"Cheeseburger & Fries" Growing

The bad news first: Jeffrey Scott Holland's original play Cheeseburger & Fries: The Musical, scheduled to make its world premiere at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts in September 2009, has been postponed until 2010.

Why? Well, that's the good news: the show was originally conceived as a very simple and primitive show with minimal sets and only a few actors, but it just keeps growing and growing and has morphed into something quite different. The complexity of the show has reached the point where a September opening just wasn't feasible. It now calls for:

a small ensemble orchestra fluent in classical, jazz and country

onstage video monitors and projectors

lookalike actors to portray William S. Burroughs, Charles Bukowski and Robert Mitchum

Furthermore, it will likely feature the largest cast ever beheld in a stage production in Louisville. It will also most likely require a much larger venue than the Kentucky Center's Mex Theatre.

The word "pretentious" is grossly misused in our culture today, but the Catclaw Theatre Company nevertheless bravely and warmly embraces all it means, and all it can mean. And as Tony Kushner says:

"People fundamentally lacking a sense of humor when confronted with pretentiousness miss the irony and the fun." - Tony Kushner

We are still fully in pre-production for the show as much as ever, and welcome any inquiries. Casting is still ongoing.

Catclaw items on eBay

Starting tonight and over the next few weeks, we'll be offering various interesting items for sale via eBay's online auctions. Keep checking this link regularly as we keep adding new collectibles through June and July!

Christina Ruplinger

Catclaw salutes our Resident Assistant Stage Manager, Christina Ruplinger!

With past experience from the University of Louisville theatre department as well as her high school theatre work, Christina is already making a name for herself. She made her stage management debut as the Assistant Stage Manager for our production of Toulouse-Inations at the Kentucky Center for the Performing Arts, and can't wait to take on a show of her own.

Aside from her go-getter spirit and determination to get the job done, what we like best about Christina is that she's truly a team player, she listens to what you tell her, and follows instructions. Those qualities are all too rare these days.

Thursday meeting

Catclaw's next Thursday planning meeting will be at The Bristol Downtown, 614 West Main Street in Louisville.

Topics of discussion: Victoria's PR department report, our new legal team, our upcoming LLC filing, pre-production for Cheeseburger & Fries at the Kentucky Center, pre-production for taking Patrick Amsterdam to NYC, and the long-awaited resurrection of The Birth of Merlin in puppet theatre format.

Oh yeah, and super-double-secret-probation Operation Plan X-714.

Beekeeping with Victoria

Catclaw's own PR Director and prop-wrangler Victoria Lee will be co-hosting a class in "The Art of Apiculture" (beekeeping) at the Earth and Spirit Center, 1924 Newburg Road, Louisville.

From their press release:

The Art of Apiculture
Doug Van Houten & Vicki Lee
Sunday, June 28th, 3-5PM, at the BARN
$15 (no one will be turned away from lack of funds)

Bees are the true farmers of our lives; pollinating vegetables and fruit that help our gardens grow. Learn more about the lives of bees and how to establish your own hives.