The Talent Family, what David and Amy Sedaris have endearingly branded themselves, is having a great start to 2013 in Louisville. David Sedaris, the treasured author of books like Naked and Me Talk Pretty One Day, will be reading live in April at Whitney Hall - while this month The Alley Theater is producing The Book of Liz, a joint project by the brother and sister team. First seen in New York in 2001, Alley Director Todd Zeigler calls the show "a charming tale of identity, secret desires and secret ingredients."
A heroine called Elizabeth Donderstock. Who makes cheeseballs. Who runs away from her Squeamish (think Amish) community in Cluster Haven to find herself and find some truths. Did we mention cheeseballs? It practically screams Sedaris. For anyone who can recite prose from Naked or quote lines from Strangers With Candy (Amy's cult comedy classic that aired on Comedy Central in the late 1990's), fear not. The Book of Liz will not disappoint. Says Zeigler, "I think there is a great blend of both David and Amy's talents in this script. It has the outrageous, broadly-drawn characters Amy brought us in Strangers With Candy, couched in with this incredibly witty and also deeply moving story, which I think is David's forte."
The Alley Theater, a local favorite known for their tilt towards the underground and pop-culture oriented, seems a good fit for the show. "This show fits the Alley's mission of bringing Louisville theater that no one else is," Zeigler tells Louisville.com, "[David] is possibly the most popular writer in the country today. Amy's work on Strangers With Candy and her own writing qualifies her as somewhat of a cult celebrity. To bring something by them - working in tandem, no less - perfectly suits The Alley's mission...with the bonus that our audience will walk away from this knowing they've seen something special."
So go on, Louisville. Go get some special. The Book of Liz, directed by Todd Zeigler, plays The Alley Theater starting this Thursday, February 7th at 7:30pm and runs through February 23rd. For tickets call 502-713-6178 or visit www.thealleytheater.org. The Alley is located at 1210 Franklin Street.
