Second Stage Reading Series

The Tale of the Allergist's Wife

A Joint Production with Scripps Ranch Theatre

Written by Charles Busch

Produced by Phil Johnson

Directed by Kim Strassburger

Featuring Wendy Waddell, Debra Wanger, Phil Johnson, Jill Drexler, Alex Guzman & Kaia Bugler

In his first play written for a mainstream audience, playwright Charles Busch explores the Upper West Side milieu of aspiring intellectual and middle-aged upper class matron Marjorie Taub, who lives comfortably with her doctor husband Ira in an expensively furnished condo near Zabar's and spends her days and evenings pursuing culture at various museums and the theatre. Her ongoing effort to improve her mind and soul has brought Marjorie to the conclusion she never will be more than mediocre, a feeling enhanced by her elderly mother's constant complaints about her shortcomings and her husband's altruistic dedication to serving the needs of the homeless. Following an emotional outburst in a Disney Store resulting in considerable breakage, Marjorie retires to the safety of her home to wallow in a mid-life crisis. Unexpectedly invading her depression is flamboyant childhood friend Lee who, much like The Man Who Came to Dinner, becomes entrenched in the Taub household as a seemingly permanent guest, not only drawing Marjorie out of her dark mood, but affecting her marriage as well.

Cast

Wendy Waddell

Actor (Marjorie Taub)

After an interminable hiatus from the stage, Wendy is beyond excited to be back and making her debut for The Roustabouts. She has a BFA in Acting from NYU’s Tisch School of the Arts. Select San Diego theatre credits: Fiddler on the Roof (San Diego Critics Circle nominee, Welk); 9 to 5 (SDMT); Sunday in the Park with George (ion); Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (SRT); Carrie (OnStage Playhouse); All My Sons, Hamlet, King John (Intrepid); American Hero, The Full Monty, Three Sisters (New Village Arts); Brave Smiles, Bunbury (Diversionary); Bluebonnet Court (MOXIE/Diversionary); The Diary of Anne Frank, The Butcher of Baraboo (MOXIE); The Miser, The Car Plays (La Jolla Playhouse); Company (Cygnet). WendyWaddellActor.com

Debra Wanger

Actor (Lee)

Debra is thrilled to be playing with Roustabouts. Cygnet: Spring Awakening, My Fair Lady, Dogfight, On the 20th Century, A Little Night Music and Angels in America Parts 1 & 2 (Craig Noel Award). San Diego theatre highlights: Moxie: Handbagged! (Craig Noel nomination) God of Vengeance at La Jolla Playhouse, Hamlet (Gertrude) at Intrepid; San Diego Musical Theatre: Catch Me If You Can, Hairspray, Billy Elliot, Footloose, Sound of Music, La Cage Aux Folles, White Christmas. Titanic & Sunset Blvd. at Moonlight; Permanent Collection at Mo’olelo; Full Monty (Vicki) at New Village Arts; Anything Goes! (Reno), Oliver! (Nancy) at Lyric Opera San Diego; Carousel and Sound of Music at Lawrence Welk. Her original musical, My Nights With George, Kurt & Cole, co-written with Phil Johnson, won AASD & Billie Awards. Education: CCM, Tufts, and M.F.A. SDSU. Debra is also a certified biohacking coach, best-selling author (The Resilient Actor), recording artist (Driving My Own Heart), www.DebraWanger.com

Phil Johnson

Producer/Actor (Ira Taub)

