| Joy Behar's "My First Ex-Husband" Announces Additional Casting: Susan Lucci, Judy Gold, Gina Gershon, Jackie Hoffman | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 02:06 pm EST 01/14/25 | |
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| MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND A HILARIOUS NEW COMEDY BY JOY BEHAR ANNOUNCES UPCOMING POWERHOUSE CASTS JOY BEHAR, SUSIE ESSMAN, TOVAH FELDSHUH, ADRIENNE C. MOORE TO LAUNCH OFF-BROADWAY RUN JANUARY 29-FEBRUARY 23 JUDY GOLD, SUSAN LUCCI, CATHY MORIARTY, TONYA PINKINS FEBRUARY 26-MARCH 23 VEANNE COX, GINA GERSHON, JACKIE HOFFMAN, ANDREA NAVEDO MARCH 26-APRIL 20 (January 14, 2025 – New York, NY)— Tony winning Producer Rose Caiola together with veteran Talent Manager and Producer Cyrena Esposito announce additional casting for the world premiere of MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND, a new show by comedy maven Joy Behar. Directed by Randal Myler, the 80-minute play will kick off on Wednesday, January 29, 2025 with an opening night scheduled for Thursday, February 6 at Off-Broadway's newest venue, MMAC Theater minutes from Times Square at 248 West 60th Street. Each month, a rotating lineup of luminaries from theater, television, and film will bring fresh voices and perspectives to these stories, making every performance a unique, once-in-a-lifetime experience. From January 29 to February 23, Behar herself will lead the first powerhouse cast of comedic legends, including Susie Essman (Curb Your Enthusiasm), Tovah Feldshuh (Crazy Ex-Girlfriend), and Adrienne C. Moore (Orange is the New Black). From February 26 to March 23, the second cast will feature award-winning comedienne Judy Gold (HBO/Comedy Central), Emmy Award winner Susan Lucci (All My Children), Cathy Moriarty (Raging Bull, Soapdish) and Tony Award winner Tonya Pinkins (Jelly's Last Jam, Caroline or Change, Sistas). OBIE winner Veanne Cox (The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel), *Gina Gershon (Showgirls, Bound, Face Off); Emmy nominee Jackie Hoffman (Only Murders in the Building, Feud: Betty and Joan), and Andrea Navedo (Jane The Virgin). They will perform from March 26 to April 20. *Please note that Gina Gershon will only be performing April 2-20. MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND is a hilarious, no-holds-barred series of stories created by the legendary Joy Behar. With razor-sharp wit and zero filters, Joy dives into the messy truths of love, marriage, and divorce, revealing the chaotic, funny, and often eye-opening realities of relationships. These stories are as relatable as they are outrageous, offering something for anyone who's ever tied the knot—or thought about untying it. The show is produced by Rose Caiola (Caiola Productions) and Cyrena Esposito (Red Letter Entertainment) with Associate Producers Mark Rubinsky and Tony Castrigno. "We are proud to help develop this engaging, provocative, and hilarious work by a woman who's always unafraid to share her ‘View'," said Producer Rose Caiola. "Joy Behar is a tremendous comedic voice like no other, and we're thrilled to be working with her on My First Ex-Husband," said Producer Cyrena Esposito. "We are looking forward to bringing this show to New York theater audiences!" BIOS CAST #1: JOY BEHAR (Playwright/Performer) is among today's leading comic talents. Whether performing stand-up comedy or interviewing politicians and artists, she is an original voice and leading woman on both stage and screen. She was a member of the original cast of ABC's "The View" for 16 years, returning as co-host in September 2015 for the show's three most recent seasons. Along with winning the 2009 Daytime Emmy® Award for Outstanding Talk Show Host, Behar is also the recipient of three MAC Awards, a CableACE Award and a 2000 GLAAD Award for her enduring friendship with the LGBTQ+ community. On television, she starred in two HBO specials and was a regular on the series "Baby Boom." She also appeared in Woody Allen's Amazon series "Crisis in Six Scenes." In June 2016, Behar was inducted into the Brooklyn Walk of Fame at the Brooklyn Botanic Garden, joining an impressive list of Brooklynites honored for their distinguished work in entertainment, sports, media and the arts. Behar has hosted her own shows, including a call-in radio show on WABC, "The Joy Behar Show" on HLN, and "Say Anything" on Current TV. Her film appearances include "This Is My Life," directed by Nora Ephron, and Woody Allen's "Manhattan Murder Mystery." In theater, Behar starred in Nicky Silver's play "The Food Chain," for which she earned rave reviews, and also in the critically acclaimed play The Vagina Monologues. She also wrote and performed in her own solo show, Me, My Mouth and I, at the Cherry Lane Theatre. As a playwright, Behar has written Crisis In Queens, along with her short play Bonkers In The Boroughs, which was featured in the New York Comedy Festival in November 2023. Her new play, My First Ex-Husband, will be produced in New York City beginning in January 2025. Behar has written five books, including two children's books. Her most recent book, "The Great Gasbag: An A-to-Z Study Guide to Surviving Trump World," was released in October 2017. SUSIE ESSMAN is an actress, author, and stand-up comedian based out of New York City. Susie began her career as a working comic, catching the eye of Larry David who cast her in her now iconic role of the strong-willed Susie Green' in HBO's long-running series "Curb Your Enthusiasm." Since becoming a household name on 'Curb', Susie has branched out into numerous other TV projects including recurring roles in "Law and Order: SVU," "Those Who Can't," "Bless This Mess" and most recently the critically acclaimed HBO series "Hacks," Susie also received a Critic's Choice Award nomination for her recurring role as Ilana Glazer's mother on the hit Comedy Central series "Broad City" - which Entertainment Weekly cited as "one of the best choice decisions in TV history." The Los Angeles Times calls Susie, "The most lyrical purveyor of profanity on television. She makes the entire cast of The Sopranos look like rank amateurs. It really is a gift." The New York Times said Susie Greene is "one of the most vivid characters in the show, whose off-color tantrums have become an audience favorite the way Kramer's clumsy entrances once were." TOVAH FELDSHUH, who just celebrated her 50th year on Broadway, is a six-time Emmy and Tony Award nominee, four-time winner of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards and has been awarded three honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters. She is the creator and founder of The Feldshuh Fund for Women's Health for early detection of ovarian and all reproductive cancers. Entertainmentcommunity.org/Tovah. In addition to Rosie Brice in Funny Girl, her multi-decade career on Broadway has given us indelible performances in the title roles of Yentl, Golda's Balcony, and Irena's Vow, as well as in Cyrano, Rodgers & Hart, Dreyfus in Rehearsal, Saravá, Lend Me a Tenor, and the trapeze-swinging Berthe in Stephen Schwartz's Pippin. Her extensive Off-Broadway and regional credits include portrayals of Dr. Ruth Westheimer under the baton of Scott Schwartz and Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg in the Los Angeles premiere of Sisters in Law, directed by Patricia McGregor. TV audiences know her from the hit Netflix series Nobody Wants This, where she plays the hot Russian mother of ‘Hot Rabbi' Adam Brody. You may also recall Ms. Feldshuh from Crazy Ex-Girlfriend, The Walking Dead, Law & Order, Salvation, Scenes from a Marriage, and the historic mini-series Holocaust. Her film credits include Armageddon Time opposite Anthony Hopkins, Kissing Jessica Stein where she won the Best Supporting Actress Golden Satellite Award from the Foreign Press, A Walk on the Moon, Brewster's Millions, Just My Luck, Daniel, The Idolmaker, Clifford, Golda's Balcony: The Film, The Upside of Unrequited for the Shakespeare sisters from London and the just-completed Tuner opposite Dustin Hoffman. Tovah has filled venues all over the world with her celebrated concerts. Her award-winning memoir LILYVILLE: Mother, Daughter and Other Roles I've Played was #1 in Parent-Child Relationships on Amazon. It will be available for purchase in the theater lobby, along with other award-winning items from her one-woman shows. ADRIENNE C. MOORE is a critically acclaimed and award-winning stage, TV/film and voice-over actress. Moore's extensive theatre repertoire includes Black Odyssey (Stevie Walker-Webb, Classic Stage Company); the award-winning revival of Ntozake Shange's For Colored Girls... (Leah Gardiner, The Public); The Taming of the Shrew (Phyllida Lloyd, Shakespeare in the Park); Milk Like Sugar (Rebecca Taichman, La Jolla Playhouse, Playwrights Horizons) and 365 Plays/365 Days (Suzan-Lori Parks, The Public). Adrienne is most recognized for her NAACP Image Award-nominated role of Black Cindy on Netflix's "Orange Is the New Black," which she earned three SAG awards. Select TV, Film and animation credits include "30 