MAXIMO STRUT. That's the name of Larry Baeder's new CD that's been nominated for a Grammy or two. Dig him tonight, Friday, Dec. 8, at the Green Parrot Bar, 10-2.
The Waterfront Playhouse season opens Thurs., Dec. 14 with the Key Wets Players production of "P.S. Your Cat Is Dead!" A holiday comedy written by James Kirkwood, who once lived in Key West, "P.S. Your Cat Is Dead!" is an upbeat comedy of disparate characters and an unusual friendship which develops on New Year's Eve.
The show, directed by George Gugleotti, runs through Jan. 6 with 8 p.m. performances Tues. through Sat. nights. Tickets are $25 for non-subscribers; or purchase a season subscription for $90 and enjoy a 30-percent savings per ticket on all shows. After the opening night show, join the cast at the Rooftop Cafe for hors d'oeuvres, cocktails and conversation.
Described by the LA Times as "a darkly hued comedy . . . raunchily funny," "P.S. Your Cat Is Dead!" follows a down-on-his-luck New York City actor through an evening of frustration and revelation. Thirty-eight-year-old Jimmy (played by Jordy Hines) is experiencing some bad times. He's been fired from a play, his cat is on the vet's critical list, his girlfriend Kate (Stacey Gilligan) is leaving him, and he discovers a burglar named Vito (Paul L. Garder) hiding in his loft.
To avenge the chaos, Jimmy ties the burglar to the kitchen sink and keeps him prisoner over New Year's. Later, Kate and her new beau Fred Gable (Steve Baylis) arrive on the scene. The results are by turns hilarious, shocking and moving.
Director George Gugleotti has a personal history with "P.S. Your Cat Is Dead!" The veteran actor/director made his Waterfront Playhouse acting debut during the 1980-81 season when June Hunzinger cast him as Vito the burglar. It was an early stage appearance for Gugleotti, who established himself as an actor and theatre professional in New York City, before coming to Key West in 1975. His actual Key West debut came at TWFAC in Tennessee Williams' "Will Mr. Merriweather Return To Memphis?" (The playwright himself cast Gugleotti in the autobiographical role of the French professor.)
Today Gugleotti, who serves as the Key West Players President, approaches the play with two more decades of theatre experience.
But he says the challenges have not changed. "This play has always intrigued me," he says. "It presents believable people in unbelievable situations."
Comedy of the improbable, he explains, poses an opportunity to make a seemingly improbable— but possible— situation totally believable to the audience.
Coming full circle, Gugleotti has cast Garder as Vito. Garder will make his acting debut in this role. "Paul comes from a very artistic family and is the last of six children to finally make his first appearance on stage," he says.
The role is a good one, and Garder literally has a tough act to follow.
Info and reservations: 294-5015.