Will Chase, Stephanie J. Block to Star in Second Stage's LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE This Fall

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) has announced that 2013 Tony Award nominees STEPHANIE J. BLOCK and WILL CHASE will co-star in this fall's production of the new musical comedy, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE. With book and direction by James Lapine and music and lyrics by William Finn, LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE will kick off Second Stage Theatre's 35th anniversary season on October 15; opening night will be mid-November. Ms. Block and Mr. Chase are both Tony nominees for this season's revival of The Mystery of Edwin Drood.

In LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, Mr. Chase will play Richard Hoover, an aspiring motivational speaker, and Ms. Block will play his wife Sheryl, the multi-tasking backbone of the Hoover clan, who together take their family on the 800-mile journey to the "Little Miss Sunshine" pageant. Additional casting will be announced at a later date.

STEPHANIE J. BLOCK returns to Second Stage Theatre where she appeared in Lynn Nottage's acclaimed play, By the Way, Meet Vera Stark, for which she was nominated for a Drama Desk Award. In addition to her Tony nominated performance in The Mystery of Edwin Drood, Ms. Block has appeared on Broadway in Wicked, 9 to 5, Anything Goes, The Pirate Queen, and The Boy from Oz, among others. WILL CHASE received his first Tony nomination for his performance in this season's The Mystery of Edwin Drood; his additional Broadway productions include High Fidelity, Rent, Aida, and Miss Saigon, among others. He is well known to TV audiences for his recurring role of Michael Swift on "Smash."

On life's twisty road, sometimes you need to pull over and change direction. When the coveted title of "Little Miss Sunshine" is unexpectedly within her reach, young Olive Hoover convinces her family to make the 800 mile trek to the pre-teen pageant of her dreams. Along the way, a series of mishaps threatens to derail the group's quest for the crown, until they realize a young girl's far-fetched goal may actually hold the key to the family's happiness. From the Tony Award-winning team of James Lapine and William Finn comes LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE, a new musical comedy about one modern family's unexpected route to brighter days. LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE is based on the film, Little Miss Sunshine, written by Michael Arndt.

James Lapine and William Finn's previous collaborations include the Tony-winning hits Falsettos and The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee. William Finn is also the composer of In Trousers, Romance in Hard Times, and A New Brain. James Lapine is the book writer/director of the musicals Sunday in the Park with George, Into the Woods, andPassion, among others.

LITTLE MISS SUNSHINE will feature scenic design by Beowulf Boritt, costume design by Jennifer Caprio, lighting design by Ken Billington, and sound design by Jon Weston. Choreography will be by Michele Lynch. The music director will be Vadim Feichtner.

For subscription or ticket information, please call the Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website, www.2ST.com. All performances are staged at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre, 305 West 43rd Street (just west of Eighth Avenue).

4-play subscription tickets are available now and begin at $150. In addition to Little Miss Sunshine, packages include this summer's musical Nobody Loves You, by Itamar Moses and Gaby Alter, as well as Erica Lipez's The Tutors and Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair's musical Murder for Two, the two productions in Second Stage's acclaimed summer Uptown series. Subscription packages may be purchased by phoning 212-246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com.