Lea DeLaria to Play Rudetsky's Broadway Series at Parker Playhouse

(New York, NY, January 20, 2016) "Orange is the New Black" star Lea DeLaria will make her anticipated debut with the celebrated Broadway series at the Parker Playhouse produced by Mark Cortale, for one show only on Saturday, February 13 at 8:00 PM, joined by special guest host drag superstar Varla Jean Merman.

The series is curated by SiriusXM radio host Seth Rudetsky, referred to as "The Mayor of Broadway" by the New York Times." Next up in the series will be Grammy, Emmy, and Tony Award nominated superstar Vanessa Williams on March 22, and Darren Criss, star of TV's "Glee" on April 19, both hosted by Rudetsky.

For tickets and information, visit www.ParkerPlayhouse.com, or call 954-462-0222; or in person at Ticketmaster outlets or the Broward Center's AutoNation Box Office, and at the Parker Playhouse box office Tuesday through Saturday from 12 p.m. to 5 p.m.

Lea DeLaria seems to have achieved overnight stardom with her stand-out role as Big Boo in the Netflix hit series "Orange is the New Black." And while she went from being able to walk around a city with the occasional "hey it's you" to not being able to walk into a Dollar Store in a suburb without getting asked for a picture, the fact is, Lea has been a professional lesbian for over 30 years. Before that, she freelanced. Lea was the first queer comic to perform on television in America which launched her into world recognition. Prior to her success on "Orange is the New Black," she worked extensively in both film and television, in "Awkward," "Californication," "The Oblongs," "One Live to Live," "Law and Order SVU," "Will and Grace," "Friends," "The First Wives Club," "Dear Dumb Diary," "Fat Rose and Squeaky," and "Edge of Seventeen."

Her on and off Broadway credits are numerous, her stand-outs include her appearance on Broadway in "On the Town," for which she won Obie and Theatre World awards, as well as a Drama Desk nomination; an Ovation nomination for her performance in "The Boys from Syracuse;" and playing both Eddie and Doctor Scott in the Broadway revival of "The Rocky Horror Show." If that's not enough, Lea has five records out on the Warner Jazz and Classics label and her book "Lea's Book of Rules for the World" is in its third printing at Bantam Doubleday and Dell. Follow Lea on Twitter and Instagram @realleadelaria and FaceBook.

Jeffery Roberson aka Varla Jean Merman starred in the musical "Lucky Guy " opposite Leslie Jordan in NY at the Little Shubert in 2011 prompting The New York Times to rave, "If Carol Burnett and Harvey Korman had stood in front of the right pair of funhouse mirrors, they might have resembled Ms. Merman and Mr. Jordan in stature as well as comedic talent". He played the role of Mary Sunshine in the revival of "Chicago " on Broadway and also made his network television debut on "All My Children." In 2010 Jeffery won an Elliot Norton Award for Best Musical Performance in "The Phantom of the OPRAH. " He returned to Boston to star as Mother Superior in SpeakEasy Stage's production of "The Divine Sister" by Charles Busch. He 's filmed three feature films, "Varla Jean and the Mushroomheads," "Girls Will Be Girls 2012, " and most recently "Hush Up Sweet Charlotte" which will premiere at the Castro Theatre on October 28. He guest-starred as Varla Jean on "Ugly Betty " in the final season of the show and was also featured on Bravo's "Project Runway" Season 5 as the winning model for the show's drag challenge.

Vanessa Williams
Tuesday, March 22, 2016 at 8:00 PM
featuring SiriusXM radio star Seth Rudetsky as pianist and host

Vanessa Williams has enjoyed one of the most varied and successful careers of any entertainer today. As a recording artist, she has sold over 25 million records worldwide, including #1 and Top 10 hits and 17 total Grammy nominations. Her platinum single "Colors of the Wind" from the soundtrack to Disney's animated hit film "Pocahontas" won the Oscar for Best Original Song. On television she starred as Wilhelmina Slater on "Ugly Betty," a role that brought her three Emmy nominations during the series' four-season run. Other TV appearances include "666 Park Avenue," "Desperate Housewives," "South Beach," "Boomtown," "Ally McBeal," "Star Trek: Deep Space Nine," "The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air," "The Love Boat," and many others, as well as TV-movies "The Jacksons - An American Dream," "The Kid Who Loved Christmas," "Bye Bye Birdie," "The Courage to Love," "Don Quixote," "A Diva's Christmas Carol," "Keep the Faith, Baby," "Stompin' at the Savoy," and others. On film, Vanessa has starred in "Soul Food," for which she won the NAACP Image Award for Outstanding Actress and the Black Film Award for Best Actress, as well as the films "Dance with Me," "Light It Up," "Shaft," "And Then Came Love," "My Brother," "Johnson Family Vacation," "Eraser," "Hannah Montana: The Movie," "Temptation: Confessions of a Marriage Counselor," among others. Her Broadway performances include her Tony-nominated role in the revival of "Into the Woods," as well as "Kiss of the Spider Woman," "Sondheim on Sondheim," "The Trip to Bountiful," "After Midnight," and Encores' "St. Louis Woman."

Darren Criss
Tuesday, April 19, 2016 at 8:00 PM
featuring SiriusXM radio star Seth Rudetsky as pianist and host

Darren Criss is widely known for playing Blaine Anderson on Fox TV's hit musical comedy/drama series "Glee." On the series, as lead vocalist of the show's Dalton Academy Warblers, his cover of the song "Teenage Dream" became the fastest-selling "Glee" single ever, reaching as high as number eight on the Billboard Hot 100 chart, and was a certified gold single in the U.S. Darren was nominated for an Emmy Award this year for writing the song "This Time" for the "Glee" finale. On Broadway, Darren Criss has starred in "Hedwig and the Angry Inch" and "How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying". He is one of the founding members and co-owners of StarKid Productions, the musical theater company based in Chicago, at which he starred as Harry Potter in the company's production of "A Very Potter Musical." The company's original album "Me and My Dick" made Billboard history by becoming the first charting student-produced musical recording, debuting at number eleven on the Top Cast Albums chart in 2010. Criss made his feature film debut in 2012 in the comedy "Girl Most LIkely."

Seth Rudetsky, the series curator, has hosted the Broadway Series at Parker Playhouse for the previous two seasons. He has played piano for over a dozen Broadway shows including "Ragtime," "Les Miserables" and "Phantom of the Opera" and is the man behind sethrudetsky.com, his web-based entertainment network. As a comic, Rudetsky was awarded "Funniest Gay Male in NY" at Stand-Up NY and is a three-time Emmy nominee as a writer for "The Rosie O'Donnell Show." He co-wrote and stars in the new musical "Disaster!" which will open on Broadway this February.