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ANGRY YOUNG WOMEN IN LOW RISE JEANS WITH HIGH CLASS ISSUES
To share its 2007 hit with a wider audience, Theater for the New City will reprise "Angry Young Women In Low-Rise Jeans With High-Class Issues," the raucous comedy written and directed by filmmaker-turned-playwright Matt Morillo, from December 3 to 20. Following its TNC run two years ago, the show went on to an Off-Broadway run in NYC and multiple engagements in Hollywood and Sydney, Australia, but it never seems to exhaust its audience. The play, Morillo's first, was published last spring by Samuel French, along with Morillo's second play, "All Aboard the Marriage Hearse." The show's website is www.angryyoungwomen.net. The piece is a light-to-serious look at the psychology of nervous urban goddesses, parades a series of foxy, witty and anxious women who bear the expectations of the world like an itchy muffler. In a series of skits, they go head to head with such issues as Electra complexes, bikini waxes, low-rise jeans, oversexed mothers, thongs, brazen teenagers, men's sexual fantasies, side effects of birth control drugs, mean teenagers on the subway, sympathy sex and the artistic integrity of penises and vaginas in independent films. The show bills itself as "An Outrageous Comedy" and its postcards declare "Even though it's a play, it doesn't suck."
Original cast members Nick Coleman, Tom Pilutik and Angelique Letizia will be joined by newcomers Lauren Murphy, Poppi Kramer, Erika Helen Smith, Vi Flaten, and Gage Cass. PRODUCTION HISTORY "Angry Young Women In Low-Rise Jeans With High-Class Issues" premiered at the Duo Theater in New York's East Village January 19 to February 25, 2006 and was revived by Theater for the New City, NYC January 4 to February 24, 2007. An Off Broadway production opened at the Players Theater on MacDougal Street in Greenwich Village on July 12 and closed October 20, 2007. In Sydney, Australia, Stella Green Productions produced 31 performances with an Australian cast and director from August 14 to September 2, 2007 and revived it with 27 performances from January 9 to February 9, 2008. The production appeared at Hudson Mainstage on Hollywood's Theater Row in October and November, 2008.
P R E S S C U T T I N G S REVIEWS FROM NYC: "Angry Young Women is a fearless look at modern womanhood told through a series of comedic vignettes that left the audience both laughing and appalled. Watching this play would be a great outlet for angry young women every where; it embraces all that is crazy, neurotic, hypocritical and vulnerable in our lives. The lovely actresses unleash intense emotional whirlwinds throughout the entire eighty-five minute performance, somehow managing to continually keep the drama humorous….Matt Morillo has written and directed a show that entertains men and women alike. Somehow he has managed to capture private female thoughts and intimate moments with such accuracy that you have to wonder if he had a personal peephole into the ladies room at his local bar. The audience of both men and women laughed with the seven young brazen actors for the majority of the show. The pace, momentum and vigor were unfailing and it was a sexy and shocking night at the theatre - something we could all probably use." -- New York Cool (Shareshten Senior): CRITIC'S PICK (A MUST SEE) "The Playwright/director seems able to grasp deeply many of these situations…and carve them into often-hilarious comic sketches." -- Backstage (Tom Penketh) "Brilliant…laughs are to be had throughout…every joke is fast and funny…it is nearly impossible to find a reason not to laugh at this ingenious farce…a truly great piece of theater." -- Offoffonline.com (Timothy John Papp) "It's like the Carol Burnett show…but with sex!" -- WOR Radio (Reviewed by Joey Reynolds) REVIEWS FROM SYDNEY, AUSTRALIA "Matt Morillo hits the g-spot in…a play that will enrage as equally as it will entertain." -- Sydney Theatre.net "A very funny show indeed…If the opening-night audience response is anything to go by, it would be a great show for a bunch of girlfriends to see together, and there's plenty for the lads to enjoy too."-- Australian Stage (Jack Teiwes) "From the opening moments it feels like the Cosmo sealed section grew a mouth and limbs and trotted out onto the stage… takes a no-holds-barred approach to pretty much everything when it comes to talking about sex." -- Australian Stage Online (Helen Barry) "A balanced, funny and entertaining series of skits and monologues…'Angry Young Women In Low-rise Jeans With High Class Issues has people rolling in the aisles with laughter." -- Aussie Theater.com (Reviewed by Troy Dodds) REVIEWS FROM LOS ANGELES: "What would normally be described as a 'chick' dilemma, Morillo created an intelligent, sexy-smart play. Not bad for a debut!!" -- Entertainment Today (Mary E. Montoro) “An excited woman behind me averred 'That was simply the best, the absolute best show I’ve seen' as we huddled out the door. There seemed no lack of laughter through each vignette." -- LA Splash (Robert Petrarca)
ABOUT MATT MORILLO Prior to his theatrical shift, Morillo was a fixture on the New York independent film scene for ten years. He debuted at 23 with his romantic comedy, "The Pretenders," a film with a cast of unknowns and a non-existent budget that became an enjoyable, funny and ultimately touching film about twenty-somethings struggling with life's ups and downs. His next project, "Good Tidings," was a fifteen-minute short film about a young girl suffering through her parents' divorce. It received great praise at film festivals for its realism and honesty. His third film, "Maid Of Honor," was a twenty-five minute comedy about a simple guy trying to hook up with the maid of honor at a wedding. It was a hit on the festival circuit, winning three awards and playing to sold-out theaters. (Audiences pleaded for copies of the film). Last January, Morillo directed "Stay Over," a play he had written with Maria Micheles, at TNC. It was a comedy of what can happen to you when trying to make up after an infidelity. Morillo has also written stand-up comedy for some of Los Angeles and New York's up and coming comedians. Morillo will unveil his newest play, "American Soldiers," at TNC January 7 to 31, 2010. |
COMMUNITY SPACE THEATER Thursday - Sunday, December 3 - 20 Thursday - Saturday at 8pm, All Seats $20
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