Applause News Blog

Tickets are now available for the new musical "A Catered Affair" written by and starring Harvey Fierstein.

The show has an extremely solid creative team with the book by the legendary Harvey Fierstein and music and lyrics by the highly respected John Bucchino. The production is being directed by John Doyle a.k.a. the man that made Patti Lupone play a tuba; he has staged Sweeney Todd and Company for Broadway with all the actors playing musical instruments. The cast boasts Faith Prince, Tom Wopat, Leslie Kritzer, Harvey Fierstein (doing double duty) and Matt Cavenaugh.

A Catered Affair, based on the Paddy Chayefsky TV film and movie, focuses on a 1950's family and their struggle to run a family business and still provide a lavish "catered affair" for their daughter's wedding. The musical is about family and love. Ahhh - that sounds nice. The reviews have come in from the out of town tryout at the Old Globe in San Diego and there is good news! Let's hear some of the good, shall we?

Variety's Bob Verni had very nice things to say about the show; praising all aspects of the piece. He had particular praise for the quiet and elegant staging of the production:
"No musical has ever been so quiet, so often, as "A Catered Affair," the Broadway-bound adaptation of Paddy Chayefsky's '50s-era teleplay and Gore Vidal's subsequent screenplay. The subject is a family whose communication has reached a dead end, so it's fitting that the most affecting moments are those in which words simply aren't enough. Much is verbalized in Harvey Fierstein's gritty slice-of-life dialogue and John Bucchino's sensitive lyrics, but the use of silence -- sometimes for as long as 30 seconds -- is remarkable: Few tuner directors would conceive of those quiet moments, and even fewer would dare attempt them."

GOOD:
Also in the positive column was Anne Marie Welsh from the San Diego Union-Tribune. Ms. Welsh singled out Faith Prince's performance and the shows simple emotional honesty. She had this to say:

"Aggie's the reverse image of pushy Mama Rose in "Gypsy," and Prince's beautifully restrained, carefully calibrated and thoroughly unsentimental performance should earn her accolades and awards this spring when the show opens in New York. Whether this kind of authentic soul-baring in song is too subtle for Broadway audiences fed on "American Idol"-style belting is another question altogether."

"Otherwise, Fierstein and company have already achieved in this artful piece far more than most hard-selling musicals aspire to: They've created real struggling human beings whose deepest feelings are beyond words - and therefore find true expression in song. "audiences are reportedly loving the show.

Sound Good?? You Bet!! Call Applause Theatre Service, www.applause-tickets.com, now and order your tickets to this new hot musical with its All-Star Cast! 212-307-7050 or 800-451-9930