Preview of Stray Kats Theatre Company's 'Starting Here, Starting Now'

NEWTOWN, CT – May 29, 2012 - The Stray Kats Theatre Company, a not-for-profit theatre company located at Edmond Town Hall’s Alexandria Room, 45 Main Street, Newtown CT, will present its first musical production, Starting Here, Starting Now a musical revue with lyrics by Richard Maltby Jr. and music by David Shire, for four performances opening Friday, July 20.

Using songs from their various early musicals (produced or otherwise), Yale graduates Maltby & Shire  created this bold, extroverted journey that takes a cast of three through the maze of modern relationships with its heart firmly on its sleeve.  As with all of Maltby and Shire’s work, each song is an impeccably crafted story, original, engaging, bursting with character, and showcasing the versatility and charisma of its performer.

Starting Here, Starting Now explores the humorous, joyful and melancholy ups and downs of romance as well as the hopefulness experienced when a fresh start in love and life presents itself. From tender ballads to hysterical husband-hunting laments, from wry comments on trendy marriages to ecstatic shouting-from-the-rooftop celebration, Maltby & Shire’s Starting Here, Starting Now has an appealing freshness that has made it a perennial favorite throughout the world.

“We’re thrilled to bring this delightful revue to our audience,” said Kate Katcher, Artistic Director. “It signals a new beginning for Stray Kats as we mount our first music production,” Katcher continued.

The cast features Mark Basile, Leigh Katz and Sarah Morris.  Kate Katcher directs with music direction by Mark Cherry.

All actors appear courtesy of Actors Equity Association.

About Stray Kats Theatre Company

SKTC is about to enter its third season. Building an audience and recognition in the community before venturing into fully mounted productions, SKTC previously offered staged readings of contemporary classics and new works with professional casts. Beginning this season, SKTC will present two full productions along with continued exploration of new works and contemporary classics in reading form.

For further information, contact Kate Katcher at 203-514-2221 or by email at info@straykatstheatrecompany.org

About the July 2012 Performances

Curtain time for all four performances on Fridays and Saturdays, July 20, 21, 27 & 28 is at 8:00 p.m.

            Tickets are available at www.straykatstheatrecompany.org or by calling 203-514-2221.

            Price:    $35 each when purchased in advance

                        $40 when purchased at the door

About the Company

Kate Katcher (Director) is an actor, writer and director who debuted opposite Zero Mostel and repeated the role of Tzeitel opposite Herschel Bernardi, directed by Jerome Robbins in Fiddler on the Roof. Her recent credits include roles on Nurse Jackie and the new Comedy Central series Jon Benjamin Has a Van. She is the creator of the Husband and Wife webisodes A Nice Drive and Planning Ahead in which she appears opposite real-life husband Don Striano. Directorial Credits include work with professional and on-professional companies including musicals Little Shop of Horrors, Suessical, Fame, Godspell, L’il Abner, Honk!, and plays Visions of Faith, Hamlet: The Sequel, and New york and Connecticut productions of The Goldfish Bowl, which she also wrote. She also writes the now occasional blog, Things to Do When You’re Dead. See more at www.katekatcher.com

Mark Cherry’s (Musical Director) credits include the award winning and critically acclaimed An Evening With Brett Somers, which he co-wrote with the late actress, comedienne and Television personality, and for which he served as both stage and musical director; the original New York run of Nunsense; and musical direction for numerous regional and stock theatres, including the Folger (now Shakespeare) Theatre in Washington DC, The Olney Theatre, The Cape Playhouse, Ogunquit Playhouse, and Westport Country Playhouse. He has arranged/conducted Industrials for corporations such as McDonald’s, toured in Europe for the US Armed Forces Special Services, and has appeared at the Kennedy Center, in Las Vegas, and most of the cabaret rooms in New York. His composition work includes Just Pretend, a children’s musical, and Bitz, a musical revue. His piano meditations have become a regular feature of Sunday mornings at the First Church of Christ, Congregational, in Redding CT, where he serves as director of music. Mark is currently Artist-in-Residence for Musical Theatre Manhattanville College, where has been both stage and musical director for 18 productions.

Leigh Katz is excited and honored to be working with the Stray Kats Theatre Company!  Over the past 20 years, Leigh has performed a variety of leading roles in both professional and local theatre companies throughout Connecticut and New York. Some of her past credits include Portia in Julius Caesar and Mary in The Women (Off-Broadway Showcase); She Stoops To Conquer (Long Wharf Theatre); Golde in Fiddler On The Roof and Fraulein Kost in Cabaret (Amarantes Dinner Theatre); Barbara in Social Security (Producing Guild Hartford,Ct); Nurse Ratched in One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest (Staten Island Shakespeare Company); Linda in Play It Again Sam (Seaview Playwrights Theatre); and  M'Lynn in Steel Magnolias (Darien Arts Center). Other coveted roles include Rosalind in As You Like It; Kleopatra in Diary Of A Scoundrel; Miss Prism in The Importance Of Being Earnest; and Masha in The Seagull among many others.  For the past two years, Leigh has been a full time member of the professional Theatre Artist Workshop (TAW) in Norwalk,Ct  where she has performed in a variety of staged readings and original plays including Doug Taylor's Just Stopping By for the annual Playwrights Festival and Marian in The Heiress for the workshop's Classic Night Series. Most recently, Leigh made her acting debut in New York City's annual Writopia Festival for young playwrights.  As an acting instructor, Leigh has been teaching scene study and monologue work through Fairfield Adult Education and has also worked as a private coach.  She is a graduate of The American Musical and Dramatic Academy in New York City , and she also holds a B.F.A. in Musical Theatre from the New School University and an MA from Columbia University.

Mark Basile has performed in musical theatre and the classics throughout America, Italy and Bermuda. He has worked with such luminaries as Shelley Winters, appeared in Can Can with the Rockettes, in Tropicana written and directed by George Abbot, and On the Twentieth Century with Imogene Coca, a dear friend who introduced him to his partner, now spouse, Steven. Although retired from professional theatre, Mark keeps his skills sharp as a Member of The Theatre Artists Workshop where he created the Classic Night Series, directing and appearing in such plays as “The Children’s Hour”, “Outward Bound”, “The Heiress”. Mark lives in Weston.

Sarah Morris is originally from Westport, CT and is a recent graduate of Manhattanville College with a BA in Music with a Concentration in Musical Theatre. Some favorite roles include Fiona in Brigadoon, The Baker's Wife in Into the Woods, and Charlotte Malcolm in A Little Night Music, all performed at the Little Theatre in NY. She has also appeared as a cabaret soloist at Don’t Tell Mama, the Reid Castle and the Disney Wishes Benefit. She is thrilled to be a part of this production with Stray Kats Theatre Company.