Varla Jean Merman and The Gold Dust Orphans Star in MILDRED FIERCE, Opening Tonight

TWEED TheaterWorks & Theater 80 St. Marks have announced the highly anticipated NYC return of Varla Jean Merman with Boston's acclaimed Gold Dust Orphans in the New York premiere of MILDRED FIERCE, a dizzily entertaining sendup of the 1945 classic "MildrEd Pierce", which will begin previews on Saturday, October 5that Theater 80 St. Marks. The production, written by Ryan Landry will have it's official opening tonight, October 12th at 10:30PM and will continue performances until October 27th.

MILDRED FIERCE is a musical romp that tells the story of a single mother, alone and afraid. And the men in her life? A shiftless ex-husband, a shady realtor, a cold-hearted playboy. But by baking her way to the top, Mildred soon has it all! The world is her oyster, and the city, her cracker. Save for one little thing...she's got a daughter who makes Adolph Hitler look like Anne Frank!

Watch all the glorious melodrama of "MildrEd Pierce" explode all over the stage as The Gold Dust Orphans bring you their brand new musical parody sprinkled with splashy songs, tap dancing pies, bawdy "Waitress" lingo and more surprises than you can shake a rolling pin at!

Sent through The Gold Dust Orphans' glitter filled parody machine, the cast of MILDRED FIERCE features Varla Jean Merman as "Mildred" and Orphan favorites Ryan Landry, Penny Champayne, Olive Another, Liza Lott and Delta Miles.

WARNING: This is an adult parody! Do not bring your children!

Costumes are by Scott Martino, sets by Amelia Gossett, direction by James P. Byrne and soundscapes by Roger Moore.

Performances of MILDRED FIERCE are on Saturdays & Sundays in October. Saturdays at 8:30 & 10:30PM and Sundays at 3:30PM. Enjoy Pre - Show Cocktails in The William Barnacle Tavern, next door to the Theater 80 Lobby.

Varla Jean Merman starred in the new musical Lucky Guy opposite Leslie Jordan in NY at the Little Schubert in spring 2011 prompting The New York Times to rave, "If Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman had stood in front of the right pair of funhouse mirrors, they might have resembled Ms. Merman and Mr. Jordan in stature as well as comedic talent". She guest starred on Ugly Betty in the final season of the show and was also featured on Bravo's Project Runway Season 5 as the winning model for the show's drag challenge. She has filled cabarets and concert halls across the world including the Sydney Opera House, Carnegie Hall, the New York Public Theater, London's Soho Theatre and LA's Renberg Theatre. She wrote and starred in the short Improve Your History with Varla Jean: Stonewall, for the launch of the MTV's television network Logo and was also seen in their One Night Standup: Dragtastic special.

Ryan Landry is a working writer, director and performer for over thirty years and plans to keep writing plays until he drops dead. The Huntington produced his "Psyched" in 2011 and Landry's take on Fritz Lang's "M" in 2013. His Boston-based troupe the Gold Dust Orphans produces satirical "mash-ups" of pop culture - comedic, dramatic, or musical - in both Provincetown and Boston. Past productions include Mildred Fierce, Peter Pansy, Phantom of the Oprah, Willy Wanker and the Hershey Highway, All About Christmas Eve, Death of a Saleslady, Medea, A T-Stop Named Denial, Christmas on the Pole, and Valet of the Dolls. He is a resident of Provincetown, MA.

Theater 80 St. Marks is located at 80 St. Marks Place (Btw 1st and 2nd Aves).

Tickets to MILDRED FIERCE can be purchased online at www.brownpapertickets.com/event/380329, by calling 212.388.0388, or at the Theater 80 box office prior to each performance.

ABOUT TWEED TheaterWorks

TWEED TheaterWorks was founded by Kevin Malony in 1983 and has grown from tiny late night shows in East Village dives to full-scale productions at premier Manhattan venues. For two over decades TWEED has produced innovative and unusual live theatrical work, including performance art, plays, musicals, dance theater and category-defying extravaganzas. The TWEED New Works Festival (1985-1995) presented the early work of many of today's recognized theater artists, including Bill Russell, Lisa Kron, John (Lypsinka) Epperson and John Kelly. Other on-going endeavors include The TWEED Music Series and The TWEED Fractured Classicks Series, a popular cult phenomenon that presents staged readings of classic American plays and films employing unique casting choices.

ABOUT THEATER 80 St. MarkS

Theatre 80 carries on a generational cultural function, which has helped to create the East Village from the Lower East Side of Manhattan, New York City and was among the first of the cultural institutions, which began the Lower East Side Arts Movement resulting in the neighborhood now being referred to as the East Village. Beginning during Prohibition, 80 Saint Marks Place was a vital destination for performers of all kinds. Jazz greats such as Thelonious Monk, Harry "Sweets" Edison, John Coltrane and Frank Sinatra performed here before Theatre 80 was established in the former nightclub. Many famous performers were launched at Theatre 80 including Gary Burghoff, Bob Balaban and even one of its ushers, Billy Crystal. During the 1970s and 80s as a film revival house, people were able to see vintage films on a movie theatre screen in an audience setting in Theatre 80.

Photo ID: From left: Laine Binder, Rosalie Norris, Varla Jean Merman, Meredith Langton, and Robin JaVonne-Smith.

Photo Credit: Michael Von Redlich

To post a comment, you must register and login.