Aurora Browne, Fiona Reid, Sergio DiZio and More Will Lead the World Premiere of THE BIDDING WAR

This November, Crow’s Theatre gets set to expose the depraved last stand of the middle class: the battle for home ownership - in Michael Ross Albert’s new comedy, THE BIDDING WAR, running November 12th to December 15th in the Streetcar Crowsnest Guloein Theatre. (Media night: Wednesday, November 20th)
 
A Crow’s Theatre commission written by rising-star Albert and directed by Crow’s Theatre Associate Artistic Director Paolo Santalucia, THE BIDDING WAR is a no-holds-barred comedy where the city’s last affordable house is for sale. Heads roll and shrimp tails fly when a frantic, 12-hour bidding war erupts during what was supposed to be a routine open house. Agents turn on buyers, buyers turn on agents, and everything spirals into an uproarious dark comedy of desperation and anxiety.
 
“One of the leading, almost mythological, narratives in cities across North America today is the increasing impossibility of home ownership,” says Crow’s Theatre Artistic Director Chris Abraham.  “What it costs to call yourself a homeowner, what you have to do to get it - the stories about homes selling after five minutes on the market for $500k over-asking – this is the stuff of urban legend. When Michael pitched us a comedy about an unabashedly cutthroat real estate bidding war, it was an immediate yes.”
 
This largest cast of this Crow’s Theatre season showcases everyday homebuyers as they grapple with extraordinary circumstances, skyrocketing housing costs, gentrification, and sabotage, and features an all-star comedic ensemble cast including Aurora Browne (Baroness Von Sketch Show), Sergio Di Zio (Four Minutes Twelve Seconds), Izad Etemadi (Mad Madge), Peter Fernandes (The Master Plan), Veronica Hortiguela (Prodigal), Amy Matysio (It’s A Wonderful Life: A Live Radio Play), Fiona Reid (Hedda Gabler), Gregory Prest (Bed and Breakfast; Pillow Talk) ), Steven Sutcliffe (Harry Potter and the Cursed Child), Sophia Walker (The House That Will Not Stand), and Gregory Waters (Letterkenny).
 
“Michael has written an audacious and shockingly funny script,” adds Crow’s Associate Artistic Director Paolo Santalucia. “I like to describe the play as Glengarry Glen Ross meetsClue. It highlights my favourite type of comedy – simmering, vicious, with characters ripped straight out of the most absurd corners of our lives. I’m absolutely thrilled with the heavy-hitting all-star cast who have come together to pull it off and I can’t wait to share this one with our audiences.”
 
For playwright Ross Albert, THE BIDDING WAR represents his largest production to date and the first on a major theatre stage.  A celebrated indie theatre writer, his previous credits include Beautiful Renegades (Peggy Baker Dance Projects); When I'm Gone (Mountain Movers Theatre Company); Good Old Day  (Toronto Fringe); Two Minutes to Midnight (The Assembly Theatre); The Huns; Anywhere (both: Best of Toronto Fringe and Patron's Pick); The Grass is Greenest at the Houston Astrodome (published in Best American Short Plays 2014-2015); Miss (Unit 102); and Tough Jews (Spadina Avenue Gang/Storefront Theatre—Dora Award nomination - Outstanding New Play).  
 
Paolo Santalucia is an award-winning actor, director and writer. He is well known to Toronto audiences for his roles on stage with Soulpepper Theatre for over ten seasons, including The Seagull, Bed and Breakfast, Of Human Bondage, Spoon River (Canadian, Off-Broadway Cast); and his leading role on Crave TV’s Pillow Talk. Paolo is also a co-founder of the award-winning The Howland Company and he joined Crow’s Theatre as Associate Artistic Director in 2022. Paolo is the recipient of two Dora Mavor Moore Awards in acting, one nomination for direction, one nomination for playwriting, and has been nominated for two Canadian Screen Awards, and has been shortlisted for the John Hirsch Award for Directing.
 
Santalucia is joined on the creative team by set designer Ken Mackenzie, costume designer Laura Delchiaro, lighting designer Christian Horoszczak, sound designer Olivia Wheeler, and fight director Anita Nittoly.
 
THE BIDDING WAR runs Tuesday to Saturday at 7:30pm, Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 1:30pm. For more information and to purchase tickets, visit crowstheatre.com or call 647.341.7390 ext. 1010 or email boxoffice@crowstheatre.com or drop by 345 Carlaw Avenue (at Dundas Street East).

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