HARVEY FINKLESTEIN’S SOCK PUPPET SHOWGIRLS
Saturdays at Ace of Clubs

"Don't miss this underground hit from Chicago, which has enough raunchy puppeteering to make the creators of "Avenue Q" avert their eyes." -- The New York Times

"hilarious" --NY Daily News

"You'll never look at your socks--or The Muppets--the same way again." -- New York Magazine

Chicago’s acclaimed Harvey Finklestein Productions officially opens a New York branch with an encore presentation of its cult favorite HARVEY FINKLESTEIN’S SOCK PUPPET SHOWGIRLS. The new company made up of local actors and Chicago transplants launches with this open-ended engagement beginning May 13th at Ace of Clubs.

HARVEY FINKLESTEIN’S SOCK PUPPET SHOWGIRLS is a truly unique and wholly unauthorized parody of the Joe Eszterhas film Showgirls -- as performed by sock puppets. The play, like the beloved film, follow an ambitious young drifter as she navigates her way through that world of power, topless dancing, seduction, vulgarity, gambling and sex that we call Las Vegas. If you haven't seen sock puppets pole dance, you haven't experienced the true power of the theater.

In addition to catching a groundbreaking show, audiences can also treat themselves to a menu of specially created Showgirls cocktails. A rotating roster of $8 cocktails will include the Harvey SockBanger (a twist on the traditional Harvey Wallbanger), an Iced Nipple, Sex in the Pool (Ace’s own version of Sex on the Beach), Las Vegas Iced Tea, and Nomi Between the Sheets, among others.

Harvey Finklestein Productions premiered its Sock Puppet Showgirls in 2002. It played for over nine months and was hailed by Chicago critics as: "a great moment in Chicago theatre" (Windy City Times), "hilariously tasteless" (Chicago Tribune), and "a real sock-it-to-‘em production!" (Chicago Sun Times). The New York premiere at The Cherry Lane Theatre as part of the 2004 New York International Fringe Festival became one of the hottest tickets of the festival. A limited engagement run using the Chicago cast at Ace of Clubs quickly sold out its entire run last fall, paving the way for a New York company.

Other productions by the Institute include The Branson Family Comedy Christian Cavalcade, utilizing actual Christian Ministry puppets to spoof a Branson, Missouri-style family revue and Harvey Finklestein’s A Puppet Christmas Carol, a twisted look at Dickens. In June, the Chicago company will premiere UU7: A Magician Never Tells His Tricks at the Lakeshore Theater. For more information on the Institute visit harveyfinklestein.com.

HARVEY FINKLESTEIN’S SOCK PUPPET SHOWGIRLS runs Saturdays at 8pm. Ace of Clubs (9 Great Jones Street, inside Acme -- accessible from the 6 train at Bleecker or the B,D,V,F trains at Lafayette). Tickets are $15, available at 212-352-3101 or TheaterMania.com.