Rock", "Homeland", "Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt," "Law and Order SVU," "Pretty Hard Cases," "Search Party," "Bupkis," "Poker Face," "Shaft," "Wonder Woman: Bloodlines (DC Comics, Etta Candy), "We Lost Our Human" (Netflix Interactive, Human) and "Curious George: Royal Monkey." Adrienne has most recently been seen in Clint Eastwood's film "Juror #2" as well as on-stage in Katori Hall's The Blood Quilt (Lileana Blain-Cruz, Lincoln Center Theater). BIOS CAST #2: JUDY GOLD has had stand-up specials on HBO and Comedy Central, and is featured in the new Netflix documentary Outstanding: A Comedy Revolution. She is the author of Yes I Can Say That: When They Come For The Comedians, We Are All In Trouble, which was featured in the New York Times Book Review. The solo show, Yes I Can Say That! received rave reviews. Judy hosts the weekly podcast, It's Judy's Show with Judy Gold. From 1999-2010, Judy was the host of HBO's At the Multiplex with Judy Gold. Judy won two Emmy awards for writing and producing "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." She was also the story editor on the final season of FX's "Better Things." Judy has written and starred in three critically acclaimed Off-Broadway hit shows; Yes I Can Say That!, The Judy Show – My Life as a Sitcom (Outer Critics Circle Nomination), and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother (GLAAD Media Award – Outstanding NY Theater, Drama Desk Nomination – Actor). Judy received exemplary reviews as Gremio in The Public Theater's Shakespeare in the Park all-female production of The Taming of The Shrew. Judy's three albums, Conduct Unbecoming, Kill Me Now, and Judith's Roommate Had a Baby are available wherever you get your music. SUSAN LUCCI, the most famous face in daytime television history, has held audiences spellbound for over 40 years as the sexy and sassy "woman you love to hate," Erica Kane, on ABC's award-winning daytime drama "All My Children." In May of 1999, on her 19th nomination, she won the EMMY for "Best Actress," a historic moment for Lucci and all of television, receiving the longest-standing ovation in television history. From 2013 to 2016, Lucci played the wealthy and effervescent socialite Genevieve Delatour on the hit Lifetime series "Devious Maids" and played the role of Danica in the 2015 Academy Award-nominated film Joy. Susan was also the host and narrator of Investigation Discovery's highly-rated series Deadly Affairs. On January 28, 2005, Susan Lucci received a Star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame for her tremendous impact on the entertainment industry. She has appeared in countless television series and competitions, including "Hot in Cleveland," "Army Wives," "Dancing With The Stars," and "Saturday Night Live." Her theater and cabaret credits include solo concerts across the country and nightclub performances opening for Regis Philbin. In her 1999 Broadway debut, Lucci starred as Annie Oakley in the revival of Irving Berlin's Annie Get Your Gun, to glowing reviews. In March 2011, Lucci released her New York Times bestselling autobiography, All My Life with Harper Collins. In December 2023, Lucci was honored with the Lifetime Achievement Award at the 50th annual Daytime EMMY Awards, celebrating her 40-year run as Erica Kane on the hit daytime drama All My Children. Lucci stars opposite Keanu Reeves in the upcoming Apple Original Film, Outcome, a dark comedy written and directed by Jonah Hill. TONYA PINKINS. Renowned theater actress, Pinkins is a three-time Tony nominee, winning the award in 1992 for her performance as Sweet Anita in Jelly's Last Jam. Over the course of her career in theater, she has also been recognized with Opie, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, AUDLECO, Garland, LA Drama Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent and NAACP Theater awards. On television, Pinkins can currently be seen in Tyler Perry's popular dramedy series Sistas, and she recently starred in the critically acclaimed ABC limited series Women of the Movement. Pinkins also appeared in the series God Friended Me, Fear the Walking Dead, Gotham, 24 and J.J. Abrams' 11.22.63. Notable silver screen credits include Above the Rim, The Book of Henry and Enchanted. Pinkins made her feature directorial debut with the 2021 horror-comedy Red Pill, which received numerous accolades, including Best Narrative Feature at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. Her second feature, Game Nite premiered at the Pan African Film Festival in