Catastrophic Theatre Starts New Life at UH With ‘Big Death and Little Death’

When a shell-shocked Gulf War vet returns from combat, all is not well on the home front. For one, his adulterous wife isn't at all pleased with the souvenir he's brought her - blood soaked sand. His marijuana-addled son is engaged in a relationship with his guidance counselor, and his daughter is starving herself. That's not to mention that the family dog has devoured its new litter of puppies.

Mickey Birnbaum's dark comedy "Big Death and Little Death" pulls few punches, and audiences can take in these blows first hand when it makes its Houston premiere at the University of Houston's Jose Quintero Theatre on April 4.

The play is a co-production of the UH School of Theatre & Dance and Catastrophic Theatre, a new Houston company with some familiar faces.

Among Catastrophic's company members are former members of Houston's renowned and recently departed Infernal Bridegroom Productions, "Big Death and Little Death" director Jason Nodler and cast member Tamarie Cooper.

"We're pleased to work with UH on ‘Big Death and Little Death,'" Nodler said. "It's a very wild production and in some cases, extremely dark. The characters, however, are very recognizable. Everyone has had the experience of being a teenager, feeling alienated and perhaps dealing with the questions surrounding death. It's an accessible piece, but it is told through an extreme narrative."

Tickets for "Big Death and Little Death" are $15 and $10 for students. For reservations or additional information, contact 713-743-2929.

WHAT: "Big Death and Little Death"
WHEN: 8 p.m., April 4 - 5,
10 - 13, 17 - 20; 2 p.m., April 6
WHERE:

Cynthia Woods Mitchell Center for the Arts/Jose QuinteroTheatre
University of Houston - Entrance 16
Houston, TX 77204

WHO: UH School of Theatre & Dance, Catastrophic Theatre


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