PRESS RELEASE: Buyer & Cellar

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Press Contact: Sasha Venola 818-955-8004 x133, sasha@falcontheatre.com

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

CASTING ANNOUNCED for the Falcon Theatre production of

the Off-Broadway Hit & Critically Acclaimed Comedy Buyer & Cellar

Written By Jonathan Tolins Directed by Dimitri Toscas

Starring Jai Rodriguez

BURBANK, CA (July 13, 2016) – The Falcon Theatre is thrilled to announce the casting for the second production of its 2016-2017 Season. Emmy Award-winning television host and Broadway singer/performer, Jai Rodriguez has been cast to play Alex More in Buyer & Cellar written by Jonathan Tolins and directed by Dimitri Toscas. Rodriguez starred opposite Reba McEntire and Lily Tomlin in ABC’s comedy Malibu, portrayed ‘Angel’ in the Broadway musical Rent, and is best known for his role in Bravo’s Queer Eye for the Straight Guy. Inspired by Barbra Streisand’s book My Passion for Design, this Off-Broadway hit is an outrageous comedy about the price of fame, the cost of things, and the oddest of odd jobs. Alex More, a struggling actor in LA, takes a job working in Barbra Streisand’s Malibu basement, as a solo shopkeeper of sorts for her mall-like collection of memorabilia. One day, the Lady Herself comes downstairs to play, and an unlikely friendship develops. This one-man-play takes the audience on a rollercoaster of emotions as Alex navigates a world that is part truth and part fiction. What is true? There is a mall in the basement of Barbra Streisand’s Malibu home. Tolins takes this truth and creates a hilarious world where one man services the whole mall for a single customer, Babs herself.

"Spectacular. Beyond Brilliant. This show will go down like butta'!" -Entertainment Weekly

"Buyer & Cellar is Inventive, Witty, and Pretty Wonderful" –Backstage

“Tolins' script sparkles with sly humor” –Associated Press

Previews begin Oct. 5 with Press Opening Night Oct. 14, and runs through Nov. 6 at Falcon Theatre located at 4252 Riverside, Burbank, CA 91505. Performances are Wed. through Sat. at 8pm and Sun. at 4pm. Tickets, priced from $30-$45, on sale Sep. 7 online at www.falcontheatre.com or by calling the Box Office at 818-955-8101. Box Office hours are Tue.-Fri. 12-6pm, Sat.-Sun. 10am-4pm, and 1 hour prior to show time on performance days. For more information, please visit www.falcontheatre.com

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PRESS RELEASE: Buyer & Cellar

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BIOGRAPHIES Jonathan Tolins (Author) is the author of Buyer & Cellar, which was named “Best Unique Theatrical Experience” by the Off-Broadway Alliance when it premiered at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Other plays include The Twilight Of The Golds (Broadway, Booth Theatre), If Memory Serves (Promenade), The Last Sunday In June (Rattlestick, Century Center), and Secrets Of The Trade (Primary Stages). A collection of his plays has been published by Grove/Atlantic. His film work includes The Twilight of the Golds and Martian Child. For television, he was a writer for Queer as Folk, the Academy Awards, the Tony Awards, and Partners. He was the author of Pushkin 200: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall, acted as script consultant on Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular, and co-wrote The Divine Millennium Tour and The Showgirl Must Go On for Bette Midler. He has written articles for Opera News, Opera Monthly, TheaterWeek, Time Magazine, and the Huffington Post, and is a panelist on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Quiz. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut with his husband, the writer and director Robert Cary, and their children, Selina and Henry. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Writers Guild of America. Dimitri Toscas (Director) is thrilled to be returning to the Falcon Theatre where he directed Scott and Hem, Class, Bunny Bunny, Laurel and Hardy, and where he wrote and directed family versions of Cinderella! (based on Rossini’s opera Cenerentola), The MAGIC Flute (starring Paul Vogt from Broadway’s Hairspray! and Chicago) and an original musical version of The Little Mermaid. Toscas garnered critical acclaim for writing and directing two new contemporary English versions of Verdi’s La Traviata and Mozart’s Cosi fan Tutte, both commissioned by Skylight Music Theatre in Milwaukee (where he also worked with celebrated opera director Dorothy “Dottie” Danner on a new production of Man of La Mancha). Directing credits include: Into the Woods, Plaid Tidings, Seussical, King & I, Sweeney Todd, La Boheme, Lucia di Lammermoor (at Virginia Opera, again with Ms. Danner), H.M.S. Pinafore. Toscas served on an EPCOT Entertainment Task Force developing new shows at Walt Disney World; screenwriting credits include the animated feature Igor (additional screenplay), Playboy (research/writer), freelance writer for Aardman Animations Development Department; show director and writer for Eventide Carolers (General Hospital and Universal Studios, Hollywood), Voices of Liberty (Disneyland); and recently he was a Guest Professor/Director at Pepperdine University. Follow him @DimitriToscas & www.dimitritoscas.com. Jai Rodriguez (Alex More) Emmy Award-winning television host and Broadway singer/performer Jai Rodriguez began his career at age 18 when he was cast in the role of ‘Angel’ in the critically acclaimed Broadway musical Rent. Jai continued his Broadway career, staring in shows like The Producers and Spinning Into Butter, and he created and performed the title role of ‘Zanna’ in the Off-Broadway sensation Zanna, Don’t!. Most recognized for his role in Bravo’s culturally groundbreaking series Queer Eye For The Straight Guy, Jai created a niche role on the Emmy Award-winning series as the ‘Culture Vulture,’ a youthfully savvy addition to the show’s already dynamic cast. In the past few years Jai returned to TV in dramatic roles on ABC’s Detroit 187, guest star appearances on NBC’s Are You There Chelsea?, FOX’s Bones, and as transgender woman ‘Amanda Knott’ on NBC’s Harrys Law. Jai stared as ‘Geoffrey’ on ABC’s comedy Malibu Country opposite Reba McEntire and Lily Tomlin, making him the first male to garner fame from a reality series to become a series regular on Network TV. This past Christmas Jai stared opposite Kelly Clarkson in her NBC Christmas Special, Kelly Clarkson’s Cautionary Christmas Tale. Currently Jai can be seen opposite Martin Sheen and Sam Waterston in Netflix hit series Grace and Frankie, as ‘Sax’ on the Bold And The Beautiful, as well as the official host of Lifetime’s Dance Moms reunion and Girl Talk specials. The Falcon Theatre is a 130-seat professional theatre that operates year-round in Burbank, California, built by Director/Writer/Producer Garry Marshall and his daughter Kathleen Marshall LaGambina. The Falcon opened in November of 1997 and launched its annual 5-play Subscription Series in 2002, currently produced by Kathleen and Sherry Greczmiel. Mr. Marshall founded the Falcon as a place where established artists and emerging talent can come together to create exciting work on stage.