig, Robert Forster, Lindsay Crouse, David Costabile, Wallace Langham & Graham PatRick Martin, SOMEWHERE SLOW will be making festival rounds in 2012. At Celebtation Theatre, O'Keefe (along with Christopher Sepulveda) produced the award-winning hit productions of ALTAR BOYZ & HARAM IRAN.
ABOUT CT TUESDAYS:
CT Tuesdays is a forum where new works are work shopped for 3-5 Tuesday nights (and sometimes Wednesdays). Scripts produced in this program have already had a staged reading and have been identified to move forward in the development process. A minimalist production using the set and lighting plot of the current Celebration main stage show, the production's focus remains on the script but now actors have rehearsed for a number of weeks. After each Tuesday performance, the audience is invited to participate in a 20 minute talk-back with the actors and playwright. The playwright is then encouraged to go over his notes and feedback and make any adjustments before the next performance...or not.
ABOUT Celebration Theatre:
Celebration Theatre is a community of artists dedicated to presenting innovative, provocative and relevant work that examines the gay, lesbian, bisexual, transgender and queer experience. We endeavor to challenge society's perception of this community and give a vibrant voice to its evolving identity.
PERFORMANCES:
Tuesday, January 24th at 8PM
Wednesday, January 25th at 10PM
Tuesday, January 21st at 8PM
Wednesday, February 1st at 10PM.
TICKETS: Tickets are $15 and available at www.celebrationtheatre.com
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