early 2024. A 2019-2022 Fulbright Specialist and published author, she also was the 2020 recipient of the Franky Award and the Rachel Crothers Leadership Award. Her podcast You Can't Say That is available for streaming on the Broadway Podcast Network. CATHY MORIARTY. Her laudable career spans over 40 years of transformative work, with unforgettable dramatic and comedic performances. Her portrayal of Vikki LaMotta, in Scorsese's 1980 film, Raging Bull, earned Cathy a nomination for an Academy Award, a Golden Globe and a BAFTA. Other notable films include But I'm A Cheerleader, Soapdish, Cop Land, and Analyze That. Cathy also starred on the CBS sitcom "Bless This House" and she has guest recurred on numerous television series. BIOS CAST #3: VEANNE COX has received a Special Drama Desk Award for Excellence and Significant Contributions to the Theatre and an OBIE Award for Sustained Excellence. She has appeared on Broadway in An American in Paris, A Free Man of Color, La Cage aux Folles, Caroline or Change, The Dinner Party, Company (Tony Award nomination), and Smile. Off-Broadway: The Wedding Band, The Old Friends,The Most Deserving, Damn Yankees, Blind, Paradise Park, Spain, Last Easter, The Wooden Breeks, House and Garden, Labor Day, The Altruists,The Batting Cage, The Waiting Room, Flora the Red Menace, Freedomland, A Question of Mercy, The Food Chain, The Vagina Monologues. Film and TV includes: "Only Murders in the Building," "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," Summoning Sylvia, The Mandalorian, Erin Brockovich, Big Eden, Beethoven's 4TH, You've Got Mail, Marci X, Odd Mom Out, "Louie," "Smash," "Pan Am," "Two Broke Girls," "Seinfeld," "Cinderella," "Boston Legal," "Royal Pains," "Joan of Arcadia," all "Law and Orders" and the web series Indoor Boys (Emmy nomination) and Cady Did. She has performed regionally in DC, the Berkshires, Sag Harbor, Hartford, San Diego, San Francisco, La Jolla, Los Angeles, Houston, Minneapolis, and Louisville in Shakespeare, Moliere, Coward, Wilde, Simon, Durang, Ives, Foote and Ludwig. GINA GERSHON. Her theater credits include Tony Award-winning revival of Sam Mendes' Cabaret; Tony Award-winning Boeing Boeing; Bye Bye Birdie; Stephen King/John Mellencamp/ T Bone Burnett musical Ghost Brothers. Gina is a founding member of theatre company Naked Angels. She most recently completed a residency at the famed Café Carlyle where she performed her original musical act "Wild Women Don't Get the Blues." Gina wrote her original one woman show In Search of Cleo and eventually published it as a book In Search of Cleo: How I Found My Pussy and Lost My Mind. Her original music for the project is also available. Additionally, Gina published the book Camp Creepy Time, with her brother Dann Gershon. A few of Gina‘s favorite film credits are Bound, Showgirls, Face Off, The Insider, Killer Joe, Prey For Rock and Roll, Rifkin's Festival, and many more! Some TV credits include "Elsbeth," "New Amsterdam," "Riverdale," "Red Oaks," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "Brooklyn Nine-Nine," "Eastbound And Down," and "How To Make It In America." She was most recently seen in Eli Roth's feature Borderlands and currently recurs in Ryan Murphy's "Doctor Odyssey." JACKIE HOFFMAN. Best known for her Emmy nominated role of ‘Mamacita' from FX's "Feud: Betty and Joan," Jackie was recently seen in HULU's "Only Murders in the Building" (SAG Nomination), NBC's "Night Court," Amazon's "The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel," and in the Netflix films, "You Are So Not Invited to My Bat Mitzvah" and "Glass Onion." On Broadway, Jackie has co-starred in Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, On The Town, The Addams Family, Xanadu, and Hairspray. Off-Broadway, she starred as ‘Yente' in the critically acclaimed Yiddish production of Fiddler on the Roof. Her solo album, Live at Joe's Pub, is available for streaming. ANDREA NAVEDO gained recognition for her role as Gina Rodriguez's mother in the Golden Globe winning CW series "Jane The Virgin." She was most recently recurring in the ABC series "A Million Little Things." Andrea can currently be seen in the Hulu feature Miguel Wants To Fight and next in the Max feature B-Loved. Andrea has also recurred in the Emmy nominated FX limited series "Mrs. America," opposite Uzo Aduba, Elizabeth Banks, Cate Blanchette and Rose Byrne in addition to a recurring role in "The Good Fight" on CBS All Access and also Leverage: Redemption for Amazon Freevee. Previously, she was on HBO's How To Make It In