THE DEEP THROAT SEX SCANDAL to Open Off-Broadway 10/10

The Deep Throat Sex Scandal, a new play by David Bertolino, directed by Jerry Douglas, will have its Off-Broadway premiere at 45 Bleecker Street Theatre (just east of Lafayette Street), beginning performances Friday, September 17th. Opening Night is set for October 10th.

Finally the true story will be revealed: In 1972, a hairdresser from the Bronx made a little movie that grossed over $600 Million (possibly the most profitable film of all time) and ignited the sexual revolution. The Deep Throat Sex Scandal takes you behind the scenes, into the secret world of adult filmmaking and introduces you to the legendary Linda Lovelace and Harry Reems. Follow the bizarre journey from the creation of the movie, through the raids, arrests and the banning of the film, to the political fallout of the ensuing courtroom drama, which launched the career of Allen Dershowitz.

The cast will feature Lori Gardner as Linda Lovelace and Malcolm Madera as Harry Reems, with Graham Stuart Allen, Frank Blocker, Stephen Hope, John-Charles Kelly, Rita Rehn, and Zach Wegner. The Deep Throat Sex Scandal will have scenic design by Josh Iacovelli, lighting design by Graham Kindred, and costume design by Jeffrey Wallach, projection design by A2K Productions, LLC and sound design by Phillip Rudy. Ernie Fimbres is the Production Stage Manager.

Born and raised in the Boston area, David Bertolino created his first theatrical venture, Spookyworld, a Halloween theme park that ran for 14 years and showcased the talent of over 200 actors each evening. Guest stars included Linda Blair, Elvira, Alice Cooper, Robert Englund, Willard Scott, Bill Maher, and Jerry Springer, among others; David also produced the comeback career of Tiny Tim, presenting Tiny's wedding live on "The Tonight Show with Jay Leno" from Spookyworld and hosting an episode of MTV's "The Real World." Many a career was launched for dozens of special effects directors and technicians as well. Spookyworld sold over a million tickets under Berolino's reign, during which time, he also partnered with the New England Patriots Football Team. The Deep Throat Sex Scandal is Bertolino's first foray into New York theater.

Jerry Douglas, a native of Iowa, attendEd Drake University and did his graduate work at the Yale School of Drama. Broadway and Off-Broadway plays he has written and/or directed include Rondelay, Circle in the Water, Score (where he discovered a young Sylvester Stallone, getting him his Equity card), Tubstrip, and Max's Millions. He also wrote the screenplay for Radley Metzger's film version of Score. In the early 1970s he directed two films, The Back Row and Both Ways, then began to focus on a career as a free-lance journalist for such publications as The Advocate and Manshots. Among his more recent films are More of a Man, Kiss-Off, Honorable Discharge, Flesh & Blood, Dream Team, and BuckleRoos. Douglas is the recipient of a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Free Speech Coalition and was inducted in the AVN Hall of Fame in 1998.

Performances will be Tuesday though Friday evenings at 8pm, Saturday at 7:30pm & 11pm and Sundays at 4pm and 7:30pm. Tickets for all performances will be $25 - $79.50 (including a $1,50 theatre restoration fee) and are available at Telecharge.com or by calling 212/239-6200. For more information, visit www.deepthroattheplay.com.

Graham Stuart Allen, a native of Maine, was raised on an organic farm without a television and high speed internet that stopped a mile down the road from his house - you can imagine the enlightenment he has experienced since moving to NYC. Graham has performed regionally with North Shore Music Theatre, Maine State Music Theatre, Edinburgh Fringe, Alabama Shakespeare, TheatreWorksUSA, among others. Favorite roles include Valentine, Two Gentlemen of Verona; Robbie Fay, A Man of No Importance; Jerry and Peter, The Zoo Story; Joey Percival, Misalliance; PatRick Dennis, Mame. Training: Alabama Shakespeare Festival MFA/PAT program.

Frank Blocker's Off-Broadway credits include Eula Mae's Beauty, Bait & Tackle and Southern Gothic Novel (Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Solo Performance). Other NY credits: The Beggar's Opera (Peachum), Don Quixote (the last Don), and West/East Village Fragments (their Obie!) with Peculiar Works Project, Berkoff's Fall of the House of Usher, Brecht's Edward II, and Forbidden Kiss: The Erotica Series. Playwriting includes Eula Mae's..., Novel..., Patient Number, The Wisconsinners, book to the musical Alice (w/ William Wade) and two new solo shows: Fearless Moral Inventory and Good Jew running October/November 2010. He publishes the short play/monologue series Stage THIS! and operates playwritingopportunities.com.

