PULP Premieres In South Florida At Island City Stage This Spring

Take a nostalgic trip back to vintage Hollywood featuring femme fatales radiating sexy style with sass in PULP by Patrica Kane (featuring music by Amy Warren & Andre Pluess and lyrics by Patricia Kane) making its South Florida premiere from April 11 – May 5 at Island City Stage.

July 1956. A hot and humid Chicago. Enter Terry Logan, a tough-talking, rebellious seductive. When she takes up residence at The Well, a club run by women who love women, the trouble really begins.

"I have been excited about this production for a year. It's our first time working with Nicole Stodard, whose work I have admired for many years,” said Andy Rogow, artistic director of Island City Stage. “PULP is a show that appeals to such a broad audience as it's sexy, sultry and a little bit campy with some truly great nightclub-type songs. In addition, although we have featured lesbian themes in characters in many previous productions, this is the first production we have presented that has no male roles or actors."

Nominated for four Joseph Jefferson Awards including Best New Work, PULP is a heartfelt, comedic love letter to lesbian pulp fiction and the Barbara Stanwycks of the world. The San Diego Union-Tribune shared, "Highly recommended. A playfully sexy romp. PULP works like a charm.” While the Chicago Sun-Times wrote, Pulp puts a fresh squeeze on a vintage pop-cultural genre...a pop bon-bon"

In PULP, audiences will be visually immersed in The Well, a teeming-with-sex women's bar. The sultry Bing takes up with Logan, declaring her “the new butch in town.” But Logan doesn't like labels. “I'm a lesbian plain and simple. I don't make any bones about it,” she declares. And Logan soon yearns for Vivian, the mysterious, glamorous and seemingly untouchable owner of The Well. Through wisecracks, classic deadpan deliveries and clever double-entendres set to a 1950s period score, PULP will take audiences on a provocative and enjoyable journey of self-discovery and acceptance.

Patricia Kane is a Chicago-based actress and award-winning playwright. In addition to PULP, she's also penned Float, Seven Moves (adapted from the novel by Carol Anshaw) and Chords. Kane also is the recipient of the Trailblazer Award for her work in gay and lesbian theatre. As a long-time artistic associate at About Face Theatre, Pat has appeared in numerous productions there including What Once We Felt, Fascination, The Terrible Girls, Whitman, Dancer from the Dance and Cloud Nine. Other credits include productions with The Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Collaboraction, Live Bait, Stage Left, Bailiwick, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, and workshop productions with NYC's Tectonic Theatre Group. She also has a recurring role on “Chicago Med.”  Prior, she appeared in Victory Garden's critically acclaimed productions of The Whale, In the Next Room or the vibrator play and Hannah Free (as well as the film of the same name, starring Sharon Gless).

PULP is directed by Nicole Stodard, Ph.D. and stars Autumn Kioti, Leah Sessa, Sandi Stock, Sheena O. Murray and Valeria Di Babbo.

About the Artists

South Florida artist and actor Autumn Kioti Horne has performed with Theatre Lab, Zoetic Stage, GableStage, Florida Stage, Caldwell Theatre, and others. In NYC, they originated the roles of Cassandra in The Hive, Veronica in She Calls Me Firefly, and others. Their interdisciplinary art has been presented in galleries/spaces throughout the U.S. and abroad including La Mama, Dixon Place, The Queens Museum and Last Frontier, and more. They have also appeared in award-winning films at Lincoln Center, Art Basel, Sci-Fi London, Palm Springs Film Festival, and more.

Leah Sessa is thrilled to be making her Island City Stage debut. Most recently, she was seen playing the Little Mermaid and Belle in Disenchanted (MNM Theatre Company). Prior to that, she played Rosie in Bye,Bye, Birdie (Wick Theatre). Past credits include Harlowe and Ronia (Theatre Lab), Minister's Wife and Kings (GableStage), Dividing the Estate ( Palm Beach Dramaworks), and Groundhog Day, Heathers and Disaster (Slow Burn). Sessa is a Carbonell and Silver Palm Award recipient.

Sandi Stock is a multi-hyphenate artist who has been performing professionally for over a decade. Stock is best known in South Florida for playing Regina in the Drama League Award-winning production of 7 Deadly Sins (Miami New Drama) and multiple roles in the “Miami Motel Stories” series, as well as for their work on stage at Palm Beach Dramaworks, MNM, Slow Burn, Adrienne Arsht Center, Actors' Playhouse, Florida Grand Opera, and more.

Sheena O. Murray is an actress, recording artist, and songwriter. She has earned roles in several productions including Dreamgirls, The Wiz, and as Medda Larkin in Newsies.

Also making her Island City Stage debut is Valeria Di Babbo. A Venezuelan actor, Babbo has a talent for Flamenco dancing and singing. Her theatre credits include Thoroughly Modern Millie (Millie Dillmount), Rodgers and Hammerstein's Cinderella (Cinderella), The Wedding Singer (Holly), and Peter x Wendy (Tinker Bell). She has starred in award-winning indie films and has recently won several best supporting actress and best choreographer awards for the film Apples, Oranges, Lemons & Limes.

Tickets and More Information

Upcoming shows in Island City Stage's 12th Season include Skintight by Joshua Harmon (May 30 – Jun. 23) and Die! Mommie Die! by Charles Busch (Aug. 29 – Sept. 22).

Tickets for PULP start at $40. Two special Women's Nights at the Theater will be held on April 12 and April 26. A Mimosa Sunday performance sponsored by Tedd Davis and Brad Sterl will take place on April 21 with tickets at $55. The show runs for 90 minutes with no intermission.

For more information and to purchase tickets, visit www.islandcitystage.org, call (954) 928-9800 or email boxoffice@islandcitystage.org. 

About Island City Stage

Founded in 2012, Island City Stage is a professional theater committed to sharing stories of universal interest, engaging diverse audiences with entertaining, challenging, and inspiring productions and programs, often exploring the LGBTQ+ culture. These shows are brought to life on stage through the talents of professional artists whose credits include Broadway, Off Broadway, national tours, major regional theaters, film and television. Island City Stage offers an intimate setting with six rows of stadium seating to foster a feeling of inclusion and participation in each theatrical event. Island City Stage is a 501 (c) 3 nonprofit organization. It is located at 2304 N. Dixie Hwy in Wilton Manors. 

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