Porchlight Music Theatre Presents A CATERED AFFAIR, Previews 2/18

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Porchlight Music Theatre, American Musicals. Chicago Style, presents the Chicago premiere of John Bucchino and Harvey Fierstein's A Catered Affair, directed by Nick Bowling with music direction by Doug Peck, at Stage 773, 1225 W. Belmont Ave. Preview performances begin Saturday, February 18, 2012 at 8 p.m. with opening/press night Tuesday, February 21, 2012 at 7:30 p.m. The regular performance schedule is Fridays at 7:30 p.m., Saturdays at 8 p.m. and Sundays at 2 p.m. Single tickets are $38 with group and student discounts available. All tickets are available at stage773.com, porchlightmusictheatre.org or by phone at 773.327.5252.

Previously announced lead Rebecca Finnegan will be joined by Chicago favorite Craig Spidle as "Tom Hurley", Kelly Davis Wilson as "Janey Hurley" and Jerry O'Boyle as "Uncle Winston". Rounding out the A Catered Affair cast are Jim DeSelm (Ralph Halloran), Brittani Arlandis Green (Alice/Army Sergeant), Larry Baldacci (Sam/Mr. Halloran), Caron Buinis (Pasha/Caterer), Anne Sheridan Smith (Dolores/Mrs. Halloran/US Aggie Hurley) and Lauren Villegas (Myra/Wedding Dress Saleswoman).

Based on the beloved Bette Davis film and featuring a melodious, 1950s inspired score; A Catered Affair is an exploration of the resilience of love. A couple (Rebecca Finnegan and Craig Spidle) must decide whether to spend their life savings on the family taxicab company or to celebrate their only daughter's (Kelly Davis Wilson) marriage with a lavish catered affair, providing her with the extravagant wedding they never had for themselves. This bittersweet reflection on the complexities of relationships between husbands and wives and parents and children is an emotional ride where feelings of joy and heartbreak are shared in one moment.

The design team includes Brian Sidney Bembridge, scenic design; William J. Morey, costume design; Nic Jones, lighting design; Victoria Delorio, sound design; Julia Eberhardt, properties design and Kelli Marino, dramaturg. The production stage manager is Meghan Teal.

ABOUT THE ACTORS
Rebecca Finnegan (Aggie Hurley) returns to Porchlight Music Theatre where she has been seen in Company (Jeff Award), Sweeney Todd (Jeff Award, After Dark Award ) Closer Then Ever (Jeff Award, After Dark Award) and Gypsy (Jeff Nomination, After Dark Award). Credits include Ben Bagley's Cole Porter (Light Opera Works -Jeff Nomination) A Kurt Weill Review (Theo Ubique - Jeff Award) Fiorello! (Timeline - Jeff Award Nomination) Cabaret (Drury Lane - Jeff Nomination) Suessical and The Three Musketeers (Chicago Shakespeare), Turn Of The Century and Candide (Goodman) Little Women and Fiddler On The Roof (Marriott) and Working (Broadway Playhouse).

Craig Spidle (Tom Hurley) makes his Porchlight Music Theatre debut in A Catered Affair. Spidle has performed in The Tempest, As I Lay Dying and Libra (Steppenwolf); Passion Play, Oedipus Complex, Pericles. Black Star Line and As You Like It (Goodman), Life's A Dream, Little Foxes, Nora. Desire Under The Elms, The Cherry Orchard (Court), The Immigrant, Over The Tavern, Experiment With an Air Pump (Northlight), Brothers Karamazov, Manuscript Found In Saragossa (Lookingglass) And Ten Little Indians, Fiddler of the Roof, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Sound of Music (Drury Lane).

Kelly Davis Wilson (Janey Hurley) makes her Porchlight Music Theatre debut in this production. Her previous credits include Bonhoeffer's Cost (Provision Theater), The Original Grease (American Theater Company) and Romeo and Juliet (Glass Onion Theatre). She is a recent graduate of The Theatre School at DePaul University.

Jerry O'Boyle (Uncle Winston) is making his Porchlight Music Theatre debut in A Catered Affair. Jerry spent four years playing "Edna Turnblad" in the second National and International tour of Hairspray performing the role more than 1,000 times including two trips to Japan. O'Boyle has also appeared in numerous productions at Apple Tree Theatre, Into the Woods (Marriott); Theda Bara and the Frontier Rabbi (Fox Theatricals) and Dealing (Northlight).

ABOUT John Bucchino, MUSIC AND LYRICS
John Bucchino's (Music & Lyrics) songs have been performed and recorded by artists including Liza Minnelli, Barbara Cook, Brian Stokes Mitchell, Judy Collins, Yo Yo Ma, Art Garfunkel, Patti LuPone, Michael Feinstein, Audra McDonald, The Boston Pops, the Los Angeles Philharmonic and the Mormon Tabernacle Choir in venues including Carnegie Hall, The Metropolitan Opera, The Hollywood Bowl, and The White House.