Bryggman, McGrath And More Lead ATC's THE COLLECTION & A KIND OF ALASKA

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce that Atlantic Theater Company members Larry Bryggman and Matt McGrath and guest artists Lisa Emery, Rebecca Henderson and Darren Pettie will star in its first main stage production of the 2010-2011 season, THE COLLECTION & A KIND OF ALASKA: TWO PLAYS BY Harold Pinter, directed by Atlantic founding member Karen Kohlhaas.

THE COLLECTION AND A KIND OF ALASKA will begin previews Wednesday, November 3; officially open Monday, November 22; and play a limited engagement through Sunday, December 12 Off-Broadway at Classic Stage Company (136 East 13th Street) while its main stage Linda Gross Theater undergoes renovation.

Atlantic returns to the work of Tony Award® and Nobel Prize winning playwright Harold Pinter, (the first major production of his work to be done in NYC since his death in 2008) following its critically hailed 2005 production of his first and last plays The Room and Celebration. Here again, the plays are separated chronologically by many years; both, however, are steeped in the author's signature humor, mystery and psychological tension. In The Collection (1961), a 4:00am phone call and a surprise visitor set off a series of conversations about potential infidelities among two couples. And a middle-aged woman who has been asleep in a hospital room awakens after thirty years and must reorient herself to a greatly changed world in A Kind of Alaska (1982), which was inspired by the work of Oliver Sacks in his seminal book, Awakenings.

Director Karen Kohlhaas is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company who returns to staging the work of Harold Pinter following her acclaimed production of The Hothouse at Atlantic. Karen most recently directed the world premiere of Annie Baker's Body Awareness at Atlantic. She also recently staged Clare Bayley's At Sea for Cambridge UK's Menagerie Theatre and 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother by Kate Moira Ryan starring Judy Gold at the Montreal Comedy Festival, Ars Nova, Off-Broadway at the St. Luke's Theatre, and national tour.

Larry Brygmann returns to Atlantic following appearing in Tom Donaghy's world premiere adaptation of The Cherry Orchard and his critically acclaimed performance in the world premiere of David Mamet's comedy Romance. Lisa Emery returns to Atlantic following starring in the American premiere of Moira Buffini's Gabriel. Rebecca Henderson was most recently seen Off-Broadway in Sheila Callaghan's Roadkill Confidential. Matt McGrath starred in the musical The Black Rider at Center Theater Group's Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, the Barbican Theatre in London, San Francisco's ACT and in Sydney, Australia; and also starred on Broadway in Cabaret as "The Emcee." Darren Pettie has appeared at Atlantic in Hobson's Choice on Broadway in Butley and Off-Broadway in This and in Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams.

The creative team for THE COLLECTION & A KIND OF ALASKA: TWO PLAYS BY Harold Pinter will feature scenic design by Walt Spangler, costume design by Bobby Frederick Tilley II, lighting design by Jason Lyons and sound design by Obadiah Eaves.

BIOGRAPHIES

Karen Kohlhaas (Director) is a founding member of the Atlantic Theater Company where she most recently directed the world premiere of Annie Baker's Body Awareness. Other credits include Clare Bayley's At Sea for Cambridge UK's Menagerie Theatre; 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother by Kate Moira Ryan (with Judy Gold), at the Montreal Comedy Festival, Ars Nova, Off-Broadway at the St. Luke's Theatre, and national tour. Other Off-Broadway and regional productions include Harold Pinter's The Hothouse (Atlantic), Keith Reddin's Synergy (Alley Theatre, world premiere) and Frame 312 (Atlantic, New York premiere); David Mamet's Boston Marriage (Public Theater, New York premiere) and The Water Engine (Atlantic); three productions of An Adult Evening of Shel Silverstein in New York and Sydney, Kate Moira Ryan's OTMA (U.S. premiere), short plays by Jerome Hairston (Naked Angels), Hilary Bell (Atlantic), Joe Penhall (Atlantic), Wendy MacLeod (Ensemble Studio Theatre) and Jeff Whitty (Atlantic). Her short films include The Palace of the End and If You See Something Say Something with playwright/performer Taylor Mac; the award-winning short documentary The Babies Got the Blues (co-directed with Rachel Hamilton), and have been featured at the Silverlake, Galway, Crossroads, Tupelo, and Lincoln Center's Drag Show Video Vérité film festivals. Karen is a senior teacher at the Atlantic Acting School and teaches her own classes in directing, monologue, and audition technique. She has authored/created three books and a DVD for actors and teachers.

Harold Pinter (Playwright) was born in London in 1930 and died on Christmas Eve, 2008. He was married to Antonia Fraser. He wrote twenty-nine plays including The Birthday Party, The Caretaker, The Homecoming, and Betrayal, twenty-one screenplays including The Servant, The Go-Between, The French Lieutenant's Woman and Sleuth, and directed twenty-seven theatre productions, including James Joyce's Exiles, David Mamet's Oleanna, seven plays by Simon Gray and many of his own plays including his last, Celebration, paired with his first, The Room at The Almeida Theatre, London in the spring of 2000. In 2005 he received the Nobel Prize for Literature. Other awards include the Companion of Honour for services to Literature, the Legion D'Honneur, the Laurence Olivier Award and the Moliere D'Honneur for lifetime achievement. In 1999 he was made a Companion of Literature by the Royal Society of Literature. He received honorary degrees from eighteen universities.

