EXTENDED BY POPULAR DEMAND! ‘SPAGHETTI’ IS DELICIOUS FUN!

EXTENDED BY POPULAR DEMAND! ‘SPAGHETTI’ IS DELICIOUS FUN!

FORT MYERS, FL – Florida Repertory Theatre’s hilarious and delicious season opener, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti starring Michelle Damato, has been extended by popular demand. Playing in Florida Rep’s intimate ArtStage Studio Theatre, the mouth-watering memoir of one woman’s many failed love affairs and Italian cooking will extend its run to Nov. 8th in the Fort Myers River District.

Adapted by Jacques Lamarre from the memoir by Giulia Melucci, I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghettiopened Oct. 9 to packed houses and high praise from audience members and critics alike. Charles Runnells of The News-Press called it a “winning production…a delightful evening” and raved that Michelle Damato “charms the audience!”

Florida Weekly’s Nancy Stetson called Damato “effervescent and lively”, saying “she draws us all in and makes us feel as if we’re seated in her personal kitchen! I went, I ate, I laughed!”

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti is a unique theatre experience that invites audiences into Giulia’s kitchen as she recounts a string of botched romances and failed love affairs while preparing a home-cooked, three-course, Italian dinner. During every performance, eight patrons with upgraded tickets will savor antipasto, salad, scratch-made pasta,  Bolognese sauce, and wine. Between preparing food and waiting on her guests, Giulia dishes about the string of men in her life and about the food she prepared to win their hearts.

“I couldn’t be more excited to open our season with this play,” said Producing Artistic Director and amateur Italian chef himself, Robert Cacioppo, “it is a perfect vehicle for Michelle Damato, and it is really something totally new and different. Audiences are falling in love with Giulia and her cooking, and we’re pleased to be able to give audiences even more chances to catch this truly remarkable play before it closes.”

The saucy and witty one-woman comedy is based on Giulia Melucci’s debut book of the same title, a memoir of her love life that is filled with recipes for more than just romantic disaster. Chef and author, Mario Batali called Meucci’s book, “a delightfully irresistible memoir…a foodie’s dream version of Sex and the City.”

Florida Rep ensemble member, Michelle Damato, is an audience favorite in Southwest Florida who garnered national attention and local acclaim with her 2010 portrayal of title canine in Florida Rep’s nationally lauded production of A.R. Gurney’s Sylvia.The Wall Street Journal, praised the Spaghetti star’s work, saying, “Ms. Damato is entirely delightful…her frisky body language and dead-sure comic timing couldn’t be bettered.” Damato’s recent appearances with Florida Rep include last season’s Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, the regional premiere ofHeart Song in 2014, and many other hit comedies, including Miracle on South Division Street, Rumors,and many more.

Veteran regional theatre actor and director and Florida Rep regular, Michael Marotta, directs the production after helming the 2014 Rodgers & Hammerstein revue, A Grand Night for Singing as director and choreographer, and a recent appearance in 2013’s The Fantasticks. Marotta, also an amateur Italian chef, is joined by lighting and sound designer, John Kiselica, costume designer, Alexandria Vazquez, stage manager, Amy L. Massari, and set designer Bruce R. Bailey.

I Loved, I Lost, I Made Spaghetti plays in the ArtStage Studio Theatre through Nov. 8 with six added performances between Nov. 3 and 8. Regular performances are Tues. – Sat. at 8pm, and Thurs. and Sun. at 2pm.

Priced at $49/$45, single tickets are now on sale through the box office at 239-332-4488 and online at www.floridarep.org. Dinner upgrades can be purchased for an additional $35 per seat. Subscriptions for the 2015-2016 season offer the best seats and the biggest savings, and packages start as low as $145 for 6 plays and offer up to 43% off single ticket prices.

Florida Repertory Theatre performs in the Historic Arcade Theatre and the ArtStage Studio Theatre on Bay St. between Jackson & Hendry with limited free parking in the Fort Myers River District. Visit Florida Rep online at FloridaRep.org, and by following the company on Facebook, Twitter, and Youtube.