Sarah Paulson, Garret Dillahunt, Elizabeth Reaser and More Star in Bay Street Theatre's CONVICTION World Premiere, Beg. Tonight

Bay Street Theatre presents the World Premiere of CONVICTION (Today, May 27-June 15) by Carey Crim and directed by Scott Schwartz, Bay Street's new Artistic Director. The production is co-produced by Bay Street Theatre, Rubicon Theatre in California, Dead Posh Productions, London and Canada's Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre.

CONVICTION tells the story of the family of Tom Hodges, a charismatic, confident and caring teacher that students adore and parents admire. The smart, wise-cracking colleague with all the answers. The neighbor who takes care of the neighborhood. The perfect husband and father. But when a student accuses Tom of crossing a line, everything changes. This delicately balanced, beautifully nuanced new family drama digs deep beneath the surface of a happy suburban existence to explore the damage done when seeds of mistrust are planted. It asks the question -- How can we live with conviction when some questions cannot be answered?

The cast includes Garret Dillahunt ("Raising Hope," "12 Years a Slave") as Tom; Sarah Paulson ("American Horror Story," "12 Years a Slave") as his wife Leigh; Elizabeth Reaser ("Twilight" films, Second Stage's revival of "How I Learned to Drive") as their friend Jayne; Brian Hutchison ("Man and Boy," "Looped") as her husband Bruce; and Daniel Burns ("Twelfth Night", "Shipwrecked!") as Tom and Leigh's son Nicholas.

The production team includes Anna Louizos (Set Designer), Mike Billings (Lighting Designer), Jessica Ford (Costume Designer), Bart Fasbender (Sound Designer), Kathy Fabian (Props Designer), and Jessie Vacchiano (Production Stage Manager).

Single tickets go on sale May 15. Three-play subscriptions for the 2014 Mainstage Season, including CONVICTION, can be purchased online now at www.baystreet.org or by calling the Box Office at 631-725-9500 Tuesday - Saturday 11 am - 5 pm. For more information about Bay Street Theater log on to www.baystreet.org

Carey Crim's (playwright) plays "Growing Pretty," "Wake" and "Some Couples May" all received World Premieres at The Purple Rose Theatre Company founded by Jeff Daniels. "Wake" will receive a West Coast Premiere this season at the Sea Glass Theatre in Los Angeles. Her ten-minute play, "Green Dot Day" was named as a finalist for the 2011 Heideman Award and was produced by and won Miami City Theatre's inaugural national short play competition. Her work also has received productions and/or workshops at Pasadena Playhouse, Primary Stages, Luna Stage, Asolo Rep Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, and Rubicon Theatre.

Scott Schwartz (Director) directed the Broadway productions of "Golda's Balcony" and "Jane Eyre" (co-directed with John Caird). His Off-Broadway work includes "Murder for Two," "Bat Boy: The Musical" (Lucille Lortel and Outer Critics Circle Awards, Outstanding Off Broadway Musical; Drama Desk Award nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical), "tick, tick...BOOM!" (Outer Critics Circle, Outstanding Off Broadway Musical; Drama Desk nomination, Outstanding Director of a Musical), "The Foreigner" starring Matthew Broderick, "Rooms: A Rock Romance," "Kafka's The Castle" (Outer Critics Circle nomination, Outstanding Director of a Play), and "No Way to Treat a Lady." He also directed "Golda's Balcony" on tour, in London, in Los Angeles at the Wadsworth Theatre and in San Francisco at American Conservatory Theatre. He directed the World Premiere of "Séance on a Wet Afternoon" starring Lauren Flanigan at Opera Santa Barbara and subsequently at New York City Opera. Schwartz's other recent credits include the world premiere of Theresa Rebeck's "What We're Up Against," "Much Ado About Nothing" and "Othello" at the Alley Theatre, the world premiere of "Secondhand Lions" at the 5th Avenue, and "Next To Normal" at the Alliance Theatre. Regional theaters include: Arizona Theatre Company, Asolo Rep, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Cleveland Playhouse, Colorado Shakespeare Festival, Dallas Theatre Center, Denver Center, Goodspeed, La Jolla Playhouse, Old Globe, Papermill Playhouse, Pasadena Playhouse, PCPA, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Portland Center Stage, Rubicon, Signature Theatre, Theatreworks, Virginia Stage Company, Westport Country Playhouse, and others. Schwartz is a member of the Stage Directors and Choreographers Society, an Associate Artist at the Alley Theatre and a graduate of Harvard University. He joined Bay Street Theater as Artistic Director in the fall of 2013.

