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LOS ANGELES, September 18, 2013 – The Spotlight Entertainment Series at the Geffen Playhouse presents Bette Midler in the West Coast premiere of the Broadway smash I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers for a limited three-week engagement. The critically acclaimed show by Tony Award winner John Logan (Red)and directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out, Wicked) will appear in the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen Playhouse December 3-22. Opening night is December 5. The previously announced return engagement of Donald Margulies’ “Coney Island Christmas” cannot take place this holiday season due to schedule conflicts with the creative team.
Tickets are available to Geffen Playhouse subscribers beginning September 27 and the general public in October.
Tony and Grammy Award-winning superstar Bette Midler plays the legendary Hollywood agent Sue Mengers (1932-2011) in the new play, her first appearance on Broadway in nearly 40 years. Midler’s performance was hailed by The New York Times as “the most lusciously entertaining performance of the Broadway season.”
"Bette Midler is Broadway and Hollywood royalty," says Randall Arney, Artistic Director of the Geffen Playhouse. "John Logan has created a tour de force role and with Joe Mantello's artful direction, audiences will have an experience like no other."
Arney adds "The intimacy of the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen is unmatched by any Broadway house and it will feel like we've all dropped in at Sue's for dinner."
I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers was produced on Broadway at the Booth Theatre by Graydon Carter, Arielle Tepper Madover, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, Terry Allen Kramer, Stephanie P. McClelland, Jeffrey Finn, Ruth Hendel, Larry Magid, Jon B. Platt, and Scott & Brian Zeilinger.
Sue Mengers was an American original. She was the first female “superagent” at a time when women talent agents of any kind were almost unheard of. She came from near poverty, a refugee from Hitler's Germany, and worked her way up through pluck, charm, and a legendary wit. In that uniquely American way, she invented herself; and when the career she wanted didn't exist, she invented that as well: “Superagent.” It was a term Hollywood all but coined for her. By the 1970's, she represented almost every major star in Hollywood and went on to become the town’s most renowned hostess.
Playwright John Logan, who won a Tony Award for Red and wrote the screenplay for the last James Bond movie, Skyfall, said, “I met Sue Mengers only once, at a dinner party. The kaftan, constant cigarettes, tinted glasses, and perfect blond hair were much in evidence; so too the deliciously wicked wit and stevedore language. But something else fascinated me just as much: a sense of sadness, a deep resignation; a woman whose time had passed her by. At one point I asked her what had changed most about Hollywood since she had arrived. She didn't hesitate for a second: ‘Honey, we used to have fun…’ Later in the evening she settled back and lit up a joint. There she was: a joint in one hand and a cigarette in the other. At that moment I knew I had to write the play.”
The creative team includes three-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask (scenic design), Academy Award winner Ann Roth (costume design), three-time Tony nominee Hugh Vanstone (lighting design), and Drama Desk Award winner Fitz Patton (sound design).
TICKETING INFORMATION
New and current Geffen Playhouse subscribers and donors will be provided priority access to I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers tickets on September 27.
Subscription packages including I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers will range from $229 for five plays to a $791 premium seat package for seven plays and will be available at the Geffen Playhouse box office or by phone at 310.882.6533.
The Geffen Playhouse is a 501c3 charitable organization serving the Los Angeles community with arts and education programs. Donations may be made by calling 310.208.6500 x112. Single tickets will go on sale in October.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Opening night: Thursday, December 5
Closing night: Sunday, December 22
Monday No performances
Tuesday – Friday 8:00pm
Saturday 3:00pm; 8:00pm
Sunday 2:00pm
Tickets are available to Geffen Playhouse subscribers beginning September 27 and the general public in October.
Tony and Grammy Award-winning superstar Bette Midler plays the legendary Hollywood agent Sue Mengers (1932-2011) in the new play, her first appearance on Broadway in nearly 40 years. Midler’s performance was hailed by The New York Times as “the most lusciously entertaining performance of the Broadway season.”
"Bette Midler is Broadway and Hollywood royalty," says Randall Arney, Artistic Director of the Geffen Playhouse. "John Logan has created a tour de force role and with Joe Mantello's artful direction, audiences will have an experience like no other."
Arney adds "The intimacy of the Gil Cates Theater at the Geffen is unmatched by any Broadway house and it will feel like we've all dropped in at Sue's for dinner."
I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers was produced on Broadway at the Booth Theatre by Graydon Carter, Arielle Tepper Madover, James L. Nederlander, The Shubert Organization, Terry Allen Kramer, Stephanie P. McClelland, Jeffrey Finn, Ruth Hendel, Larry Magid, Jon B. Platt, and Scott & Brian Zeilinger.
Sue Mengers was an American original. She was the first female “superagent” at a time when women talent agents of any kind were almost unheard of. She came from near poverty, a refugee from Hitler's Germany, and worked her way up through pluck, charm, and a legendary wit. In that uniquely American way, she invented herself; and when the career she wanted didn't exist, she invented that as well: “Superagent.” It was a term Hollywood all but coined for her. By the 1970's, she represented almost every major star in Hollywood and went on to become the town’s most renowned hostess.
Playwright John Logan, who won a Tony Award for Red and wrote the screenplay for the last James Bond movie, Skyfall, said, “I met Sue Mengers only once, at a dinner party. The kaftan, constant cigarettes, tinted glasses, and perfect blond hair were much in evidence; so too the deliciously wicked wit and stevedore language. But something else fascinated me just as much: a sense of sadness, a deep resignation; a woman whose time had passed her by. At one point I asked her what had changed most about Hollywood since she had arrived. She didn't hesitate for a second: ‘Honey, we used to have fun…’ Later in the evening she settled back and lit up a joint. There she was: a joint in one hand and a cigarette in the other. At that moment I knew I had to write the play.”
The creative team includes three-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask (scenic design), Academy Award winner Ann Roth (costume design), three-time Tony nominee Hugh Vanstone (lighting design), and Drama Desk Award winner Fitz Patton (sound design).
TICKETING INFORMATION
New and current Geffen Playhouse subscribers and donors will be provided priority access to I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers tickets on September 27.
Subscription packages including I’ll Eat You Last: A Chat with Sue Mengers will range from $229 for five plays to a $791 premium seat package for seven plays and will be available at the Geffen Playhouse box office or by phone at 310.882.6533.
The Geffen Playhouse is a 501c3 charitable organization serving the Los Angeles community with arts and education programs. Donations may be made by calling 310.208.6500 x112. Single tickets will go on sale in October.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE
Opening night: Thursday, December 5
Closing night: Sunday, December 22
Monday No performances
Tuesday – Friday 8:00pm
Saturday 3:00pm; 8:00pm
Sunday 2:00pm