GAY CAMP Returns to NYC Stage Tonight at the Duplex

It's gay; it's camp; it's Gay Camp! Following its sold-out run as part of the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival and subsequent Fringe Encore Series, the show's creators are returning with an even more laugh-packed run of the hit play Gay Camp, opening at the Duplex Cabaret Theatre tonight, August 17, 2013 at 6:30pm.

Comedic actors Christian Mansfield (National Tour of 42nd Street), Ken Urso, and Philip Mutz (also co-author of Gay Camp) will reprise their Gay Camp roles in this updated production. Director Phillip Fazio (Arizona premiere of Grey Gardens, Last Five Years, and August: Osage County) will also return.

Joining in the fun this time around will be composer/musician Bradford Proctor (Bunked: The Musical), serving as Gay Camp's onstage accompanist and unassuming narrator.

With Mansfield, Urso, and Mutz playing more than a dozen different zany characters, Gay Camp is a quick-change farce that follows the stories of several young campers at a gay reform camp. They have been sent away by their parents to be 'fixed'. Instead, they learn how to love - themselves and one another.

Co-authors Mutz and Susan-Kate Heaney leave no (comedy) stone unturned. While successfully dissecting stereotypes and sending a powerful message about tolerance and acceptance, Mutz and Heaney still find a way to inject every moment with humor.

Start with a deliciously evil counselor facing off against a loud-and-proud young camper, throw in a few electrified fences, disco balls, Cher ballads, gay Twister, Michele Bachmann surprises, slow-motion fantasies, whips, handcuffs, flannel, and more innuendos than you can shake a dildo at, and you've gotGay Camp. Gay Camp is fast, funny, and not pulling its punches as it takes on anti-gay sentiment in America.

Gay Camp was initially part of the 2012 New York International Fringe Festival and ran from August 11 - August 22 at the HERE Mainstage Theatre in SoHo.

Following its initial run, Gay Camp received the Overall Excellence Award from FringeNYC for "Best Ensemble 2012", and was selected as one of 19 shows (out of the 187 Fringe shows) to receive an extension as part of Fringe's Encore Series (subsequently playing at The Players' Theatre).

Gay Camp also served as the inspiration for this past June's My Big Gay 'Gay Camp' Talent Show, a one-night-only comedy cabaret, that played NYC's Laurie Beechman Theatre and featured Broadway's Nadia Quinn (Bloody Bloody Andrew Jackson), Off-Broadway's Mariand Torres (Natasha, Pierre, and the Great Comet of 1812), and the entire Gay Camp cast. Additionally, Gay Camp will receive its West Coast debut on August 3, 2013, playing at the Interplayers' Theatre in Spokane, Washington.

Gay Camp, written by Philip Mutz and Susan-Kate Heaney, and directed by Phillip Fazio, will perform at The Duplex Cabaret Theatre, 61 Christopher Street (at 7th Avenue), NYC. Gay Camp runs 75 minutes and will perform the following performance schedule:

SATURDAY August 17 @ 6:30pm
THURSDAY August 22 @ 9:30pm
THURSDAY September 5 @9:30pm
SATURDAY September 14 @9:30pm

Tickets can currently be reserved by calling (212) 255-5438 or visting www.theduplex.com. Tickets are $7, plus a 2 drink minimum. For more information on Gay Camp, visit www.gaycamptheplay.com.

CAST:
Philip Mutz
Ken Urso
Christian Mansfield
Bradford Proctor

Phillip Fazio - Director: Phillip Fazio graduated from The Boston Conservatory with a BFA in Musical Theatre and Directing. Immediately upon graduating, Phillip began a three-year contract as an Artist in Residence at Phoenix Theatre. Now in its 92nd Season, Phoenix Theatre is the oldest arts organization in the state of Arizona. Regional Directing credits include Proof, Rent, Ragtime, Grey Gardens, Hidden in this Picture, West Side Story, Macbeth, The Last Five Years, Rocket Man, Cabaret, Smokey Joe's Cafe, and Almost Maine. Assistant Director credits include the Center Theatre Group/Deaf West revival of Pippin (Directed by Tony Award Nominee Jeff Calhoun) at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles and the New England Premiere of Take Me Out at Speakeasy Stage Company in Boston. New York City directing credits include Ben and Leslie Save the World and SuperBen for The Think Theater Project, The Real Life with The Identity Theatre Company, and Gay Camp in FringeNYC. Phillip is a member of the Lincoln Center Theatre Directors Lab and Actors' Equity Association.

Christian Mansfield - Performer: Mansfield was most recently seen in this summer's Broadway Bares benefit in NYC. His previous Fringe endeavors include Gay Camp, The Penguin Tango at both Actors Playhouse and Theater Row, and Odysseus DOA where his cast was also awarded "Best Ensemble". Other NYC credits: That Other Woman's Child(NYMF) and Christmas Rappings. Some regional favorites include 42nd Street (nat'l tour), Cabaret (Barter), and Romeo and Juliet (South Florida Shakes.) Christian is a Long Island native with a BFA in Musical Theatre from the University of Miami.

Ken Urso - Performer: Urso has served as director, actor, producer, guest artist, and dramaturg throughout the U.S. Favorite roles Jules in Boom (InterPlayers Theatre), Valentine inTwelfth Night (Manhattan Rep), Davey in Lieutenant of Inishmore (Strollers Theatre), and Philip in The Shape of Things (Actor's Repertory Theatre). Directing credits include regional productions of Chicago, Always...Patsy Cline, The Complete Works of Shakespeare (abridged), Steel Magnolias, The Producers and New York productions of Red Light Winter, Fallen Angels, Kidnapping Laura Linney, and Never the Sinner. Ken holds a BFA in Acting from the University of Wisconsin-Stevens Point, and an MFA in Directing from The Actors Studio Drama School.

Philip Mutz - Co-Author of Gay Camp and Performer: Mutz is a writer and actor in New York City. Recent acting credits include Comedy of Errors, Henry V, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Cymbeline(Shakespeare Theatre of NJ), Kidnapping Laura Linney (Midtown InterNational Theatre Festival), Gay Camp (FringeNYC, Peoples' Improv Theatre), King John (NY Shakespeare Exchange), and Romeo and Juliet (Columbia Stages). His writing credits include The Real Life (Identity Theater Co), Gay Camp(FringeNYC, the PIT), Kidnapping Laura Linney (MITF), and SuperBen (Think Theater Project). He is currently head writer for the web series The Reality Whores (webisodes can be viewed at www.therealitywhores.com). His recent viral video Sh*t Gay Guys Say to Straight Guys has over one million views on YouTube. Philip holds a B.F.A. in Drama from NYU's Tisch School of the Arts and has trained in sketch writing and improv with the Upright Citizens Brigade.

Susan-Kate Heaney - Co-Author of Gay Camp: Susan-Kate Heaney is an actor and writer currently based out of Los Angeles. She is a graduate of New York University with a BFA in Drama. Most recently, she has been performing her comedic shows Mop-oholic and Kinky Bangs in New York and Los Angeles, at UCB, the Pit, iO West and Second City. Susan-Kate is a co-creator and lead actor in comedic web series The Reality Whores. She has performed in theaters all around New York including Bank Street and Rattlestick. Recent work includes the role of Jessica in Mercy (NBC) and the abused nanny in We Need to Talk About Kevin.

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