MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH AND I'M IN THERAPY! Begins Tonight at Trinity Rep

Philip Roger Roy & Dana Matthow present the National Touring Company of the smash-hit comedy sensation, MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH AND I'M IN THERAPY!, written by Steve Solomon, directed by Andy Rogow and starring Peter J. Fogel. MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH AND I'M IN THERAPY! plays tonight, April 23 through May 18.

Regular tickets are $41-51, with discounts for groups of 10 or more. All shows are on sale now at www.trinityrep.com, by phone at (401) 351-4242, and at the Trinity Rep box office at 201 Washington St. in Providence. Performances are at 7:30pm Wednesdays through Saturdays, with additional 2pm matinee on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays during the run. For groups of 10 or more, call Marla in Group Sales at 1-888-264-1788.

MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH AND I'M IN THERAPY! is Steve Solomon's 90 minute smash hit comedy, inspired by his hilarious family and all the people in his life whose sole purpose is to drive him into therapy - and they succeeded! One Part Lasagna, One Part Kreplach and two parts Prozac, you don't have to be Jewish or Italian to love this show. All you need is to know what it feels like to leave a family dinner with heartburn & a headache! MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN, MY FATHER'S JEWISH AND I'M IN THERAPY! played for 2 years in New York City and has toured internationally in more than 100 cities.

ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM:

Steve Solomon (Playwright) A native of Brooklyn, Steve grew up in the multi-ethnic neighborhood of Sheepshead Bay. This was the perfect training ground for a dialectician and comedian. Steve learned at an early age how to use his gift for imitating accents to his advantage. He also realized that he was a prolific writer of jokes and stories; real jokes. He submitted dozens of his stories to periodicals, friends and stand up comics he knew in the business. With the coming of the internet and e-mail, Steve now had an outlet for much of his comedy writings. One e-mail full of his jokes became ten, ten became hundreds, soon thousands of fellow e-mailers were enjoying Steve's humor; and so it went for over twenty years. To this day, Steve receives e-mail versions of his own jokes from all over the world. So, if some of the hilarious stories you hear "ring" familiar; trust me, they're probably Steve's. Using humor, dialects and sound effects in teaching, Steve was real life version of Gabe Kaplan's "Welcome Back Kotter." Eventually, Steve became a Physics teacher and a school administrator on Long Island, New York.

He left his academic career behind and turned his attention to his latent love of making people laugh. As Steve puts it, "I decided follow my heart and become an impoverished comedy writer and performer." Steve's first show, the three-time award winning: My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm In Therapy has met with rave reviews to sold out crowds throughout the country and became one of the longest running one-man comedy shows in history. This hilarious show highlights the very best of his writing talents.

Steve has written two additional sequels to his original hit: My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm STILL in Therapy and his hilarious holiday show; My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm Home for the Holidays! All three of Steve's shows are currently touring the United States and have received critical acclaim including The Connecticut Critics Circle and The San Francisco Drama Desk nomination.

PHILIP ROGER ROY (Producer) has produced more than 45 shows since 1972 including the successful 2010-13 national tour of RESPECT: A Musical Journey of Women. Recent productions include My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy! (with Bud Martin & Dana Matthow, 2010-2013) in Baltimore, Phoenix, Toronto, Philadelphia, Florida, San Diego, Boston & Wilmington. He produced A Jew Grows in Brooklyn in NYC at The Lamb's Theater in the heart of Broadway! He was Associate Producer & General Manager in Philadelphia of Menopause The Musical, which played 3.5 years to more than 212,000 (mostly) menopausal women. His production of Let My People Come (LMPC) played over 2300 performances in Philadelphia from 1977 to 1987, & he produced LMPC in 20 cities in the USA & Canada, including 8 years in Toronto. His other productions include: Family Secrets, Grandma Sylvia's Funeral (co-produced in Phila. with Dana), Greater Tuna (Walnut St. Theatre & the Delaware Theatre Company), The World of Lenny Bruce, Confessions of an Irish Rebel, Judy! The New Judy Garland Musical, El Grande de Coca Cola, Pretzels (by Jane Curtin), Sholom Aleichem, Cloud 9, Groucho: A 1-Man Show With 2-Women, Bullshot Crummond &The Fantasticks (in which he also performed). As owner/founder of Philadelphia's legendary Grendel's Lair Cabaret Theater (for 15 years), Mr. Roy produced hundreds of concerts including The Police, Dizzy Gillespie, Buddy Rich, & Charles Mingus. He co-produced The Male Intellect: An Oxymoron? and Say Goodnight Gracie (2009) both in Philly.

