The Lyric Stage Company of Boston
in association with Angelo Fraboni, Peter Martin,
Rick Newman, Eugene Pack, and Dayle Reyfel
presents
CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY
Two incredible nights!
Monday, February 27, 7:30pm
featuring
Sex & the City and Broadway star
MARIO CANTONE
with Boston and Lyric Stage favorites
Leigh Barrett, Larry Coen, Hanna Husband, Maureen Keiller, Robert Saoud, Timothy John Smith
Monday, April 2, 7:30pm
featuring
Star of The Producers and Iron Chef America judge
CADY HUFFMAN
with Boston and Lyric Stage favorites TBA
Tickets: $55/$25: regular seating
$75: Premium seating with post-show champagne/hors d’hoeuvres reception with the artists
Limited press seats available.
DESCRIPTION:
Celebrity Autobiography is a night of non-stop laughter as audiences experience a variety of jaw-dropping vignettes torn straight from the pages of the most unforgettable celebrity tell-alls: from the “he said-she said” accounts of Burt and Loni . . . the Britney Spears diary . . . Mr. T’s acting tips . . . the “poetry” of Suzanne Somers . . . Justin Bieber’s backstage confessions . . . the re-enactment of Tommy Lee and Pamela Anderson’s courtship . . . to the most famous Hollywood love triangle in history — Elizabeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Eddie Fisher.
And what’s most hilarious and astonishing — it’s all in their own words! Truth IS funnier than fiction — we couldn’t make this stuff up!
Created and developed by Emmy Award-nominated writer-performer Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel, “Celebrity Autobiography” features a first rate comedic ensemble performing from the actual memoirs of a wide range of celebrities. Other major characters featured in Celebrity Autobiography include: Sylvester Stallone, David Hasselhoff, Zsa Zsa Gabor, Ivana Trump, Vanna White, Star Jones, Neil Sedaka, Kenny Loggins, Madonna, and the Jonas Brothers.
Actual readings performed on February 27 and April 2 will be announced from the stage.
Running for three sold out years in New York, Celebrity Autobiography recently won the 2009 Drama Desk Award in the category of Unique Theatrical Experience and the 2010 Bistro Awards. The show has been one of the most critically acclaimed productions ever in the Off-Broadway scene and one of the most “buzzed about shows” of recent years.
BIOGRAPHIES
Mario Cantone, the celebrated New York stage actor and stand-up comedian, gained critical acclaim with his Tony-nominated one-man show Laugh Whore, from its appearance at the Cort Theatre on Broadway to the Showtime special. The previous theatre season saw Cantone starring in the Tony-winning Assassins by Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman. Both of hit shows were directed by four-time Tony-winner Joe Mantello.
An accomplished stage actor, Cantone has appeared on Broadway in the role of Buzz in Terrence McNally’s award-winning dramatic comedy, Love! Valor! Compassion!; and as Stephano in Shakespeare’s The Tempest at the Public Theater. Off Broadway, Cantone was the original Terry in The Crumple Zone, and played Benny in June Moon, and Grumio in the Shakespeare in the Park production of The Taming of the Shrew.
Cantone returned in the role of wedding planner extraordinaire, Anthony Marentino, in the recent release of the Sex and the City 2. He also starred in Sony’s animated film, Surf’s Up, and appeared in the hilarious film The Aristocrats. On television, Cantone can currently be seen as Anthony, Charlotte’s wedding-planner-with-attitude, now that HBO’s Sex and the City is in syndication on TBS, while Cantone is also a frequent guest on The View. On Comedy Central, Cantone’s performances have been featured on The USO Comedy Tour, Chappelle’s Show, and Premium Blend as well as his own special, Comedy Central Presents: Mario Cantone.
Cantone has performed his irreverent stand-up comedy at a wide range of venues, including Carnegie Hall, where he warmed up jazz great Shirley Bassey, to performances at Atlantic City “Resorts,” and Caroline’s on Broadway. Peter Marks of The New York Times wrote of his work, “In the realm of outrageously joyful stand-up, there is the shrieking, windup-toy sensibility of Mario Cantone, a comedian of extravagant tantrums and extravagant gifts. . . . He is a proponent of the comedy of outrage.” Over the years his routines have included musical parodies of Judy Garland, Jim Morrison, Peggy Lee, Bruce Springsteen and Liza Minnelli.
Cantone got his start hosting the local New York children’s show Steampipe Alley, where the comic slipped in sly pop culture innuendo that adults could enjoy. His other television credits include appearances on Late Night with David Letterman, Oprah, Martha, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and NBC’s Ed. The actor was also featured in the films Quiz Show and Mousetrap. Cantone’s other film credits include Crooked Lines (Cannes 2003) and Last Request.
Cady Huffman is perhaps best known for her Tony® Award-winning performance as “Ulla” in The Producers on Broadway. This led to her unforgettable recurring role on HBO’s Curb Your Enthusiasm where she almost became Larry David’s 10th anniversary present. This success also brought her to the Food Network’s kitchen stadium where she has judged for 10 consecutive seasons on Iron Chef America.
Cady’s other Broadway credits are her Tony® Award-nominated performance as Ziegfeld’s Favorite in The Will Rogers Follies, La Cage aux Folles, Steel Pier, Dame Edna: The Royal Tour, and Bob Fosse’s last original musical Big Deal. She has had several guest starring appearances on television, including Law & Order: SVU, The Good Wife, Frasier, Law & Order: CI, Law & Order: Trial By Jury, and Mad About You. She even showed up on daytime’s One Life to Live as the second Dr. Paige Miller.
On the big screen Cady was most recently seen in John Wells’ The Company Men opposite Ben Affleck and Chris Cooper. Other films include John Turturro’s star-studded musical film Romance & Cigarettes, Hero (with Dustin Hoffman, Geena Davis and Andy Garcia), The Nanny Diaries and starring roles in the indie films Molly’s Theory of Relativity, Dare, $20 Drinks, Billy’s Dad Is a Fudgepacker, Space Marines and Throw the Hoolihan. She also produced and stars in film festival favorite Sunday on the Rocks which won 2nd Place Feature at the New Haven Film Festival.
Cady often lends her talents and resources to several charitable causes, including Creative Alternatives of New York, AIDS awareness, breast cancer research, women’s heart health, and animal rights. As an advocate for the arts, she has traveled to Washington to speak to Senators and Congresspersons and has spoken on panels at Sundance Film Festival and Brown and Harvard Universities focusing on the arts and first amendment rights. She is passionate about keeping the arts in public schools and helping young people realize their potential.
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Henry Lussier
Director of Marketing & Public Relations
The Lyric Stage Company of Boston
140 Clarendon Street, 2nd floor
Boston, MA 02116