Actor and Comedian Daniel Franzese to Appear in World Premiere Italian Mom Loves You! at Seven Angels Theatre in Waterbury, CT, August 12-21
“Mean Girls” Star Brings Viral YouTube Sensation to Stage in New Play Co-Written by Jacques Lamarre
June 9, 2022/Waterbury, CT…Seven Angels Theatre announced today the world premiere of Italian Mom Loves You!, a comedy co-written and starring film, television and stage actor Daniel Franzese. This solo tour de force will run at the theatre, located at 1 Plank Road in Waterbury, CT, from August 12 through 21. Italian Mom Loves You! is co-written by Franzese and Connecticut-based playwright Jacques Lamarreand will be directed by Michael Schiralli.
About the Play
Daniel Franzese, star of the smash hit movie Mean Girls and HBO’s Looking, brings his wildly popular “Italian Mom” character to the stage in a brand new comedy! It’s the day of Nana’s surprise birthday party and everybody’s comin’ ovah. While trying to pull together a proper Italian festa, Antoinette is also juggling her ex, drama with her kids, a real estate transaction, and spying on her neighbor. Co-written with Connecticut-based playwright Jacques Lamarre (I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti; Love & Spumoni), Franzese performs as his beloved YouTube and Instagram character live for the first time in this hilarious solo tour de force. With laughs and love galore, Italian Mom Loves You! is a tribute to Italian-Americans and mothers everywhere. It’s going to be PHENOMENAL!
Performances of Italian Mom Loves You! will run August 12 through 21 with shows Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday at 7:30pm; Friday and Saturday at 8pm and Sundays at 2pm. There will be a Saturday matinee offered on August 20 at 2pm. Tickets are $39-$49 and can be purchased by visiting SevenAngelsTheatre.org or by calling (203) 757-4676. Groups and tours are welcome. Located right off I-84 in Waterbury, there is plentiful free parking.
About the Artists
Daniel Franzese (playwright, actor) has been seen on film, television, stage, online, and on stand-up comedy stages across the United States. Film highlights include Bully, Stateside, Kill Theory, I Spit on Your Grave, Looking: The Movie, and, most notably, as Damian in Tina Fey’s hit movie Mean Girls.
On television, Daniel was a series regular as Eddie on HBOs Looking, Vern on Freeform’s Recovery Road, and Jackson on ABC’s Conviction. He has been seen in guest spots on SWAT, CSI, The Comeback, Burn Notice, Party Down, and as a guest judge on RuPaul’s Drag Race (“The Snatch Game” Season 12). Off-Broadway theatre credits include originating the role of Van In Dog Sees God, co-writer and actor (Ronnie) in Jersey Shoresical: A Frickin Rock Opera!, as himself in I Never Really Made the Kinda Money to Become a Mess, and as Big Mikey in Found: The Musical workshops for NY stage and Film and Atlantic Theater company. Daniel was in the first national tour of Tony & Tina’s Wedding and has been seen regionally in The Heart of Robin Hood (Wallis Annenberg Beverly Hills, World Theatre Festival in Hong Kong), He’s Mine: The Chilean Miner Musical (Upright Citizens Brigade Theatre L.A.), A Tree Grows in Brooklyn (Royal Palm Theatre/Carbonell Nomination), Damn Yankees and 1776 (both for StageDoor Theatre).
