Act II Playhouse Presents HEEERE'S TONY! 2/2-2/20

Act II Playhouse presents the second of two wintertime special events when Barrymore Award winner and Act II favorite Tony Braithwaite hosts Heeere's Tony!, an original talk-show comedy. Braithwaite's performance is on stage at Act II Feb. 2-20, 2011.

Heeere's Tony! will feature special guests, a monologue, skits and songs. Special guests could include singers, dancers, jugglers, authors or even animal trainers. Joining Braithwaite on stage for every performance will be announcer Howie Brown and piano player Alex Bechtel.

The primary inspiration for Heeere's Tony! is the late, great Johnny Carson. "We are taking our cue from Johnny, in that spontaneity is the name of the game, so no two shows will be exactly alike," Braithwaite said.

Braithwaite watched The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson religiously as a kid. "He went off the air when I was in college and I still miss him," Braithwaite said. "Johnny was the best, he was my idol growing up (and even now, really) and there's been no one better since."

The current late night talk shows lack the spontaneity that The Tonight Show had under Carson, Braithwaite argued. "Guests didn't merely come on to hype their latest film or TV show, with sound bites and pre-ordained Q-and-A sessions. They came on to have fun. They performed, they laughed, they talked, they stayed on the couch, they had fun. I thought that live theatre would be a great forum to replicate that fun feeling."

This is the third special event that Braithwaite has brought to Act II. In December 2008, he wrote and performed Look Mom, I'm Swell!, and in January 2010, he wrote and performed in First Impressions. Later in Act II's 2010-2011 season, Braithwaite will star in Art by Yasmina Reza, directed by Bud Martin.

The intimacy of Act II's 130-seat house is the ideal venue for Heeere's Tony!, Braithwaite said. "Not only is the theatre itself intimate, but there's a relationship that develops when the audience is that close, show after show. I begin to recognize familiar faces from the stage, I've gotten to meet and know so many regulars, and befriend so many of the Act II patrons, and they're amazing. They're loyal to the theatre, they love coming to the shows, and most importantly, they have very loud laughs!"

Tickets for Heeere's Tony! are $27 for all Wednesday-Thursday performances and $33 for Friday through Sunday shows. Subscribers receive discounted tickets of $20 for any performance, and discounts are also available for students and groups of 10 or more. Tickets are available by calling the Act II Box Office at (215) 654-0200, in person at 56 E. Butler Ave. in Ambler, or online at www.act2.org. Box office hours are 2 to 6 p.m. Tuesday through Saturday.

Tony Braithwaite has been with Act II Playhouse for many shows over the years, including Say Goodnight Gracie, Good Evening, Stones in His Pockets, Boeing-Boeing, and The Story of My Life. Tony also works regularly with 1812 Productions, the Arden Theatre Company and Montgomery Theatre, among others. In March Tony brings First Impressions: Tony's Historical and Hysterical Take on the Presidents to Hedgerow Theatre in Media; in May it's back here at Act II for Art; then July at Montgomery Theatre for Neil Simon's Prisoner of 2nd Avenue and Look Mom, I'm Swell! back to back, and in the fall, Tony and Ben Dibble will return to The Kimmel Center with The Big Bang. Tony is a 12-time Barrymore nominee, a 4-time Barrymore M.C., and a 3-time Barrymore winner. For 17 years, Tony has also been the Director of Dramatics at his beloved alma mater St. Joe's Prep where he is currently directing his 34th show, The Producers. Web site: www.tonybraithwaite.com.

Act II Playhouse, now in its 12th season of professional theatre in the Philadelphia suburb of Ambler, PA, is committed to creating world-class theatre in a venue whose intimacy draws audiences and actors into dynamic interaction. Act II produces new, classic, and contemporary plays and musicals under the direction of Bud Martin (Producing Artistic Director) and Harriet Power (Associate Artistic Director). In July 2010, Howard Shapiro of The Philadelphia Inquirer declared that "Act II Playhouse is arguably the most up-and-coming of the region's small professional theaters outside Center City."

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