Daniel Burns has been seen in "The Unexpected Guest" at Cortland Repertory Theatre, "Song from the Sea" at Syracuse Stage, "Gross Indecency," and Ayn Rand's "Anthem." Internationally, he has been in "Twelfth Night" (Shakespeare's Globe), and "Shipwrecked!" (Edinburgh Fringe). Daniel is a founding member of Diverging Elements Theatre Company. He received a BFA in Acting from Syracuse University.

Garret Dillahunt is rare an actor who is both a leading man and character actor who can morph effortlessly from role to role. Dillahunt possesses a resume that displays an impressive diversity. Born in California and raised in Washington, Dillahunt studied journalism at the University of Washington and went on to earn his M.F.A. through New York University's renowned graduate acting program.

Garret has just finished his final season of FOX's ½ hour comedy series "Raising Hope." During the show's five season run, he stayed busy working continuously during his hiatuses on feature films such as "12 Years a Slave," which won the Academy Award for Best Picture, the Courtney Cox directed "Just Before I Go," and the soon to be released "Ghosts of the Pacific."

He is currently shooting the Amazon pilot "Hand of God", opposite Ron Pearlman of "Sons of Anarchy" and "Hellboy" fame. Other recent credits include, "Any Day Now" opposite Alan Cumming and directed by Travis Fine which won Best Feature at last year's Out Film Festival. He also appeared in "Looper," the intriguing sci fi action adventure with Emily Blunt, Joseph Gordon-Levitt, and Bruce Willis, additionally he starred in and received a Genie nomination as the title character, "Oliver Sherman", in Ryan Redford's directorial debut opposite Molly Parker and Donal Logue. Some of his other credits include the independent feature "Amigo", with Chris Cooper and directed by John Sayles and the critically acclaimed "Winter's Bone," which earned him and the rest of the cast Best Ensemble at the Gotham Awards.

His additional film credits include "The Road," with Viggo Mortensen and Charlize Theron; Wes Craven's "The Last House on the Left"; "The Assassination of Jesse James by the Coward Robert Ford"; and the Coen Brothers Oscar-winning drama "No Country For Old Men," opposite Tommy Lee Jones.

Dillahunt is probably best known for his work on the critically acclaimed cable series "Deadwood," in which he portrayed two entirely different characters: the assassin "Jack McCall" and the complex and deadly "Francis Wolcott." After recognizing his protean talent in his first incarnation, executive producer/writer David Milch created a second character for him.

Additional television credits include "Terminator: The Sarah Connor Chronicles," "John From Cincinnati," "The Book of Daniel," "ER," "The 4400," "Damages," "Life," "Lie to Me," "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Criminal Minds," "Burn Notice" (he will guest star in the long-running series last episode) and "White Collar", "Alphas" and "Memphis Beat."

Dillahunt boasts an outstanding theatrical resume and has performed extensively on and off Broadway and at such respected theater companies as Steppenwolf, ACT San Francisco, the Seattle Repertory Theatre, Huntington Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Berkshire Theatre Festival.

Dillahunt resides in Los Angeles and New York.

Hutchison has been on Broadway in "Man and Boy," "Exit the King," "Looped," "Proof," and "The Invention of Love." Off-Broadway includes "Regrets," "Spirit Control," "From Up Here" (MTC), "Go Back to Where You Are," "People Be Heard" (Playwrights Horizons), "Oh, The Humanity..." (Flea Theater), "Mr. Marmalade" (Roundabout), "The Hiding Place" (Atlantic), "Theophilus North," "Can't Let Go" (Keen Company). Regional credits include "Men's Lives," "Dinner," (Bay Street Theater), "Of Mice and Men" (Westport); "The Front Page" (Williamstown); "The Unmentionables," "Black Snow" (Yale Rep); "Burn This," "The Rivals" (Huntington), "All My Sons,' "Blue Orange," (The Old Globe),. Film and TV includes "Winter's Tale," "Love & Other Drugs," "Vino Veritas," "Person of Interest," "The Good Wife," "Law & Order: SVU," and "Cl." "Hope & Faith," "Law & Order: SVU," and "Cl." Hutchinson received his M.F.A. from The Old Globe/University of San Diego.

Sarah Paulson is an Emmy, Golden Globe, and SAG Award nominated actress who most recently starred in the third installment of Ryan Murphy's critically acclaimed series "American Horror Story: Coven" on FX. She previously starred as Lana Winters in the second season where she received a Critics Choice Television Award for "Best Actress in a Movie or Mini-Series" and an Emmy nomination for her work. Paulson also appeared in a multi-episode arc on the Emmy and Golden Globe nominated drama's premiere season.

Paulson starred in director Steve McQueen's "12 Years a Slave," which was named Best Picture at this year's Academy Awards. Paulson appears opposite Michael Fassbender, Chiwetel Ejiofor and Lupita Nyong'o as Mistress Epps in the film adaptation of Solomon Northrup's book based on his own life story. For her performance, Paulson earned a SAG Award nomination as part of the film's ensemble cast. The critically acclaimed film also received the Golden Globe for Best Motion Picture, Drama, as well as Best Feature at The Independent Spirit Award among other honors. Fox Searchlight released the film on October 18, 2013.

