Karen Olivo, Will Swenson, Rebecca Naomi Jones, John Ellison Conlee Set to Lead MTC's MURDER BALLAD; Opens November 15

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) have just announced full casting for the upcoming world premiere of MURDER BALLAD, the new musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, directed by Trip Cullman. MURDER BALLAD is the inaugural production of MTC's The Studio at Stage II – Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series at New York City Center – Stage II (131 West 55th Street). MURDER BALLAD will play a limited four-week engagement with previews beginning Tuesday, October 30 and opening Thursday, November 15.

MURDER BALLAD will feature four of New York's most exciting musical theatre talents: Tony Award nominee John Ellison Conlee ("Parks & Rec," The Full Monty), Rebecca Naomi Jones (American Idiot, Passing Strange), Tony Award winner Karen Olivo (West Side Story, In The Heights), and Tony Award nominee Will Swenson (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hair).

A love triangle gone wrong, MURDER BALLAD centers on Sara, an Upper West Sider who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. This sexy, explosive new musical explores the complications of love, the compromises we make, and the small betrayals that can ultimately undo us.

MURDER BALLAD is co-written by Jonathan Larson Award winner and two-time Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist, Julia Jordan and indie rock singer/songwriter Juliana Nash. Trip Cullman (Paul Weitz's Lonely, I'm Not; Adam Bock's A Small Fire) directs.

The creative team for MURDER BALLAD includes: Mark Wendland (scenic design), Jessica Pabst (costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Leon Rothenberg (sound design), Doug Varone (movement), and Justin Levine (music director, vocal arranger and orchestrator).

In order to ensure that tickets to MURDER BALLAD are affordable to the widest possible, most diverse audiences, MTC is pricing all tickets at $30. Tickets will go on sale to the general public starting Monday, October 1 via CityTix® (212-581-1212) and www.nycitycenter.org. On Monday, October 15, the New York City Center Box Office (131 West 55th Street) will begin selling single tickets to MURDER BALLAD.

For additional details on MURDER BALLAD and offers to all MTC shows, please sign up for MTC's "30 Under 30" program for theatergoers age 30 and under https://www.manhattantheatreclub.com/30under30/.

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.'