NO WIRE HANGERS… EVER!
Celebrating over 30 years of MOMMIE DEAREST, this hysterical reinvention of the 1981 biopic is brought to life by this all-drag cast playing over 25 characters. The film, originally a commercial success, yet critical disaster, is known in pop culture as possibly the campiest movie of all time, and has been a queer, cult classic since it’s release. Based on the bestselling, often disputed, dirt dishing-tell all autobiography by Hollywood Screen Queen Joan Crawford’s adopted daughter Christina, it’s a horror story of movies, motherhood, and matricide, not to mention a stray wire coat hanger or two.
Buffalo United Artists presents Jimmy Janowski in the hysterical camp send up MOMMIE QUEEREST by Jamie Morris, July 13 to August 4, 2019, Saturdays at 8pm and Sundays at 7pm. The production is directed and designed by Todd Warfield and also stars Michael Blasdell, Michael Seitz, and Christopher Standart. The production was originally produced in 2012 and has been remounted with the original cast.
Cast & Crew
Todd Warfield
Director
Todd Warfield (director) has directed and/or designed over eighty stage productions, commercials, feature films and television shows. He started his career at age 22 in Hollywood, CA as the youngest set designer ever to be admitted to the IATSE Set Designers & Model Makers Union. He quickly earned honors including a 1991 EMMY award for the number one rated sit com, Cheers. He has also designed for such television favorites as Dear John, Ferris Buehler, Star Trek: Deep Space Nine, and Buffalo Bills All Access as well as the feature films Coneheads and Crown Vic. Favorite stage directing projects for BUA include The Absolute Brightness of Leonard Pelkey, Silence the Musical, Cleopatra*, L’imitation Of Life*, The Birds Attack and Mommie Queerest among others and Buffalo Zings*, Trailer Park Diaries, and Gilligan’s Island,The Musical for O’Connell and Company. He has also directed Reefer Madness*, Shadow Serenade* Hell Hole Honeys*, The Graduate and Rabbit Hole for Alleyway Theatre (*winners of WNED/WBFO ARTIE awards). Mr. Warfield lives in an apartment made of film and theatre sets called The Cleopatra Room that has been featured in Artvoice and Buffalo Spree magazines.
Jimmy Janowski
JIMMY JANOWSKI: WELCOME BACK TO SUMMER CAMP! DID YOU MISS US? After a brief foray into “SERIOUS ACTING”; (YES!, I AM A MULTIPLE AWARD WINNING ACTOR!.. DAMN IT!) Todd and I thought it best, to go back to our roots. Sure, we can bandy about “SERIOUS ACTING’ words like “MOTIVATION”…or “SENSE MEMORY”…or “CRAFT BEER”; but we are more the straight up VODKA MARTINI and HOLLYWOOD MELODRAMA type ! So SIT BACK, KICK OFF YOUR SHOES…PULL OUT YOUR FLASK… and ENJOY!
Michael Blasdell
Michael Blasdell (BeBe Bvlgari) is thrilled to be bringing back the role of Christina in Mommie Queerest. Michael is no stranger to the stage, BUA, or DRAG. Michael has portrayed multiple roles as in DRAG including; The Birds Attack, Mommie Queerest (first go about), L’Imitation of Life, The Poseidon Adventure, The Birds Attack Again, Tropical Heat (Alleyway Theatre Company), Load More Guys, and Silence the Musical just to name a few. Michael started his theatre career 28 years ago and his DRAG career 12 years ago with credit to Joey and the cast of Club Marcella’s. Michael would like to thank Todd and Jimmy Janowski for discovering him putting on makeup with a hand held mirror using nothing but the light of day at a fundraiser, and bringing his two worlds together and creating BUA’s token DRAG DIVA! Michael would like to thank his ever loving and supportive parents Jack and Mary Blasdell for driving him to and from rehearsals as a child and putting up with his singing and dancing around the house nearly 12 hours a day and for NEVER missing a show! Finally Michael would like to thank the wonderful cast and crew of Mommie Queerest for the endless memories and laughter. “LET’S GO!”
Michael Seitz
MICHAEL SEITZ has worked for several WNY based theater companies, and is a company member of BUA. His productions for BUA include Silence! The Musical, Straight, The Submission, Daniel’s Husband, It’s Only A Play, and Poseidon An Upside Down, the Musical which earned him an Artie award for outstanding supporting actor. Mike has also done commercial and independent film work. He would like to thank BUA, Javier, the cast, and his fiance’ David.
Christopher Standart
Christopher Standart is overjoyed to be spending his summer with BUA Summer-camp. Past work with the company includes The Orchestra, The Birds Attack, Limitation of Life, Mommie Queerest (OBC original BUA cast – lol), Bette and Joan, and TRU (one man Truman Capote play), for which he was nominated for an Artie. Oh, and about The Artie … this prize remains elusive to him having been nominated TEN (10) times with no wins — NO WINS. Chris is the Susan Lucci of Buffalo Theater (sigh). Enjoy the hilarity folks!
