Bebe Neuwirth & Lorenzo Pisoni Set to Lead MTC's GOLDEN AGE; Opens December 4

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) just announced two-time Emmy and two-time Tony Award winner Bebe Neuwirth (Chicago, The Addams Family, "Cheers") and Drama Desk Award winner Lorenzo Pisoni (Humor Abuse at MTC, Measure for Measure, Equus) will appear in the New York premiere of GOLDEN AGE, the new play by four-time Tony Award winner Terrence McNally, directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie.

GOLDEN AGE will begin previews Tuesday, November 13 and open Tuesday, December 4 in a limited engagement at MTC at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

Neuwirth is one of theatre's most admired actresses. GOLDEN AGE will reunite her with Walter Bobbie who directed her in the hit revival of Chicago for which she received a 1997 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical. She also received a Tony Award for her featured performance in the 1986 revival of Sweet Charity. Neuwirth most recently starred in the Off-Broadway production of A Midsummer Night's Dream and on Broadway in The Addams Family. She is known to television audiences for her portrayal of Dr. Lillith Sternin-Craine on "Cheers" and "Frasier" for which she received two Emmy Awards.

Pisoni returns to MTC following the acclaimed world premiere of his autobiographical theatre piece Humor Abuse for which he received the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, Lucille Lortel, and Obie Awards. Following the success in New York, Pisoni has toured the country performing Humor Abuse. In 2011, he appeared in the Shakespeare in the Park productions of Measure for Measure and All's Well That Ends Well.

It's opening night of Vincenzo Bellini's new opera I Puritani in Paris, and the Italian composer is determined to win the adulation of not only his audience, but his colleagues and rivals as well. When the curtain falls, will a thunderous ovation cement his prominence? Or has Bellini unwittingly composed his own swan song?

Blending 21st century language and humor with the timeless beauty of 19th century bel canto opera, GOLDEN AGE portrays the final act of an artist whose desire for greatness has eclipsed all else.

In GOLDEN AGE, Neuwirth will play Maria Malibran and Pisoni will play Antonio Tamburini, two well-known opera singers of the day.

The creative team for GOLDEN AGE will include Santo Loquasto (scenic design), Jane Greenwood (costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design), and Ryan Rumery (sound design).

Additional casting for GOLDEN AGE will be announced shortly.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. Over the past three decades, MTC productions have earned a total of 18 Tony Awards and six Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and an Off-Broadway theatre at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). Since January 2011, Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) has taken the lead in programming and execution at MTC's Off-Broadway home. Renowned MTC productions include Venus in Fur; Master Class; Good People; The Whipping Man; Time Stands Still; The Royal Family; Ruined; The American Plan; Come Back, Little Sheba; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; A Small Family Business; Sylvia; Putting It Together; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin.'

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