America, "Blue Bloods," "Law and Order," and numerous additional hit series. On the big screen, Andrea starred in the indie Once Upon A Time in Queens alongside Paul Sorvino, the comedy Superfast, and the romantic drama Remember Me opposite Robert Pattinson. She can also be seen playing Will Smith's boss, Captain Perez, in the David Ayer and Max Landis Netflix feature Bright. Her first book titled Our Otherness Is Our Strength: Wisdom from the Boogie Down Bronx was published this past summer. PRODUCTION BIOS: RANDAL MYLER (Director) is a Tony Award® nominee for co-conceiving and directing It Ain't Nothin' But The Blues at Lincoln Center. He recently directed Rock & Roll Man at New World Stages (with producer Rose Caiola) which won a 2023 BEST MUSICAL AUDELCO Award for Excellence in Black Theatre. He is also known (both as writer and director) for his critically acclaimed Hank Williams: Lost Highway (Drama Desk, Lortel nom, Outstanding Musical; 2 years at the Grand Ole Opry in Nashville) and his Janis Joplin bio-musical Love, Janis, which surpassed 700 performances at the former Village Gate. Myler's other numerous credits include co-conceiving Nat King Cole and Me with Gregory Porter; directing former Ronette Ronnie Spector's triumphant UK tour of Beyond the Beehive; directing Dream A Little Dream: The Mamas and Papas Musical with "Papa" Denny Doherty; Fire On The Mountain: Music Of The Coal Mines (Best Musical—Bay Area Critics); and, most recently, I'll Take You There: The Music Of Muscle Shoals. His extensive regional credits include The Kennedy Center, Arena Stage, Mark Taper Forum, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Alley Theatre, Seattle Rep, Denver Center, Dallas Theatre Center, San Diego's Old Globe, and many others. ROSE CAIOLA (Producer). Caiola Productions has won Eight Tony Awards® and numerous Drama Desk Awards. It has produced over 50 Broadway shows. Their award-winning productions include: Company, The Inheritance, Once on this Island, Dear Evan Hansen, The Color Purple, All The Way, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf and Parade. Current productions include Cabaret, The Picture of Dorian Gray, Glengarry Glen Ross and Left On Tenth. Rose Caiola is a musical book writer and was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award for Freckleface Strawberry The Musical. She received an AUDELCO Award as book writer of Best New Musical Rock and Roll Man, which is currently on route for a UK run. Rose is the owner of Manhattan Movement and Arts Center as well as the exciting new MMAC Theatre opening this January with its pilot production, My First Ex-Husband. CYRENA ESPOSITO (Producer) is a long-time talent manager, former talent agent, and founder of Red Letter Entertainment, representing some of the industry's finest and award-winning talent. Cyrena is a producer on Broadway's Cabaret at the Kit Kat Club, which was nominated for nine Tony Awards® including Best Musical Revival. She also co-produced the Tony Award-winning musical, Memphis as well as Spiderman on Broadway. She got her BFA in Theatre and began her career as an actress. She worked in television development before becoming an agent where she repped Ms. Behar and her childhood idol, a dream come true, Liza Minnelli. She and Rose Caiola will also produce Bonkers in the Boroughs with Joy Behar next year. Follow @redletterent on Instagram. MMAC THEATER is New York City's newest Off-Broadway theater. It is the next step in the evolution of the Manhattan Movement and Arts Center's celebrated studio spaces that have long been used for dance performances, workshops and industry presentations. Many of these projects have gone on to commercial production including Rock & Roll Man, Hamilton , Cinderella, Pretty Woman, Billy Elliot, MJ, and over 100 others. MMAC will be available as a premiere Off-Broadway theater with raked seating for 191 seats, a new entrance, marquee, box office and production spaces. TICKETS: MY FIRST EX-HUSBAND will run eight performances a week, with a rotating cast every four weeks, beginning January 29, 2025 at MMAC Theater, 248 West 60th, with matinees on Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays at 2:00 PM, and Sundays at 3:00 PM. Evening performances will be Thursdays and Sundays at 7:00 PM and Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00 PM. (Running time: 80 minutes, no intermission.). Tickets, priced from $72 - $179, including all fees, are available at www.MyFirstExHusband.com. # # # |
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