Art, Life, & Show-Biz
By Ain Gordon. Starring Helen Gallagher, Lola Pashalinski & Valda Setterfield
Return Engagement! April 18 - May 16 at Fez

"a valentine to life upon the stage... anyone who cherishes life in the theater and Life with a capital L is likely to enjoy the warmth, wit and wisdom of this intimate show" -- New York Times

"a hipper-than-usual A&E biography... hilarious" -- Time Out

The Pick-Up Performance Company proudly presents an encore engagement of Art, Life, & Show-Biz, selected as one of Backstage Magazine’s "Best of 2003", beginning April 18th at Fez. Written, transcribed and directed by Ain Gordon, the piece has been culled from interviews, archival research, and stories from his cast: Helen Gallagher, of Broadway musical theater fame; Lola Pashalinski, a founding member of Charles Ludlam's Theater of the Ridiculous; and Valda Setterfield, British-born long-time Merce Cunningham dancer.

Art, Life, & Show-Biz was conceived as an evening length tribute to a life in the theater and the theater in life. Material has been drawn from the lives of the three performers with Ain Gordon himself as master of ceremonies and provider of a respectfully cynical eye. It draws on true stories, myths, and outright lies of the famous, the infamous, the forgotten and the unknown. It is an insider’s look at those who are at home on stage and on stage at home.

Helen Gallagher is the recipient of two Tony Awards, for Pal Joey and No, No Nanette. She also received three Emmy awards during her 14 year stint on ABC’s Ryan’s Hope. Other noteworthy stage appearances include High Button Shoes, Touch and Go, Sweet Charity (Tony nominee), Hot House, and Absurd Person Singular.

Lola Pashalinski created 17 roles over 13 years as a founding member of The Ridiculous Theatrical Company, including Obie winning roles in Corn and Der Ring Gott Farblonjet. She has worked with numerous directors including Richard Foreman, Anne Bogart and Joanne Akalitis. In 2000 she received a third Obie for Gertrude and Alice: A Likeness to Loving. She last appeared on Broadway in Fortune’s Fool.

Valda Setterfield has received an Obie for The Family Business and a Bessie for Outstanding Achievement. The British-born dancer and actor has worked with Woody Allen, Mikhail Baryshnikov, Caryl Churchill, Merce Cunningham, Graciela Danielle, Maria Irene Fornes, Robert Wilson, and Ivo van Hove, among many others.

Ain Gordon received a playwrighting Obie for Wally’s Ghost. His plays include Public Ghosts - Private Stories, 93 Acres, and Birdseed Bundles, plus three collaborations with David Gordon: the Obie winning The Family Business, Punch & Judy Get Divorced, and The First Picture Show. His work has been seen nationally at venues including Mark Taper Forum, Jacob’s Pillow, Baltimore Museum of Art, SoHo Rep, and The Public Theater. His first foray into sitcom writing, an episode of "Will & Grace" titled "Fred Astaire & Ginger Chicken," airs on April 1, 2004.

Art, Life, & Show-Biz runs April 18 - May 16, Sundays at 8:00pm. Tickets are $20. Fez is located at 380 Lafayette Street (at Great Jones, accessible from the B,D,F, V & Q trains at Broadway/Lafayette). For information and reservations call 212-533-2680.