Philadelphia is hearing wedding bells for “The Calamari Sisters” and everyone is invited.
Created by married partners Jay Falzone and Stephen Smith, along with Dan Lavender, the Sisters’ first show, “Cooking with the Calamari Sisters,” introduced theatergoers to the singing and dancing extravaganza in a “live broadcast” of the famous cooking show featuring Delphine and Carmela (played by Falzone and Smith). It quickly became a regional sensation that ran for nine months at Society Hill Playhouse.
Lavender said the unexpected runaway success of the show inspired its creators to expand upon the world of the Sisters.
“We did this for fun,” he said. “We got a case of wine and went to Fire Island for the week and just created these crazy women. We had no idea that people would fall in love with them. We were so worried about it being unpopular because it’s a crazy idea. A lot of people in the gay community can go see stuff like this in nightclubs but to see a legit musical when they are singing and dancing and cooking, these people are real and alive to our audience. We created this and we were so worried about it being unsuccessful and the funny thing is, it has changed our lives and we have stopped doing anything else. I was directing shows around the country and we saw what we had with ‘Cooking with the Calamari Sisters’ and once we saw that audiences really loved it, we wanted to create the rest of the world and the rest of the story for these girls.”
Lavender said this brand-new show, “The Calamari Sisters’ Big Fat Italian Wedding,” is one of several new chapters in the Sisters’ story.
“Delphine is getting married,” he said. “It’s an arranged Italian wedding. They are catering their own wedding. It’s a very sly nod to the open acceptance of marriage equality. The show is not political. These characters are very lovable and they have an open philosophy of the world and there are a lot of sly nods at the current political climate. Everybody falls in love and there’s a happy ending. But how we get there story-wise definitely has an open and accepting philosophy for the girls and us as the creators.”
The success of the Calamari Sisters exposed the show’s creators, who hail from New York, to the City of Brotherly Love. And as a result, Lavender said he and his partner have become part-time residents of the city.
“My partner and I took an apartment in Society Hill when we started at the Society Hill Playhouse and we haven’t given it up,” he said. “We love it down here. We love the scene. We love the neighborhood. We love the boys. It’s really great. As much as Philadelphia has welcomed the Calamari Sisters, we have fallen in love with Philly.”
If you would like to throw some rice on Delphine and Carmela, catch “The Calamari Sisters’ Big Fat Italian Wedding” through March 23 at Penn’s Landing Playhouse, 211 S. Columbus Blvd. For more information or tickets, call 855-448-7469 or visit www.thecalamarisisters.com.