Lori Gardner: New York/Off-Broadway credits include work at Abingdon Theatre, York Theatre, Culture Project, EST, The 52nd Street Project, HB Studios, Women's Project, Queens Theatre in the Park, Vital Theatre, Access Theater, Puerto Rican Traveling Theatre, Artspower, Looking Glass Theatre, Tribeca Performing Arts Festival. Favorite regional credits: No Exit (Estelle), The Underpants (Louise), A Streetcar Named Desire (Blanche), You're A Good Man, Charlie Brown (Lucy), Cabaret (Sally), She Loves Me (Amalia), South Pacific (Nellie). BFA (cum laude), Miami University (OH).

Stephen Hope has performed on Broadway in Joseph...Dreamcoat (Orig. B'way), The Scarlet Pimpernel (Versions 1.0, 1.5, 2.0 and Nat'l Tour), and Off-Broadway in Ascension (Lion Theatre), Fairy Tales (WPA Theatre), Dames At Sea (25th Anniversary prod.) and most recently in Civil War Voices (Midtown Theatre Festival). He has been seen regionally in productions of Barnum (PT Barnum), The Exonerated (Kerry Max Cook), Ruthless! The Musical (Sylvia St. Croix) My One and Only (Billy Chandler), and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee (Panch). Film work includes No Place Like Home, Just One Hour, and Circus Freaks.

Malcolm Madera's Off Broadway credits include Pied Pipers of the Lower East Side (PS122 and Theatre 80), Al's Business Cards (Theatre Row), Somewhere In The Pacific (Atlantic Stage 2). Malcolm trained in London at the Drama Studio London where roles included the title role in Macbeth, Demetrius in A Midsummer Nights Dream, and Maj. Ross/Ketch in Our Country's Good. While in London Malcolm performed at the Old Vic in the OVNV 24 Hour Plays. Malcolm is a company member of At Play and The Amoralists.

John-Charles Kelly appeared on Broadway in A Christmas Carol directed by Mike Okrent (original cast and recording). NYC: Floyd Collins and The Sisters Rosensweig, Gallery Players. National Tours: The Light in the Piazza, Victor/Victoria, They're Playing Our Song, and Annie. Int'l: West Side Story, Bubbling Brown Sugar, and CATS as Gus/Growltiger in German! Regionally: Twenty productions at Walnut Street including Into the Woods, Big River, and Hairspray. World premiere of Yeston/Kopit's Phantom at Theatre Under the Stars, where he also played Buddy in Follies opposite Juliet Prowse and Judy Kaye. Seventy productions as a resident actor at Maine State including Sweeney Todd, 1776, Chicago and La Cage aux Folles twice. Recently played Pickering in My Fair Lady at MSMT and Hilton Head, and appeared at Goodspeed, Coconut Grove, Parker Playhouse, Pittsburgh CLO and Barrington Stage. Film/TV includes The Guru, "Sex and the City," and Wall Street. John-Charles began in Las Vegas as a singer with Mitzi Gaynor, Steve Lawrence & Eydie Gorme, and Ann-Margret. Not bad for a guy who hails from Mill City, Oregon, population 1500. Proud member of AEA since 1973.

Rita Rehn's Broadway credits include the Tony Award-winning revival of Nine, A Chorus Line, Royal Family (with RoseMary Harris); Tour: Tale of the Allergist's Wife (with Valerie Harper). Off-Broadway: Marsha Norman's Last Dance (with Jo Beth Williams); John Patrick Shanley's Defiance (with Stephen Lang); Charles Busch's Our Leading Lady; Misalliance, Hamlet (NY Classical Theatre). Regional: Patsy in Always Patsy Cline; Sylvia; As Bees in Honey Drown (Best Actress, NJ Theatre Critics); And the World Goes Round (Best Featured Actress, NJ Theatre Critics); Humbug (first female Scrooge); Catch Me If You Can (with Jamie Farr); Clifford Odet's The Big Knife (with Robert Beltran and Miguel Sandoval). She has also performed with Marion Ross, Burt Reynolds, Estelle Harris, Sergio Franchi, Robbie Benson and Raul Julia. Many commercials and voice work. www.ritarehn.com

Zach Wegner's New York theatre credits include Rich Boyfriend (New Group), A Slight Ache and The Lover (Cellar Door). Regional: The Skin of Our Teeth (Bristol Riverside), Never the Sinner (TheatreWorks). Also workshops & readings at Lincoln Center, LAByrinth, and Steppenwolf. TV: "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." He's a graduate of The School at Steppenwolf & The British American Drama Academy.

Photo credit: Carol Rosegg

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