MY MOTHER'S ITALIAN... & I'M IN THERAPY! Opens In Toronto 10/19

Steve Solomon's international hit comedy My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy! opens Wednesday October 19 starring Tony Award-winner Paul Kreppel. The hilarious show runs at the Bathurst St. Theatre through to January 1, 2012. Tickets are on sale through Ticketmaster or www.italianjewish.ca.

My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish & I'm in Therapy! played for almost two years in New York City in the heart of Broadway at the Little Shubert Theatre and The Westside Theatre; and has toured nationally and internationally in more than 100 cities. 

Paul Kreppel is best known to TV fans as lounge lizard Sonny Mann in the 80's sitcom "It's A Living." His hundreds of other TV appearances include everything from "The Love Boat" to "ER" and as Jackie's Dad on "That 70's Show!"

He won a 2007 Tony Award for co-directing/producing/creating Jay Johnson: The Two and Only! (Jay Johnson is a ventriloquist best known for his role on the groundbreaking television show "Soap." He played Chuck Campbell, a ventriloquist who believed his puppet Bob was real and demanded everyone treat Bob as human.)

Kreppel's New York acting credits include Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival productions at the Public, Lincoln Center's Vivian Beaumont and Shakespeare in the Park's Delacorte Theaters. His on and off-Broadway acting credits include Godspell, Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dreamcoat, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!, The Proposition and Joseph Papp's productions of The Comedy of Errors, Agamemnon and Alice in Concert, and, of course, My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm in Therapy! - as well as starring in the national tour of Jerome Robbins' Broadway.
Kreppel's theatre directing credits include the Godspell national tour, Both Barrels, Hello Muddah, Hello Fadduh!, God Bless You, Mr. Rosewater, and world premieres of Zero Hour and Don't Hug Me.
Written by award-winning author Steve Solomon, the hilarious one-man comedy is based on Solomon's life growing up in a wacky family noted for its bi-ethnic diversity and aptitude for dysfunctional behavior. The author, whose mother is from Palermo and whose father is from Russia, grew up with his older sister (The Smoker!) in Brooklyn, NY.
Described as "One part lasagna, one part kreplach, and two parts Prozac," you don't have to be Jewish or Italian to love this show. All you need is to know what it feels like to leave a family dinner with heartburn and a headache!

Solomon has written two sequels to his original hit: My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm STILL in Therapy and his hilarious holiday show My Mother's Italian, My Father's Jewish and I'm Home for the Holidays! All three are currently touring the United States starring either Solomon (who spends more than 40 weeks each year touring with his shows) or other actors he's trained to keep up with demand. The original show has played almost 1,900 times since its inception, making it one of the longest running one man comedy shows on record.

The show is produced by Philip Roger Roy, Dana Matthow and Bud Martin. Producer Philip Roger Roy previously produced Let My People Come which opened in Toronto in 1981 at Basin St. Cabaret (180 Queen St. West) and ran 3 years there before moving to Club 21 at 21 Yorkville for another 3 years, before moving back to Basin St. for 6 months, and then to the New York Hotel & Dinner Theatre (formerly and presently the DRAKE Hotel) for another 2 years. It ran a total of 8 years as Canada's longest-running-(Equity licensed) musical ever, playing to over 400,000 people. A second production of Let My People Come toured Canada twice to London, Ottawa, Calgary, Winnipeg, Edmonton, Saskatoon, Vancouver and Victoria BC.

Tickets can be purchased through Ticketmaster at 1-855-985-ARTS (2787) or online at www.italianjewish.ca or www.ticketmaster.ca. Group discounts for 15 or more, call toll free: 1-855-HIT-SHOW (1-855-448-7469).

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