SANTA-GATE SCANDAL MELTS NORTHPOLE!
Santa Claus "Comes Out" November 29th
"HILARIOUS!" - Philadelphia Inquirer
"A nicely sharp satirical knife!" - Chicago Tribune
"A delightful upending of the St. Nick Myth!" - Provincetown Magazine
For Immediate Release
Press Contact:
Janet Appel Public Relations LLC
212-258-2413
janetappel54[at]aol.com
NEW YORK—Diverse City Theater Company, Penguin Rep Theatre and Shotgun Productions will reveal the truth behind the Santa-gate scandal in SANTA CLAUS IS COMING OUT, a new comedy written by and starring Jeffrey Solomon, directed by acclaimed director Joe Brancato. The show runs from November 29th thru December 20th at Theatre Row’s The Kirk Theatre, 410 West 42nd Street in New York City.
Developed at Penguin Rep Theatre, SANTA CLAUS IS COMING OUT, a theatrical mock-u-mentary, is about the worldwide scandal surrounding the outing of Santa Claus. Writer-performer Jeffrey Solomon traces the intensely personal struggle of the great holiday icon, as he tries to reconcile his love relationship with Italian toy maker Giovanni Geppetto with his passion for giving to the world's children.
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING OUT features more than a dozen iconic characters. Among them are Sidney Green, the “little Jew who saved Christmas;” nine year-old Gary, who asks Santa for a Sparkle Dream Princess doll; Mary Ellen, who evokes a 21st century Anita Bryant; Rudolph, elves, and many others.
“The show plays out against the backdrop of the latest salvo in America's Culture Wars: the debate on providing gay role models to children. It was inspired by my research into the parents’ rights movement to keep gay issues out of the classroom,” says Solomon.
Solomon is the recipient of the Joseph Jefferson Award for Best Actor for his solo show, MotherSON. The show also won Audience Favorite, Best Playwriting and Best Male Solo Performer at the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival. For Santa Claus is Coming Out, he also won the Best of the National Gay and Lesbian Theatre Festival award. As a writer, Solomon wrote the pilot for Jim Henson’s CityKids, which received an Emmy nomination for Best Children’s Special and an Ollie Award for Excellence in Children’s Programming. He was staff writer for Carsey-Werner/ABC TV, Tri-Star/Fox, and Nickolodeon. In addition, he penned a CityKids novelization for young adults published by Random House. Jeff is the co-Artistic Director of Houses on the Moon Theater Co. For more information, visit www.jeffsolo.com.
Director Joe Brancato is the Artistic Director and founder of Penguin Rep Theatre. He directed Karoline Leach’s Tryst (Outer Critic’s Nominee, Best Play) starring Maxwell Caulfield at the Promenade Theatre; Lee Blessing’s Cobb (Drama Desk winner) produced by Kevin Spacey and Melting Pot at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and co-produced by Mr. Spacey and Garry Marshall in Los Angeles; James Sherman’s From Door to Door at the Westside Theatre; Richard Vetere’s One Shot, One Kill at Primary Stages; Angelo Parra’s The Devil’s Music: The Life and Blues of Bessie Smith at the Melting Pot Company; Joseph Gallo’s My Italy Story; George Walker’s Escape From Happiness starring Marsha Mason; The Big Swing (starring Madeline Kahn, Sarah Jessica Parker, Matthew Broderick, Marisa Tomei) and Dr. Valentine’s Waltz (starring John Turturro, Laura Linney, Gina Gershon, Jane Alexander) at Naked Angels; Hold the Wedding produced by Joseph Papp. Joe has directed several regional productions including Seattle Rep, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Houston’s Alley Theatre, Hartford Stage, Westport Playhouse, Capital Rep, Boston’s New Rep, Hartford Theatreworks, and Florida Stage.
SANTA CLAUS IS COMING OUT begins performances on November 29th thru December 20th and will have the following schedule: Sunday, November 29th @ 7PM; Mondays, Wednesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays @ 8PM; Fridays @ 7PM & 9:30PM; Saturdays and Sundays @ 2PM.
DARK TUESDAYS.
Running time: 80 minutes.