Paulson recently completed production on Todd Haynes' ("Far From Heaven," "Mildred Pierce") latest film, "Carol" based on the 1950s novel The Price of Salt by author Patricia Highsmith. Paulson stars opposite Cate Blanchett and Rooney Mara in the film adapted by Phyllis Nagy ("Mrs. Harris"), which follows the relationship between two very different women in 1950s New York. The Weinstein Company acquired the rights to "Carol" in Cannes and will be releasing the film in North America.

Paulson made her return to the stage last spring in the Roundabout Theatre Company's new production of Lanford Wilson's Pulitzer Prize winning play "Talley's Folly," directed by Michael Wilson. Performances began on February 8, 2013 with an opening on March 5, 2013. The limited engagement production ended its extended Off-Broadway run on May 12, 2013.

Last year, Paulson was also seen alongside Reese Witherspoon and Matthew McConaughey in Jeff Nichols' film "Mud," about two boys who make a pact to help a fugitive escape from a Mississippi island. The film premiered at the 2012 Cannes Film Festival and screened at the 2013 Sundance Film Festival. Paulson received the 2014 Robert Altman Award alongside her cast at the Film Independent Spirit Awards for her performance as part of the ensemble.

In 2012, Paulson was seen in HBO's critically acclaimed telefilm "Game Change." Directed by Jay Roach, the film follows John McCain's 2008 presidential campaign, from his selection of Palin as his running mate, to their ultimate defeat in the general election. Paulson co-stars with Ed Harris, Julianne Moore and Woody Harrelson, playing McCain's (Harris) senior campaign advisor Nicolle Wallace. For her performance, Paulson received her first Emmy nomination for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Miniseries or Movie, as well as a Golden Globe nomination for Best Supporting Actress in a Series, Miniseries or TV Movie.

Paulson starred in Fox Searchlight's critically acclaimed film "Martha Marcy May Marlene," which premiered at the 2011 Sundance Film Festival. The film, nominated for a Gotham Award for Best Ensemble Cast, was written and directed by Sean Durkin and also stars Elizabeth Olsen, John Hawkes and Hugh Dancy. Paulson's other film work includes Lionsgate's Christmas Day 2008 release, "The Spirit," opposite Samuel L. Jackson, Eva Mendes, and Scarlett Johansson. Adapted from the legendary comic strip, "The Spirit" is a classic action-adventure-romance, told by genre-twister and creator of "Sin City," Frank Miller.

Paulson's additional film credits include Marry Harron's "The Notorious Bettie Page;" "Down with Love" with Renee Zellweger, Ewan McGregor and David Hyde Pierce; "What Women Want" opposite Mel Gibson and Helen Hunt; "The Other Sister" directed by Gary Marshall and starring Diane Keaton and Juliette Lewis; and "Diggers" alongside Paul Rudd and Ken Marino.

Paulson received her first Golden Globe nomination for her performance in Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," in which she starred opposite Matthew Perry, Amanda Peet, Bradley Whitford and Steven Weber.

Her additional major television credits also include the lead role on the drama "Leap of Faith," "Deadwood," "Path to War" opposite Alec Baldwin and Donald Sutherland, "Jack and Jill," "Cupid" opposite Bobby Cannavale and the series "American Gothic" with Gary Cole.

On stage, Paulson starred on Broadway in the two-hander "Collected Stories" opposite Linda Lavin. Previously she appeared on Broadway as Laura Wingfield in the revival of Tennessee Williams' "The Glass Menagerie," alongside Jessica Lange. She also starred opposite Alfred Molina and Annette Bening in the critically acclaimed "Cherry Orchard" for the Mark Taper Forum playing Varya. Her other stage credits include Tracy Letts' off-Broadway production of "Killer Joe" opposite Scott Glenn and Amanda Plummer, Horton Foote's "Talking Pictures" at the Signature Theatre and the off-Broadway production "The Gingerbread House" opposite Bobby Cannavale.

Elizabeth Reaser has extensive experience in film, television, and theater, and is one of the most versatile actors working today. Reaser earned a 2007 Independent Spirit Award nomination for Best Actress for her role in the drama "Sweet Land" and received an Emmy nomination for her guest spot as "Ava" on "Grey's Anatomy." Reaser shared a Screen Actors Guild's Award nomination with the "Grey's Anatomy" cast for Best Ensemble.

