In Providence, RI, a habitually widowed Greek temptress named Atalanta Lagana pays a visit to frazzled lawyer and childhood friend Barry Dragonetti, ostensibly intending to clear up her latest late husband’s affairs. Instead of establishing legal clarity, the larger-than-life Atalanta badgers her insecure, self-aggrandizing attorney into imagining a hysterical alternate universe of what-ifs and what-might-have-beens. Add Barry’s impossibly obstreperous Croatian mother Fausta, his sultry young Latina wife Patty, and Atalanta’s new boy toy – who just happens to be Patty’s ex – and you have in hand a perfect recipe for comic combustion.
The 2017 New York premiere of “The Portuguese Kid” was lauded by The Wall Street Journal’s Terry Teachout as “the funniest new comedy I’ve reviewed since … well, maybe ever,” adding, “I don’t know when I last saw another stage comedy that was funny right from the top, or one that whose last scene was so unmanipulatively touching. To laugh this hard for that long is downright therapeutic.”
“The Portuguese Kid” features a spirited cast of five, including three HTC veterans. Andrew Botsford (last seen on stage in “A Doll’s House, Part 2”) is Barry; Rosemary Cline (“A Doll’s House, Part 2”) is Atalanta; and Vay David (HTC’s “Other Desert Cities”) plays Fausta Dragonetti. Making their HTC stage debuts are David Cardali as Atalanta’s young boyfriend Freddie Imbrossi, and Esmeralda Cabrera as Patty Dragonetti.
Bob Kaplan (HTC’s “Mauritius” and “Glengarry Glenn Ross”) directs; Laurie Atlas (recently on stage in HTC’s “The Lifespan of a Fact”) is the producer. Set design is by Mr. Kaplan and Ricky Bottenus; lighting design by Sebastian Paczynski; sound by Seamus Naughton; and costumes by Teresa Lebrun.
Performances of “The Portuguese Kid” will run from May 25 through June 11 on Thursdays and Fridays at 7, Saturdays at 8, and Sundays at 2:30. An additional matinee performance will be offered during the final weekend of the production, on Saturday, June 10 at 2:30, prior to the regular 8 p.m. performance that evening.
Note: This adult comedy contains strong language;
viewer discretion is advised.
Two “talkbacks” with the cast will be offered to ticket holders immediately following the June 2 and June 9 Friday evening performances.
Tickets are $36, $31 for seniors, and $20 for students 25 and under.
