Katy Perry Candy Darling Mary Magdalene
World Premiere
Performances
Feb 13, 2026 -
Mar 7, 2026
Cast & Personnel
Director
Music Direction
Songs By
Music Arrangement
Choreography
Cast
- Juan Sebastián Cruz
- Joe Folladori
- Mara McGhee
- Cathy Power
- Erin Rodgers
- Alli Villines
- Abraham Zeus Zapata
Scenic Design
Costume Design
Video Design
Sound Design
Prop Design
Stage Manager
The Play
“What about all the in-betweens?”
Rock-and-roll was invented by corporations to sell cars and sex to teenagers. Indie rock was invented by teenagers who weren’t into cars or sex. Pop music is a CIA plot, like MK Ultra or Abstract Expressionism. Gender is a pyramid scheme; religion is a performance. Texas is both a gender and a religion.
How about you? What’s your whole deal? You sure about that?
A punk elitist attempts to sell his band on a rock opera he wrote about meeting his favorite pop star. But first he has to explain why he has a favorite pop star, why it’s Katy Perry, why he wrote a rock opera about it, and how it all ties into his new look, most succinctly described as “she.” Directed by Tamarie Cooper. (World premiere.)
“Joe Folladori’s performance turns the singer, and us, inside out. Folladori sings and plays the piano with a posture that suggests he’s on the verge of collapse or outburst.” – Houston Chronicle
The Playwright
JOE FOLLADORI is a singer-songwriter and regular writer who has thrown art at Houston and the world at large for over two decades. They released over fifty albums and EPs, mostly as handmade CD-Rs and cassettes, with their lo-fi home recording project-cum-indie pop collective The Mathletes. Joe wrote, drew comics, and produced videos for the Houston Chronicle, Houston Press, Houston Free Press, and Houston Free Press Chronicle; they also created several legendary ancient blogs, including Marmaduke Explained and Joe Mathlete’s Great American Blog. For Catastrophic they wrote music, lyrics, and jokes for the last 20+ Tamarie Cooper Shows; made their third appearance as Joe the Boxer in Daniel Johnston’s Speeding Motorcycle; and composed and directed music for disco mall parable Fleaven.
Sponsors