Larry Bryggman returns to Atlantic following appearing in Tom Donaghy's world premiere adaptation of The Cherry Orchard and his critically acclaimed performance in the world premiere of David Mamet's comedy Romance, a role he reprised in the Los Angeles run at the Mark Taper Forum. He most recently appeared on Broadway in Festen and Off Broadway in Top Secret: The Battle for the Pentagon Papers. Broadway: Proof (Tony Award® nomination), Picnic (Tony Award® nomination), Twelve Angry Men, Prelude to a Kiss, Richard III, The Basic Training of Pavlo Hummel, Ulysses in Nighttown. Off-Broadway: Groundswell (The New Group), Edward Albee's Occupant (Signature Theatre), King Lear (Public), Henry IV, Parts I and II, Coriolanus, Macbeth, etc. (NYSF/Public Theater and Delacorte Theater in Central Park); Hothouse, Once in a Lifetime (Atlantic); Proof, New England (MTC); Prelude and Liebestod (MCC); A Bad Friend and Bodies, Rest and Motion (LCT); Roulette. Film: Spy Game, Die Hard With a Vengeance, And Justice for All, Looking for Richard, My Side of the Story. TV: "As the World Turns," "Law & Order," two Daytime Emmy Awards® for Best Actor. He is a member of Atlantic Theater Company.

Lisa Emery (Deborah) returns to Atlantic following her critically acclaimed performance in the American premiere of Moira Buffini's Gabriel. Broadway: The Women, Present Laughter, The Smell of the Kill, Jackie, Rumors, Burn This. Off Broadway: Distracted (Lortel nomination) at Roundabout, Mouth to Mouth, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Abigail's Party (Drama Desk and Lortel nominations), What The Butler Saw and Curtains (ensemble Obie) all at The New Group. Lucy at EST, The Maddening Truth at The Keen Company, Iron at MTC (Obie Award, Lortel Nomination), Dinner With Friends, Far East at LCT, The Monogamist and Marvin's Room (Drama Desk nomination) at Playwrights Horizons, Talley and Sons and Dalton's Back at Circle Rep. Film: The Night Listener, People I Know, Roger Dodger, A Map of the World, Cold Souls. Television: "Law & Order" (including CI and SVU), "Third Watch", "Sex and the City," "Ed," "The Fringe," "Damages," "Canterbury's Law" and "Far East" and "The Women" on PBS's Stage to Screen.

Rebecca Henderson (Stella/Pauline) was most recently seen in Sheila Callaghan's Roadkill Confidential (Clubbed Thumb). Off-Broadway: The Retributionists (Playwrights Horizons), Spin, U.S. Drag, Vengeance (stageFARM), Canary (Rattlestick),Three Sisters (Nature Theater of Oklahoma), Scapin, The Misanthrope (Classic Stage Company). Regional: Bobrauschenbergamerica, (American Repertory Theatre). Television: CBS's "The Good Wife" (recurring). Film: Loss Control, Little Horses, Meskada, A Lone Star State. MFA, Columbia University.

Matt McGrath (Bill) starred in the musical The Black Rider at Center Theater Group's Ahmanson Theater in Los Angeles, the Barbican Theatre in London, San Francisco's ACT and in Sydney, Australia where he was nominated for a Helpmann Award. Broadway: Cabaret ("Emcee"), A Streetcar Named Desire. Off Broadway: Graceland (Lincoln Center), Top Secret (NYTW), Hedwig and the Angry Inch, A Fair Country (Lincoln Center), What Didn't Happen, Minutes from the Blue Route, Nothing Sacred, The Dadshuttle, Escape from Happiness, Fat Men in Skirts, The Old Boy, Life During Wartime and Amulets Against the Dragon Forces. Regional theater credits include Romance (Bay Street); Caroline in Jersey (Williamstown); Bell, Book and Candle (Bay Street); Beyond Therapy (Williamstown Theatre Festival/Bay Street Theatre); The Evildoers (Yale Rep); The Lady in Question and Japes at Bay Street Theatre; Ridiculous Fraud and Raised in Captivity at South Coast Repertory; Mother of Invention (Williamstown Theatre Festival); Loot at Williamstown Theatre Festival and at La Jolla Playhouse; Distant Fires (LA Weekly Award) and Pete Townshend Concert and Snakebit (New York Stage and Film).Film credits include Colin Fitz Lives!, Full Grown Men, The Notorious Bettie Page, The Anniversary Party, The Broken Hearts Club, Boys Don't Cry, The Impostors, Story of a Bad Boy, 1999, The Substance of Fire, Bob Roberts, The Dadshuttle and Desperate Hours. Television: "Little Britain USA," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Frasier," "Now and Again," "Chicago Hope," "New York Undercover," "Winnetka Road," "Andersonville," "The Member of the Wedding" and "Cruel Doubt." Matt developed a one man show about the Tony Award® winning Director Jack Hofsiss that was recently performed at The Kennedy Center, for which Matt also serves as the assistant director and dramaturg.

Darren Pettie (James). New York credits: This (Playwrights Horizons), Hillary, a Greek Tragedy with a Somewhat Happy Ending (New Georges), Butley (Broadway), Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams (Primary Stages), Hobson's Choice (Atlantic), 99 Histories (Cherry Lane), Unwrap Your Candy (Vineyard), Measure for Measure (Delacorte). Regional: How the Other Half Loves (Westport), Don't Dress for Dinner (Royal George), The Cry of the Reed (Huntington), The Taming of the Shrew (Commonwealth Shakespeare Co.), Dedication or the Stuff of Dreams (WTF), The Shatter Hand Massacre (Berliner Festspiele). Film/Television: Taking Woodstock, The international, Ghost Town, Approaching Union Square, Four Single Fathers, "Mad Men," "Gossip Girl," "Cashmere Mafia," "New Amsterdam," " Without a Trace," "CSI," "Crossing Jordan," "Numbers," "Charmed," "Law & Order: SVU".

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