Photo Flash: First Look at Simon Russell Beale in BLUEBIRD

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce the first production of its 2011-2012 season, the U.S. premiere of Simon Stephens' play BLUEBIRD, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch. Kate Blumberg (When the Rain Stops Falling), Michael Countryman (The New York Idea), Mara Measor (New York debut), Mary McCann (Body Awareness), Charlotte Parry (The Importance of Being Earnest), Tobias Segal (The Miracle Worker), John Sharian (film The Machinist) and Todd Weeks (The Voysey Inheritance) join Olivier Award winner and Tony Award® nominee Simon Russell Beale (Spamalot) in the U.S premiere of Simon Stephens' BLUEBIRD, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch. Check out photos from the show below!

BLUEBIRD began previews Tuesday, August 9, officially opens Monday, August 22, and will play a limited engagement through Friday, September 9, 2011 off-Broadway at Atlantic Stage 2 (330 West 16 Street).

Jimmy MacNeill (Beale) is a London taxi driver who seems to draw personal stories and confessions from his passengers without even trying. Over the course of Simon Stephens' meticulously observed and deeply compassionate play, the truth of Jimmy's own life and secret burdens unfurls with each new "fare." In this acclaimed early play, the first of several he has since had produced at The Royal Court Theatre, Stephens illuminates big questions about how we transcend our own mistakes, and the value and cost of intimacy.

BLUEBIRD's creative team features Rachel Hauck (Scenic Design), Sarah Holden (Costume Design), Ben Stanton (Lighting Design) and Darron West (Sound Design).

BLUEBIRD plays Monday - Saturday at 7:30pm, Saturday at 2:30pm, with special Wednesday matinees at 2:30pm on August 31 and September 7.

Atlantic's Stage 2 programming and new play development activities are made possible, in part, by the leadership support of Time Warner, Inc.

Stage 2 programs are also supported by the Axe-Houghton Foundation, the Barbara Bell Cumming Foundation, the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, the John Golden Fund, the Lucille Lortel Foundation, the Lila Acheson Wallace Fund for the Arts, and the Shubert Foundation as well as public funds from the New York Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts, and the New York State Council on the Arts which is celebrating 50 years of building strong, creative communities in New York State's 62 counties.

All non-member tickets are $55.00 and available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 (ticketcentral.com) or in person at Atlantic Stage 2's box office, located at 330 West 16th Street, between 8th & 9th Avenues.

Purchase an "All-In-One Membership" and see every main stage and Atlantic Stage 2 production for $255. (plus an $8 service charge).