Online, Daniel has received millions of views as Antoinette, everyone’s favorite Italian mom, in Sh*t Italian Moms Say 1-3 on YouTube and Tiktok and in 26 episodes of Antoinette Nails Life 26 on IGTV. He has appeared in the viral musical parodies “Please Go Home,” “Shake and Bake,” and more on YouTube. He also co-hosts YASS Jesus!, a weekly podcast that takes a non-shaming look at the Bible through an LGBTQ-affirming lens (YassJesusPod.com). As a stand-up comedian, Daniel has performed at over 100 colleges and clubs on the “YASS! You’re Amazing Tour!” You can follow Daniel Franzese @whatsupdanny on all social media and see Antoinette on Facebook.com/ItalianMom
Jacques Lamarre (playwright) is a Connecticut-based writer who has had three previous productions at Seven Angels Theatre: I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti; Born Fat; and Love & Spumoni. For TheaterWorks Hartford, he premiered I Loved, I Lost…, Raging Skillet, Christmas on the Rocks (co-writer), and, upcoming, Secondo: The Sequel to I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti. His plays have been seen at Asolo Repertory Theatre, George Street Playhouse, Cincinnati Playhouse on the Park, Half Moon Theatre, Stoneham Theatre Company, Florida Repertory Theatre, Center Stage at the JCC, New Jewish Theatre, Emerson Theatre Collaborative, Wellfleet Harbor Actors Theatre, Penobscott Playhouse, Crossroads Repertory Theatre, Beaumont Community Players, Triangle Rep, Philly Fringe, Little Theatre of the Rockies, Georgia Ensemble Theatre, Zeitgeist Stage, and the Warehouse Theatre.
Other plays include Save the Robots: The Sci-Fi Musical (Midtown International Theatre Festival), Gray Matters (MITF), My Vhite House Christmas Spashial Live From Trump Tower, Red State Road Trip, Trigger Warning, Honey LaBrea: The Lonely Thetan – A Scientollywood Comedy, The Wedding Binder, among others. Jacques has co-written 18 shows, a film and two Fleet enema commercials for drag superstar Varla Jean Merman. JacquesLamarrePlaywright.com
Michael Schiralli (director) is a New York City-based theater and film director, Michael was Artistic Director of Half Moon Theatre at CIA’s Marriott Pavilion where he directed numerous productions including: John Cariani’s premiere of Cul-De-Sac; Jacques Lamarre‘s I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti, among others. Some recent NYC credits include Why’d You Do It? (NY Times critic’s pick); Nico Underground (NY Times critic’s pick); Succession’s David Rasche at 54 Below; the critically acclaimed A Chanukah Charol starring Jackie Hoffman (New World Stages); Jeff Ward’s Take One (Fringe) David Simpatico’s Prom Queen (Playwrights Horizon). Other notable productions: Sleepless Variations with Mary Testa & Michael Starobin (Barrington Stage); 20 years of Jackie Hoffman’s solo shows including The Kvetching Continues (Time Out Award); The Tragic And Horrible Life Of The Singing Nun (NYMF, 3 awards); 22 years of Varla Jean Merman shows and videos including Enough About Me: An Unauthorized Autobiography and the upcoming Ready to Blow; Coco Peru shows including Undaunted (GLAAD Award best theater LA); Kristine Zbornik’s shows including Ball of Confusion; The Vendler Television Playhouse (Guiding Light TV Cast); Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice with David Rackoff (Culture Project); Born Again Again! with Tammy Faye Starlite; Valentine’s Day Massacre with Jackie Hoffman, Paul Dinello, Eric Drysdale, David Rackoff (Drama Dept.); Wasp Cove with Julie Klausner; Nothin’s Easy and Nobody’s Happy with Colette Hawley; Gas, Food, Talent (West Bank); Darlene Love’s True Love with musical direction by Bette Sussman (N.Y., L.A.); Laura Nyro Project with Catherine Russell, Elaine Caswell and Jenifer Kruskamp (MTC); Songs for a New World with Beth Leavel and musical direction by Jason Robert Brown (Helen Hayes PAC); Damaged Care (U.S. House of Congress); Rachel Shukert’s Everything’s Coming Up Moses with Seth Rudetsky; MTW’s Holiday Extravaganza with Kristin Chenowith; All You Can Sing with Phoebe Snow; Free & Equal (Yip Harburg Foundation); the feature film Varla Jean And The Mushroomheads; the new musical Hit Her With The Skates (UCPAC Hamilton Stage/Broadway World pick); and the American Songbook with Jackie Hoffman at Lincoln Center.
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