West Coast Premiere of DADDY ISSUES is Coming to the Complex in Hollywood

How far will a gay guy go to please his controlling Jewish parents? Charles Blondeau will present the West Coast premiere of an exuberant, off-Broadway screwball comedy inspired by a true event. Written and directed by David Goldyn, Daddy Issues opens on October 14 for a five-week run through November 13 at the Complex in Hollywood.

Mr. and Mrs. Moscowitz are in denial about their son's gay lifestyle, disapprove of his career choice, and question his flair for decoration. To get his family to stop kvetching, Donald needs a son. With the help of his ballsy best friend Henrietta and rising drag queen Levi, Donald hires the ten-year-old kid from downstairs. What could go wrong?

"This play was inspired by a real-life incident I had with my own overbearing parents," explains Goldyn. "All the characters are based on real people. Although many of the most outrageous lines may sound like they belong in a sit-com, they actually came straight out of the mouths of my mother, father and grandma."

Daddy Issues, which starts out slow, picks up steam, then snowballs into hilarious farce, enjoyed a sold-out run at off-Broadway's Theatre at St Clements.

In the West Coast premiere, James Seifert stars as Donald, a gay "everyman" who can only react to all the craziness going on around him. Donald's homophobic father, Sid, is played by Jonathan Fishman, while Pamela Shaw takes on the role of Marion, Donald's funny, somewhat screwy mother who loves to quote Reader's Digest. Noa Lev-Ari and Josh Nadler play his best friends, zaftig Henrietta and drag queen-by-night Levi. Rounding out the cast are Sherry Michaels as Grandma, Emily Nash as Donald's downstairs neighbor, and Thomas Dominick DeBone and Solly Werner, who share the role of precocious 10-year-old Johnny Walker.

The creative team for Daddy Issues includes set designer Roderick Villegas, costume designer Antonio Consuegra and graphic designer Phil Fab. The production stage manager is Samantha Barrientos. Daddy Issues is presented by Charles Blondeau.

Performances of Daddy Issues take place on Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 5 p.m. from Oct. 14 through Nov. 13. There will be one additional performance, on Thursday, Oct. 20 at 8 p.m. VIP tickets (first row) are $50; general admission is $35; use promo code "Senior," "Jewish" or "Gay" to receive a $5 discount.

The Complex is located at 6476 Santa Monica Blvd., Hollywood, CA 90038.

To purchase tickets and for more information, go to daddyissuestheplay.com.

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