Featuring an All-Star Broadway and Television Cast
Sharon, CT – The Sharon Playhouse, the award-winning regional theater in Northwest Connecticut, will present a one-night-only staged reading of Charles Busch’s riotous comic melodrama Die Mommie Die! on Friday, September 12 at 7:00 PM in The Bobbie Olsen Theater. This special benefit performance will feature a dazzling cast of stage and screen favorites, including Charles Busch, Richard Kind (The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife, Curb Your Enthusiasm, Mad About You), two-time Tony Award nominee Kristine Nielsen (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Gary: A Sequel to Titus Andronicus, The Gilded Age), Tony Award winner Celia Keenan-Bolger (To Kill a Mockingbird, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, The Gilded Age), Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies, Tuck Everlasting, The Other Two), and Claybourne Elder (Company, Bonnie & Clyde, The Gilded Age ).
The evening marks the latest collaboration between Sharon Playhouse Artistic Director Carl Andress and playwright/performer Charles Busch (Ibsen’s Ghost, The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife), who will reprise his iconic role as Angela Arden, the glamorous yet troubled ’60s songstress at the heart of this deliciously over-the-top homage to the great film thrillers of the era. Set against a backdrop of scheming heirs, suspicious lovers, and a tastefully decorated Beverly Hills mansion, Die Mommie Die! delivers a wicked cocktail of glamour, betrayal, and outrageous plot twists.
Originally premiering in 1999 in Los Angeles before becoming an award-winning cult hit, Die Mommie Die! blends high-style parody with sharp theatrical wit. For Sharon Playhouse’s benefit reading, audiences can expect the full force of Busch’s sensibility brought to life by a powerhouse cast, with direction by Carl Andress and original music by Lewis Flinn, whose score for the 2007 Off-Broadway production has been specially adapted for this event.
“We are thrilled to bring together such an extraordinary group of artists for this benefit performance,” said Carl Andress. “It’s going to be an unforgettable night of laughter, glamour, and pure theatrical fun—and all in support of the Playhouse’s mission to produce high-quality, live professional theater right here in Northwest Connecticut.”
All proceeds from this special evening will benefit Sharon Playhouse’s productions and educational programs, helping to ensure that the Playhouse continues to thrive as a cultural destination for audiences and artists alike in the region. Tickets are on sale now at https://www.sharonplayhouse.org/die-mommie-die or by calling the box office at (860) 364-7469 ext 200 or 201. Seating is limited. Casting may be subject to change due to artist’s scheduling.
The 2025 Mainstage season continues with the tail-waggingly funny comedy, Sylvia by A.R. Gurney, featuring Jennifer Cody in the title role, and directed by Colin Hanlon (August 27-September 7) and Agatha Christie’s The Mousetrap directed by Hunter Foster. The season also features the fifth annual presentation of Writers Playground, a ten-minute play festival of new works written by local playwrights (September 18-19).
The Sharon Playhouse, led by Carl Andress (Artistic Director), Meghan Flanagan (Managing Director) and Michael Kevin Baldwin (Education and Community Director), is a professional, regional, nonprofit theater producing high-quality performances with Broadway-caliber actors as well as talented local community members. Its mission is to entertain the community of Northwest Connecticut and beyond, while also serving as a teaching theater to encourage aspiring actors and other theater artists of all ages to develop their craft.
