BUYER & CELLAR To Open At The Armory

Portland favorite Nick Cearley returns to The Armory to reprise his role as a fictional shop-boy in Barbara Streisand's real-life shopping mall in Jonathan Tolins' hilarious comedy Buyer & Cellar. Cearley (Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors) has performed the play across the country, playing Alex More - the out of work actor who says yes to a mysterious job and ends up in the basement of a legend - along with the rotating cast of characters who fill Alex's life, including Barbra Streisand.

D.C. Metro Theater Arts called Cearley in Buyer & Cellar "terrific ... a funny and insightful performance." Cincinnati CityBeat wrote that "Cearley had me laughing out loud," while the New Hope Free Press called Cearley "magnificent."

"What's exciting about Buyer & Cellar? TWO WORDS: Barbra Streisand," says Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan (A Life, Kodachrome), who will direct Buyer & Cellar. "It offers a glimpse behind the curtain of fame. I think people will have a lot of fun with this show."

During Buyer & Cellar's run, The Armory will host a series of events inspired by the show, including three performances by Cearley's band The Skivvies, from Feb. 16-18. The New York Times called The Skivvies "a hot musical comedy duo specializing in unexpected arrangements, incongruous mashups, and of course, highly toned displays of skin." Other events include Funny Girls: A Barbra Streisand Drag Show on Feb. 3 and two happy hours hosted by Portland's premier drag clown Carla Rossi, whose pre-show presentations on Feb. 10 and 22 promise to help audiences navigate all things camp and gay in Buyer & Cellar.

An outrageous comedy about the price of fame and the oddest of odd jobs. Alex, a struggling actor in Los Angeles, finds himself working in Barbra Streisand's private shopping mall (yes, Barbra has her own shopping mall). With his riotously sharp wit and shop boy persona ready, Alex awaits a visit from the ultimate customer, the "Funny Girl" herself.

Jonathan Tolins' Buyer & Cellar was named "Best Unique Theatrical Experience" by the Off-Broadway Alliance when it premiered at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Tolins' other plays include The Twilight of the Golds on Broadway, If Memory Serves, The Last Sunday in June, and Secrets of the Trade. His film work includes The Twilight of the Golds and Martian Child. For television, he has written for Queer as Folk, the Academy Awards, the Tony Awards, and Partners. He was the author of Pushkin 200: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall, acted as script consultant on Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular, and co-wrote The Divine Millennium Tour and The Showgirl Must Go On for Bette Midler. He has written articles for Opera News, Opera Monthly, TheaterWeek, Time Magazine, and HuffPost, and is a panelist on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Quiz.

Nick Cearley returns to The Armory after making his debut in Little Shop of Horrors in 2016. This is his eighth production of Buyer & Cellar. OUT100 list named him one of the most "intriguing and compelling" LGBTQ actors of the year. Cearley also appeared in the Broadway First National Tour of All Shook Up. His credits include Off-Broadway appearances in A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pageant: The Musical, and Sex Tips for Straight Women from a Gay Man, as well as numerous regional theater performances.

Associate Artistic Director Rose Riordan (A Life, Kodachrome) directs a team that includes Scenic and Lighting Designer Kristeen Crosser (Sex with Strangers, Mary's Wedding), Costume Designer Alex Meadows (costume shop manager at The Armory, co-costume designer for Astoria: Part 2), Sound Designer Casi Pacilio (Twist Your Dickens, A Christmas Memory/Winter Song), Projection Designer Will Cotter (Kodachrome), Stage Manager Mark Tynan, and Production Assistant Alexis Ellis-Alvarez.

Regular tickets range from $25 to $57 and are on sale now. Tickets may be purchased at www.pcs.org, 503.445.3700, or in-person from the box office (128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR). Rush tickets are $20. Students; patrons who are 30 or younger; and active duty or veteran military personnel and their families get 50% off tickets in seating area 1. $5 tickets are available for Oregon Trail Card holders through the Arts for All program. Prices vary by date and time, and are subject to change.

To post a comment, you must register and login.