David Rabe's jet-black comedy about drugs, sex, despair and death in substance-fueled 1980s Hollywood gets the Who Wants Cake? treatment this April starring some of Detroit's hottest talent. The production will end its run at Ferndale's Ringwald Theatre on Monday, April 26th.
Hurlyburly, David Rabe's tour de force play, is a shocking and brutally comic reflection on a decade of decadence. Welcome to Eddie's world. It exists at the very juncture where Hollywood meets the mountains, where the almost-rich and the not-yet-famous live on cheap thrills and heady ambition while searching for true love and redemption. Here, Eddie and his partner/roommate Mickey, along with wanna-be-producer Artie and hitman-turned-actor Phil, engage in a wild life of witty repartee and snappy come-backs, of ex-wives and future lovers, of hard partying and late nights, of sex, lies and self-obsession.
Hurlyburly is a scathingly funny and touchingly human story about the quest for meaning in our morally muddled times. Eddie and his friends continue their entertaining and manic pursuit of sensation - until a series of encounters with destiny, decadence and even death convinces Eddie to plunge beneath the surface... and perhaps even discover his soul...
David Rabe has been hailed as one of America's greatest living playwrights. He is the author of many widely performed plays, including The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, Sticks and Bones, In the Boom Boom Room, Streamers, and The Dog Problem. Four of his plays have been nominated for Tony Awards, including one win for Best Play. He is the recipient of an Obie Award, the American Academy of Arts and Letters Award, Drama Desk Award, and the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, among others. His numerous screenwriting credits include I'm Dancing as Fast as I Can, Casualties of War, Hurlyburly, and The Firm.
Who Wants Cake? opened the doors to their resident home, The Ringwald, in May 2007 with Fatal Attraction: A Greek Tragedy. Quickly, The Ringwald became a mainstay of Detroit's theatre community. Since opening their doors, Who Wants Cake? has been offering up slice after slice of successful shows including Southern Baptist Sissies, Debbie Does Dallas: The Musical, Killer Joe, The Bad Seed, The Book of Liz, Rent, Evil Dead: The Musical, and [title of show]. Who Wants Cake? was named the 2008 and 2009 Best Theatre Group in Channel 4's Vote 4 The Best contest and the 2009 Best Theatrical Troupe by Real Detroit.
Jon Ager, Cassandra McCarthy, and Stephen Blackwell
Joel Mitchell, Stephen Blackwell and Jon Ager
Stephen Blackwell
Ashley Shamoon, Stephen Blackwell, Jon Ager and Joel Mitchell
Stephen Blackwell, Jamie Warrow, Ashley Shamoon and Cassandra McCarthy
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