Chloe Troast opens door to ‘PEPPER SLIT: Live in Her Living Room’
“Saturday Night Live” alum writes and stars in a new 35-seat East Village theatrical experience about a diva with memories, delusions, and apparently very limited seating.
Chloe Troast is bringing a woman named Pepper Slit to the East Village, and honestly, New York has had stranger houseguests.
Producers Jacob Stuckelman and Andrew Patino of Regular People, along with Christian Palomares of Paloma Theatrical, have announced “PEPPER SLIT: Live in Her Living Room,” a new theatrical experience written by and starring Troast, actor, writer, comedian, and “Saturday Night Live” alum. The four-week limited engagement begins performances on Tuesday, July 21, at East Village Basement, with opening night set for Thursday, July 30.
The show is directed by comedian Sam Blumenfeld. The cast includes Blumenfeld, Tej Khanna, Gus Laughlin, Jamie Linn Watson, and music director Charlie O’Connor. Surprise special guests will be announced shortly, because apparently even Pepper Slit’s living room has a guest list.
The premise is simple enough, at least on paper: Each night, 35 guests are invited to Pepper Slit’s home for a night of music, nostalgia, party, performance, and delusion. The production describes Pepper as a stage and screen legend; a New York living relic; and the sort of woman who sounds as if she has survived several industries, many lovers, and at least one very dramatic brunch.
Troast describes the character as someone who has been with her for a long time. “‘Pepper’ is a woman [who] lives inside me and has probably lived there my whole life,” Troast said. “At age 11, my favorite Broadway show was ‘Follies’ — a classic preteen tale about the decay of female beauty and fading fame within an unscrupulous industry of vaudeville and burlesque. I was obsessed with Liza, Bernadette, Elaine Stritch, Carol Burnett, Eartha Kitt, Little Edie, Cher — divas of stage and screen. Pepper is an amalgamation of all these things plus a newborn baby. She has been everywhere, done everything; is wistful, entitled, crass, yet somehow innocent. She is a live wire and an open wound with an enormous story to tell.”
That is a lot for one woman to carry, though one suspects Pepper would insist she has always traveled light.
The producers called the show “a theatrical fever dream from the brain of Chloe Troast,” and said that audiences are eager for shared experiences and they are excited to give New Yorkers exactly that.
The phrase “shared experience” has been used a lot in recent years, often by people trying to sell something involving a QR code. Here, though, it feels more literal. “PEPPER SLIT: Live in Her Living Room” is not aiming for distance. It is small by design — 35 people. One room. A performer playing a woman who seems to have confused confession, performance, and hosting duties, which may be the most East Village thing anyone has attempted this summer.
East Village Basement (321 East 9th Street) is a multipurpose theater and arts space designed like a cozy living room. The venue hosts small-scale shows, readings, rehearsals, events, and other creative gatherings. For this production, that living-room feeling is not just atmosphere. It is the point.
Troast comes to the project with a growing list of comedy and screen credits. A former writer and featured cast member on “Saturday Night Live,” she can be seen in the feature films “Sweethearts” and “Goodrich”; the Netflix series “The Four Seasons” with Tina Fey; and the NBC series “The Rise and Fall of Reggie Dinkins.” She also appears in “Please Don’t Destroy: The Treasure of Foggy Mountain,” opposite Conan O’Brien, Bowen Yang, and Megan Stalter, and her Adult Swim Smalls series “DOHLS” is streaming on HBO Max. Troast was named a 2023 Just For Laughs “New Face” in the character category.
Blumenfeld has worked closely with Troast before. He is director and co-head writer of “Spilling Your Seed,” the Stapleview sketch show starring Troast, and has produced and performed in shows across the U.S. and internationally, including London, Edinburgh, and Australia. His theatrical work includes “Haus of Dy-Lan,” “Fixed,” and now “PEPPER SLIT: Live in Her Living Room.”
The design team includes Rodri Hernandez Mtz. on scenic design; Cha See, lighting design; Brandon Bulls, sound design; Ricky Reynoso, costume design; and Cass Fawcett, production stage manager. Regular People is general manager and also provides marketing and advertising services.
“PEPPER SLIT: Live in Her Living Room” is produced by Jacob Stuckelman and Andrew Patino of Regular People, Christian Palomares of Paloma Theatrical, Scuttle About Broadway, Mikayla Kibel, Raffie Rosenberg, Duncan Miller, Tommy Doyle, Brian Ren-Sawyer, and Mark Brystowski. Lisa and Sam Blumenfeld are associate producers.
On paper, the show sounds like downtown comedy with old Broadway perfume: part cabaret, part character piece, part party, part emotional incident. Whether Pepper Slit is a legend, a warning, or simply the hostess New York deserves will be revealed when the doors open this July.
The limited engagement runs for four weeks only.
Tickets are on sale now at www.pepperslit.com.
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