Phil Johnson, our TRTC Artistic Director, is a proud founding partner of The Roustabouts Theatre Co. As an actor/writer, his solo show, A Jewish Joke (co-written with Marni Freedman) ran locally and regionally throughout the country, as well as Off-Broadway in March 2019. His other shows include Roosevelt: Charge the Bear, Withering Heights, She-Rantulas from Outer Space in 3D!, and The Hound of the Baskervilles. Phil played in Les Misérables on Broadway and on tour; the Canadian production of Sunset Boulevard; and the 1st National Co. of Miss Saigon. He is a two-time winner of the San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Craig Noel Award for acting. He regularly performs at local theatres including North Coast Rep, The Old Globe, Diversionary Theatre, Lambs and Cygnet Theatre. Local directing credits include SD Playwrights Project and Scripps Ranch Theatre. He teaches and produces a Solo Show Workshop and Celebration of New Writers readings for writer/performers that are part of The Roustabouts season. philjohnson.net

Jill Drexler

SRT Producer/Actor (Frieda)

Jill Drexler is happy to be back in such great company. She last worked with Roustabout for the reading of The Philadelphia Story. She has worked at many theatres in San Diego including Cygnet, La Jolla Playhouse, Diversionary, North Coast Rep, Moxie, Ion, Backyard and Scripps Ranch Theatre. Ms. Drexler is the recipient of the San Diego Critic's Circle award and is the Artistic Director of Scripps Ranch Theatre, which opens The Taming by Lauren Gunderson April 8.

Alex Guzman

Actor (Mohammed)

Favorite acting credits include: Native Gardens (Old Globe Theatre), Bachelorette, (Backyard Renaissance Theatre), Homos, or everyone in America (Diversionary Theatre), Awake and Sing (New Village Arts), The Normal Heart, Lydia, (ion Theatre), La Posada Magica (Hispanic Arts Theatre), The Dark at The Top of the Stairs (Scripps Ranch Theatre), Seminar, The Taming of the Shrew (InnerMission Productions), The Lion in Winter (Moonlight Stage Productions), ENRON (Moxie Theatre), and Angels in America: Part 1 & 2 (Palomar College). www.alexanderxguzman.com

Kaia Bugler

Stage Directions

Production

Charles Busch

Playwright

Charles Busch is the author and star of such plays as Psycho Beach Party, Times Square Angel, The Lady in Question, Red Scare on Sunset, You Should Be So Lucky, Queen Amarantha, Shanghai Moon and Flipping My Wig. He wrote the book for the musical The Green Heart, which was produced by Manhattan Theatre Club. His Off-Broadway play Vampire Lesbians in Sodom ran for five years. He wrote a new libretto for the 1955 musical Ankles Aweigh for Goodspeed Opera and adapted the book of the Truman Capote/Harold Arlen musical House of Flowers for a tour with Patti LaBelle. In 1996, Mr. Busch starred in the Off-Broadway musical Swingtime Canteen, which he also co-authored. He wrote the screenplay and appeared in the film version of his play Psycho Beach Party. His novel Whores of Lost Atlantis was published in hardcover by Hyperion Press and as a Penguin paperback. For The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Mr. Busch won the Outer Critics Circle John Gassner Award for Playwrighting.

Kim Strassburger

Director

Directing credits include Romeo, Romeo and Juliet (The Roustabouts Theatre Co.); Handbagged (MOXIE Theatre);  Bull in a China Shop, A Civil War Christmas, and A New Brain (Diversionary Theatre); 8 Songs for a Mad King (San Diego Theatre Critics Circle Award for Outstanding Special Event and 2017 Best of Festival-San Diego International Fringe Festival); Sunday in the Park with George (SDTCC Award - Outstanding Direction of a Musical), Master Class, Passion (SDTCC Award nomination - Outstanding Direction of a Musical), Grey Gardens, Gypsy (SDTCC Award nomination - Outstanding Direction of a Musical) and Dr. Jekyll & Mr. Hyde (ion theatre); Gutenberg the Musical! (Backyard Renaissance); Seascape (New Village Arts); and The Woman in Black with Jason Heil (CSU San Marcos). Kim is a graduate of Catholic University of America and UCSD. She is a member of the 2014 Lincoln Center Theater Directors Lab. Kim has also served as an Artistic Trustee for Diversionary Theatre.

Dani DeCarlo

House Manager