In Mike Reiss’s comedy, Rubble, Alvin, an aging comedy writer with one last shot at a network meeting, is trapped under rubble by an LA earthquake.

It’s a strange enough idea for a play, something Samuel Beckett might have dreamed up between his tramps waiting for Godot and Krapp recording his last tape. It becomes surreal, at least it will when it is performed in a benefit for the Provincetown Theater this weekend, when Alvin is played by none other than comedy writing legend Bruce Vilanch.

“It’s a crazy idea for a play: It’s Becket meets Book of Mormon meets The Simpsons,” said the show’s director, James Valletti. “It’s a really dark and funny look at the entertainment industry from two people who know it all – the good and the bad – really well. Mike has been a writer on The Simpsons from the very first episode and is still there today and Bruce has written comedy for everything from The Oscars to his own cabaret act. They’ve lived it, so they’re perfect for making the show come alive – even from under a pile of rubble.”

Those coming to the show to see Vilanch share Hollywood stories and gossip like he does in his cabaret act (which he will be performing at the Post Office Café on Commercial St. from August 22 – August 24) will find a very different character trapped under the trash at the theater benefit. “I approach Alvin like I would any acting part,” Vilanch said in an interview with Color Magazine. “When I write comedy for somebody else, I have to write it in their voice. Material I write for Whoopi won’t work for Billy Crystal, mainly because he’s not a black woman. The same applies to playing an acting role. I can’t be Bruce Vilanch in the show; I worked with the writer and the director to create the character of Alvin.”

Still, both Vilanch and Valletti admit there were times during the rehearsal process when the actor and the character were not as distinct as they imagined. “There’s a great line in the play…Alvin is trapped under all this rubble and has no idea how, or if, he will get out, and he’s musing about the size of cupcakes and how they’ve gotten smaller yet more expensive. It’s delightfully absurd to hear, especially when Bruce says it.”

“I do love that line,” Vilanch admitted. “There are many of the lines in the show that I love. The mix of a man in such an absurd situation thinking of such mundane things is just very, very funny.”

Bruce Vilanch in “Rubble” by Mike Reiss at the Provincetown Theater Aug 22 at 7 PM. Tickets are $75-$100.

7 PM Lecture with Mike Reiss about “The Simpsons” and “Queer Duck”

8 PM Cocktails with Mike Reiss and Jerry Adler

9 PM Staged Reading of “Rubble”

10:30 PM Talkback with Bruce Vilanch

For more information, visit http://provincetowntheater.org. Tickets benefit The Provincetown Theatre Foundation.

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• Bruce Vilanch To Star In “Rubble” At The Player’s Theater
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The post Bruce Vilanch in “Rubble” by Mike Reiss at the Provincetown Theater Aug 22 at 7 PM first appeared on We Got Bruce!.

EMMY Award-Winner Bruce Vilanch will star in RUBBLE, a new comedy by EMMY Award-Winning “The Simpsons” writer, Mike Reiss. Broadway veteran and “The Sopranos” star Jerry Adler also joins the cast. RUBBLE will be directed by James Valletti, and run for five performances at The Players Theater on August 10th, 14th, 22nd, 24th, and 25th.

RUBBLE tells the story of Alvin, an aging comedy writer who, while on a last-chance meeting with a network executive, gets trapped under a pile of rubble due to an LA earthquake. It’s a hilarious look at TV, theater, heaven, and hell-from one who’s been there…

The cast of RUBBLE includes Bruce Vilanch, Jerry Adler, Jason Jacoby, Bryan McElroy, Amy Wilson and Jeffrey Arnold Wolf.

Bruce Vilanch is one of the most sought-after comedy writers in Hollywood, winner of multiple Emmys and noted as the “Hollywood Square” just to the left of Whoopi. Bruce spent two years as Edna Turnblad, on tour and on Broadway in the smash musical adaptation of the John Waters film HAIRSPRAY. Bruce was seen on VH1’s popular fitness and nutrition reality-series, “Celebrity Fit Club” and he has appeared in “Ice Pirates,” “Mahogany” and “The Morning After.” A frequent guest on talk shows, Bruce won his Emmys for co-writing back-to-back Oscar shows with Billy Crystal. He was also nominated for an Emmy as a lyricist on Eartha Kitt’s gold-selling album “Where Is My Man”. Bruce has spent over 21 years writing for the Oscars, as well as a number of Tonys, Grammys and Emmys. His career was documented in the film “Get Bruce!,” released by Miramax and available on Buena Vista Home Video. Bruce’s one-man show, ALMOST FAMOUS, tickled Off-Broadway audiences for three months and has made a number of appearances around the country.

Jerry Adler is a veteran of over 50 Broadway productions as Producer, Director and Production Stage Manager, including the original MY FAIR LADY (The revival of which he directed), COCO, THE HOMECOMING, ANNIE and many more, as well as the Tony Award- winning GOOD EVENING which he directed with Dudley Moore and Peter Cook – before he began his new career as an actor. He then appeared in Woody Allen’s “Manhattan Murder Mystery” and “The Public Eye” with Joe Pesci. He has since been seen on many teleVision Productions, including “The West Wing”, “Law and Order”, “Northern Exposure”, “CSI:Miami” and was a regular on “Mad About You”. He is an original cast member of “The Sopranos” and was “HESH”, Tony’s mentor/advisor throughout that award-winning HBO Production’s run. His recent films include “In Her Shoes”, “Prime”, “Find Me Guilty”, “Synecdoche” and the soon-to-be- released “Last Angry Man In Brooklyn” with Robin Williams. On TV he was the Fire Chief in “Rescue Me” with Denis Leary, and recently is Howard Lyman on “The Good Wife”. He is the 2013 recipient of an Honorary Doctorate in Fine Arts awarded by the University of Connecticut.

Jason Jacoby is currently starring Off-Broadway in AVENUE Q as Nicky/Trekkie. Other credits include: CABARET, THE PRODUCERS, BEAUTY AND THE BEAST (Park Playhouse); LE HOT BLUE (New York Theatre Workshop); THE PIPER (Capital Repertory Theatre); G.B.S. (Clockwork Theatre, U.S. Premiere); RECKLESS (The Gallery Players).

The post Bruce Vilanch To Star In “Rubble” At The Player’s Theater first appeared on We Got Bruce!.