David Hyde Pierce to Lead THE LANDING at Vineyard Theatre; Scott Ellis to Direct

Tony and Emmy Award-winning actor David Hyde Pierce has been cast in the Vineyard Theatre's Developmental Lab Production of THE LANDING (previously titled "Andra") -- a collection of three related one-act musicals written by the celebrated composer John Kander and his new collaborator, Greg Pierce - to be directed by Scott Ellis, with David Loud as musical director, it has been announced by artistic director Douglas Aibel and co-artistic director Sarah Stern. THE LANDING will be presented in the spring of 2012 at The Vineyard (108 E. 15 St.).

Based on stories written by John Kander and Greg Pierce, THE LANDING - which will mark Mr. Kander's first full new theatre collaboration with another writer since the passing of his long-time collaborator Fred Ebb in 2004 - is comprised of three one-act musicals thematically-linked and performed together by an ensemble of four. These gripping and soulful pieces invite audiences into richly imagined worlds, in which characters must confront what it means to get what they think they want.

Additional cast and information for THE LANDING will be announced at a later date. Developmental Lab Productions at The Vineyard are limited runs for which only Vineyard members are guaranteed a seat. Developmental Lab Productions have minimal production values and are not open for review by critics.

David Hyde Pierce makes his Vineyard Theatre debut in THE LANDING, having hosted the company's tribute to Mr. Kander at its annual Gala in 2010.

Emmy and Tony Award winner David Hyde Pierce made his professional and Broadway debut in 1982 as the waiter in Christopher Durang's BEYOND THERAPY. He went on to create roles in the Off-Broadway productions of Mark O'Donnell's THAT'S IT FOLKS, Richard Greenberg's THE AUTHOR'S VOICE and THE MADERATI, Harry Kondoleon's ZERO POSITIVE and Jules Feiffer's ELLIOT LOVES before returning to Broadway in Wendy Wasserstein's THE HEIDI CHRONICLES. In 2005 he originated the role of Sir Robin in the Broadway production of MONTY PYTHON'S SPAMALOT, written by Eric Idle, with music by Idle and John Du Prez. For his performance, Pierce was nominated for a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Actor in a Musical. In 2007 he won the Tony Award and earned another Drama Desk Award nomination for his role as Lieutenant Frank Cioffi in the Musical Comedy CURTAINS, before going on to appear in the Manhattan Theatre Club revival of the 1930's comedy ACCENT ON YOUTH, and most recently, in the acclaimed London and Broadway productions of David Hirson's LA BETE with Mark Rylance and Joanna Lumley, directed by Matthew Warchus. This fall, Pierce will make his directorial debut with the new musical IT SHOULDA BEEN at the George Street Playhouse. The musical, starring Tyne Daly and Harriet Harris with book and lyrics by Brian Hargrove and music by Barbara Anselmi, opens October 14th. In December he'll return to acting on the New York stage in the Manhattan Theater Club's production of CLOSE UP SPACE, a new comedy by Molly Smith Metzler. The play centers on an editor who is estranged from his daughter until she walks back into his life, and is set to begin previews on December 1 in advance of a December 19 opening night. In addition to his work in new plays, Mr. Pierce also appeared in HAMLET and MUCH ADO at Joseph Papp's New York Shakespeare Festival, HOLIDAY and CAMILLE at the Long Wharf Theatre in New Haven, CANDIDA at the Goodman Theatre in Chicago, THE SEAGULL, TARTUFFE, CYRANO and MIDSUMMER NIGHT'S DREAM at the Guthrie Theatre in Minneapolis, and Peter Brook's production of THE CHERRY ORCHARD in New York, Moscow, Leningrad, and Tokyo. In Los Angeles, he appeared in Terrence McNally's IT'S ONLY A PLAY at the Doolittle Theatre and in the Geffen Playhouse production of SIX DANCE LESSONS IN SIX WEEKS with Uta Hagen.