June 30, 2014
Off-Broadway Hit "Buyer & Cellar" Comes to the Taper
EDGE null READ TIME: 2 MIN.
"Buyer & Cellar" featuring Michael Urie begins previews July 9, 2014, at the CTG/Mark Taper Forum. Jonathan Tolins' outrageous new comedy, directed by Stephen Brackett, opens July 13; performances continue through August 17.
In "Buyer & Cellar" Alex More (played by Urie) has a story to tell. A struggling actor in Los Angeles, Alex takes a job working in the Malibu basement of a beloved megastar. One day, the Lady Herself comes downstairs to play. It feels like a real bonding in the basement, but will their relationship ever make it upstairs? "Buyer & Cellar" is a hilarious new comedy about the price of fame, the cost of things and the oddest of odd jobs.
"Buyer & Cellar" received numerous awards and nominations for best solo show and Urie's performance, including the Drama Desk, Lucille Lortel and Clarence Derwent awards.
There have also been glowing reviews. Ben Brantley of The New York Times said "Buyer & Cellar" has "...become the most talked about new comedy of the season ... perfect summer fare ... It goes down as easily and tastily as lemon sorbet, and the only pain in your stomach it creates is the kind that comes from laughing too hard." Brantley said Urie is "An actor of serpentine charm and stealth, who can twist himself into any emotional shape before you're aware he's done it. ..."
"Tolins' script sparkles with sly humor," said Mark Kennedy of Associated Press. "The freedom he's created in his nutty premise lends a fresh giddiness to this work ... Under the playful and efficient direction of Stephen Brackett, Urie is funny and touching, delivering a winning, sweet performance."
"Michael Urie is hilarious ... in a delectable star turn. "Buyer & Cellar" is a bracingly bright, one-man fantasia about truth, celebrity, and the pursuit of utopia," said Joe Dziemianowicz of the Daily News. "The fact-based fiction is as clever, original and lovable as you may have heard," said Linda Winer of Newsday.
"Buyer & Cellar" was hailed as a Critics' Pick by The New York Times, Entertainment Weekly, New York magazine and Time Out New York.
Prior to Los Angeles, Michael Urie and "Buyer and Cellar" have appeared in NYC, Chicago and Washington, D.C., and following L.A., will go on to San Francisco and Dallas.