TICKETS: $45 ... NOW ON SALE AT:
 Ticket Central
www.ticketcentral.com
212-279-4200
Producers: Andrew M. Horn, Patricia R. Klausner, Victor Lirio; Associate Producer: Martha Zamirski; Production Stage Manager: Zachary Spitzer; Set Design: Michael Schweikardt; Lighting Design: Jeff Croiter; Costume Design: Arnulfo Maldonado; Sound Design: Jill C DuBoff; Creative Director: David Derr; Marketing: HHC Marketing
About Diverse City Theater Company
Formed in 2003, DIVERSE CITY THEATER COMPANY (“DCT”) develops and produces powerful and thought-provoking works that examine our society’s diversity issues from social, cultural, gender and demographic perspectives. DCT advocates the non-traditional casting of actors to reflect the rich spectrum of the national culture and the universality of the human spirit. The company’s 2008 critically-acclaimed production of Cassandra Medley’s Noon Day Sun was selected as Time Out New York’s Critics Pick, featured on NBC’s “Best Bets,” and recipient of Audelco Award nominations for Best Dramatic Production of the Year and Best Play. In 2007, DCT’s production of Snapshots was selected as New York Times Critics Choice for New and Noteworthy, calling it “gutsy” and “a quality not often seen in New York theatre.” In addition, DCT is the recipient of two nominations for Actors’ Equity Association’s The Rosetta Lenoire Award (2008, 2009) for “outstanding contributions made to the universality of the human spirit in the American theatre.” Now in its sixth season, DCT is an independent, non-profit 501(c)(3) theater organization. For more information about DCT, visit www.diversecitytheater.org.
About Penguin Rep Theatre
PENGUIN REP THEATRE, now completing its 32nd season, has attracted more than 300,000 audience members from the Tri-State region and beyond to its intimate converted barn theatre in Stony Point, New York. Under the leadership of founder/artistic director Joe Brancato and executive director Andrew M. Horn, the company has originated more than 100 productions by such writers as Lee Blessing, Ronald Harwood, Arthur Laurents, Tom Dudzick, Warren Leight, William Mastrosimone, James Sherman and Elizabeth Swados. Many of Penguin’s plays have moved on to engagements in New York City, around the country and onto film, including Karoline Leach’s Tryst (produced by Morton Wolkowitz), Warren Leight’s Glimmer, Glimmer and Shine, Richard Vetere’s One Shot, One Kill and James Sherman’s From Door to Door. The Academy Award nominated film, Finding Neverland, began life as a play, The Man Who Was Peter Pan, which was commissioned and originally presented by Penguin Rep, as did the CBS TV film The Marriage Fool with Carol Burnett and Walter Matthau. The New York Times has dubbed Penguin Rep “the gutsiest little theatre” and Joe Brancato “one of America’s most insightful directors.” The Journal News wrote that Penguin Rep “continues to astonish with a consistency of taste, high-quality material, and first class production values.” Visit us online at www.penguinrep.org.
About Shotgun Productions
Formed in 1989, SHOTGUN PRODUCTIONS is theatrical production company committed to developing and producing original, contemporary works for the stage by emerging and established artists. Shotgun has presented more than 75 plays, dance, opera and mixed media performances in various stages of development since receiving its not-for-profit status in 1995. Full productions include: The Chaos Theories (world premiere), Don’t Hug Me (tri-state premiere, co-produced with NJ Rep), An Evening of Schoenberg & Strauss with Tenor Marc Deaton (Arnold Schoenberg Center, Vienna, Austria), 24-Hour Drama-Thon, Undivulged Crimes (world premiere), a staged concert of Richard Wagner’s Tristan und Isolde (Sofia, Bulgaria), Seduction: A Musical Theater Dance-Opera (world premiere), Joined At the Head, Mia Michael’s R.A.W. (dance concert), Tides of Intolerance (multi-media production) and The Choice (North American premiere). Shotgun was the recipient of WNYC’s STAR award and was featured in the PBS documentary on the making of Tristan in Bulgaria. In 2008, Shotgun created Global Arts Initiative (GAIN), an outreach program to provide arts-based education to children residing in city slums overseas. Shotgun is based in New York.
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