Dana Matthow (Producer) is a Long Island native New Yorker whose theatrical career spans more than 35 years of producing, general management, theatre management, advertising and promotions. His latest credits include productions all over the US and Canada: Steve Solomon's trilogy of shows, My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy!; Respect, A Musical Journey of Women and A Jew Grows In Brooklyn. Dana's Off- Broadway credits include, Todd Robin's Carnival Knowledge, a behind the scenes look at the astounding and disappearing world of the American sideshow; Magic Hands Freddy starring Michael Rispoli and Ralph Macchio; Underneath the Lintel; Maybe Baby It's You; Grandma Sylva's Funeral (a/k/a the longest running funeral in history); Hysterical Blindness starring Leslie Jordon and Sea Marks by Adventures in Paradise star Gardner McKay. He also produced the feature film "Silent Prey" and owned and operated the Soho Playhouse in New York City. He is the founder and was the original Publisher of City Guide Magazine, New York City's #1 Weekly Visitor and Entertainment Magazine.

ABOUT THE CAST:

PETER J. FOGEL (Steve) is an award-winning comedian, actor, playwright and published author who has performed in the United States, Canada and Australia, for over 25 years. He's either worked or performed on over twenty-two television programs such as Comic Strip Live, Comedy on the Road, Married With Children, Unhappily Ever After, Chicago Sons (Jason Bateman) and Men Behaving Badly! (Rob Schneider). Other network appearances include HBO, NBC MTV, PBS and A&E. As a sitcom writer, Peter wrote for Columbia Tri-Star's television Rita's Velt, Germany's #1 Sitcom, (consequently their only one.) He's also contributed comedy material to Oscar Nominated actor, Chazz Palminteri, (A Bronx Tale, Bullets Over Broadway). As a commercial actor as well, you might have seen or heard Peter Shamelessly hawk products for Budweiser, Zima, American Express, Wisk Detergent (he was the "Ring Around the Collar Man"). No stranger to theatrical audiences, Peter's had the good fortune of gracing the stage at the Parker Playhouse, Coral Springs Center for the Performing Arts, Wisdom Bridge Theatre, Gordon Center for the Arts, SUNY Rockland Community College's Cultural Arts Center and the Lyric Theatre. From cruise ships -- to casinos and Vegas showrooms -- this eclectic funny man has shared the stage with such comedic luminaries as Ray Romano, Jon Stewart, Robert Klein, Ed Asner, Harry Anderson, Lewis Black and Dennis Miller -- to name just a few. Theatre credits include Yentyl, Ghosts of a Lonely Heart and Cocoa's Cabaret and Burlesque (Seminole Casino). Peter received his BFA at the famed SUNY at Purchase Theatre Arts program whose graduates include Ving Rhames, (Mission in Possible), Steven Weber (Wings) Wesley Snipes, (Blade) and Stanley Tucci (The Hunger Games). When not acting, Peter keeps busy as an in demand corporate trainer/business speaker and is the best-selling author of Reboot Your Career: 27 Ways to Reinvent Yourself in the Workplace (If You Still have a Job!) www.rebootyourcareernow.com. As a Public Speaking Coach, Peter also helps folks overcome their fear of public speaking as well as boost their performance skill level. www.publicspeaklikeapro.com. As if he's not busy enough, Peter's also the Host of Boomer Humor Radio, the #l self-indulgent help show on internet radio, www.boomerhumorradio.com.

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