In television, Reaser most recently was seen in the Lifetime miniseries event "Bonnie & Clyde." Prior to that, Reaser had a major arc on the hit CBS show "The Good Wife", where she played "Tammy Linnata", a prominent sports reporter who was a love interest for Will Gardner (Josh Charles). In addition to her award-winning arc on "Grey's Anatomy", Reaser also played the leading role of "Bella Bloom" in the CBS one-hour romantic drama series, "The Ex List." Additional television credits include the drama series "Saved," alongside Tom Everett Scott, and appearances on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" and "The Sopranos."

Reaser last starred on stage to critical acclaim in the Second Stage Theatre's revival of Paula Vogel's Pulitzer Prize winning play, "How I Learned to Drive" opposite Norbert Leo Butz. The story follows the strained, sexual relationship between Li'l Bit (Reaser) and her aunt's husband, Uncle Peck (Butz) from her adolescence through her teenage years into college and beyond. Entertainment Weekly said of her performance, "Reaser is a striking, strong-jawed actress who projects strength, independence and even a little bit of swagger".

In film, Reaser reprised her role as the matriarch of the "Cullen" clan in "The Twilight Saga: Breaking Dawn - Part 2". The final installment of the box office record setting Twilight franchise, the film was directed by Academy Award winning director Bill Condon and went on to gross over $800m worldwide. Reaser was also recently seen in Josh Radnor's "Liberal Arts" alongside Elizabeth Olsen, Richard Jenkins and Allison Janney. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival to critical acclaim.

Reaser co-starred with Charlize Theron, Patrick Wilson and Patton Oswalt in Paramount Pictures' "Young Adult," directed by Jason Reitman and written by Diablo Cody. Reaser also starred in the independent film "The Art of Getting By," opposite Emma Roberts, Freddie Highmore and Rita Wilson. The film premiered at the Sundance Film Festival and was later released by Fox Searchlight. In the feature, written and directed by Gavin Wiesen, Reaser portrays the promiscuous mother to Roberts' character.

In "Sweet Land," directed by Ali Selim, Reaser plays a woman named Inge who travels from Norway to rural Minnesota in the 1920s to meet the man who is destined to be her husband. Variety called her performance "...a marvel of strength, humor and sensuality" and The Los Angeles Times raved, "Few actresses own the camera with as much authority as Reaser does here."

Additional film credits include Peter Callahan's "Against the Current," opposite Joseph Fiennes and Justin Kirk; Maria Maggenti's "Puccini for Beginners," which was selected in competition at the 2006 Sundance Film Festival and opened the 2006 Outfest Film Festival as well; Ed Burns' "Purple Violets," opposite Debra Messing, Selma Blair, Burns and Donal Logue; Thomas Bezucha's "The Family Stone;" Marc Forster's "Stay;" "The Believer," opposite Ryan Gosling; "Mind the Gap;" "Shut Up and Sing;" and "13 Conversations About One Thing."

Reaser graduated from The Julliard School of Arts. She currently splits her time between New York and Los Angeles.

Rubicon Theatre is a not-for-profit theatre company in California under the direction of Karyl Lynn Burns and James O'Neil. Founded in 1998 as an actors' and directors' company, Rubicon is committed to creating a nurturing environment for artists where experimentation and exploration are supported and encouraged. The company has won multiple Ovation and NAACP Awards, the L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Sustained Excellence, and a 2012 Drama Desk Award.

Dead Posh Productions, based in London, is helmed by Katharine Farmer. The company's debut production of "Still Life" at the Edinburgh Fringe in 2012 was one of the top-grossing plays in C Venues. Other productions include Edward Albee's "Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf" in 2014. Dead Posh Productions co-produced the Plays-in-Progress Festival in California where Conviction was optioned for production.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Steven Schipper, the Royal Manitoba Theatre Centre is the largest and oldest English-speaking company in Canada. Founded in 1958, RMTC has produced more than 600 plays and currently presents over 250 performances annually for more than 150,000 theatre-lovers. In addition to the mainstage and warehouse series, RMTC presents a regional tour, the Master Playwright Festival and the Winnipeg Fringe Festival. Actors who have performed on the RMTC stage include Len Cariou, Graham Greene, Judd Hirsch, William Hurt, Seanna McKenna and others. In 2010, Queen Elizabeth granted the company a royal designation.

The 2014 Mainstage Season is sponsored in part by New York State through the generosity of Assemblyman Fred Thiele and State Senator Kenneth P. LaValle; the New York State Council on The Arts, a State Agency; Town of Southampton; The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust; The Shubert Foundation; and fully or partially funded by the Suffolk County Executive's Office. Previews weeks for all three productions are sponsored by Peconic Landing.

Bay Street Theater is a year-round, not-for-profit professional theater and community cultural center which endeavors to innovate, educate, and entertain a diverse community through the practice of the performing arts. We serve as a social and cultural gathering place, an educational resource, and a home for a community of artists. For more information log on to www.baystreet.org or call 631-725-9500.