ITALIAN BRED Opens at Hudson Theatre Tonight

ITALIAN BRED, a new comedy written and performed by Candice Guardino, is making its Los Angeles premiere this spring at the Hudson Theatre Mainstage, prior to opening at Off-Broadway's Theatre Row in the fall. ITALIAN BRED is set to open at the Hudson Theatre tonight (Thursday) at 8 PM.

In ITALIAN BRED, Candice Guardino slips in and out of characters from her own family as she cooks up a full meal of growing up Italian on Staten Island. Having kept a personal record of everything that was uttered by her loving and outspoken grandmother, Candice combines Grandma Fran's unfiltered words of wisdom along with a generous helping of her own experiences. ITALIAN BRED even features virtual celebrity appearances from Mario Cantone ("Sex in the City"), Steve Schirripa ("The Sopranos," "The Secret Life of the American Teenager") and Leslie Jordan ("Will & Grace," "Raising Hope")! Candice's motivation to create this universally hilarious and heartwarming play was inspired by the acting career of her late great-uncle, the legendary Harry Guardino.

ITALIAN BRED is directed by Donna Drake, with musical supervision by David Dabbon.

Candice Guardino was born in Brooklyn, NY and raised in an Italian family that always spoke at full volume. She grew up singing, dancing and performing weekly recitals for her family in the living room. As a child, Candice knew she either wanted to perform for a living or marry John Stamos. After realizing "Full House" had been canceled (and she got tired of watching the reruns), she later enrolled into the Theatre & Dance Dept. at Wagner College in Staten Island. It was here that she discovered that she desired to follow in the footsteps of her idols: Chita Rivera, Rita Moreno, Lilly Tomlin, Carol Burnett, and her great-uncle Harry Guardino. Her other favorite stage credits include Uprights Citizens Brigade (L.A. & NY), That Other Woman's Child (New York Musical Theatre Festival), the Off-Broadway premiere of Worlds Away, Agnes in Gypsy (Westchester Broadway Theatre), and the national tour of Blues Clues. As a writer, she has written several screenplays, sitcoms and stage plays. Candice is quite possibly the worst baker ever, but she continues to hold onto the dream of owning her own bakery someday.

The performance schedule for ITALIAN BRED is Tuesday and Thursday evenings at 8 PM, with matinees Sunday at 2 PM, for a limited engagement through June 29th at the Hudson Theatre in L.A., 6539 Santa Monica Blvd. Tickets are $20 - $25 and are available through www.plays411.com/italianbred or by calling 323-960-7774.

For more information, visit www.ItalianBredShow.com.