Kate Mulligan and Olivia Thirlby to Star in A.R.T.'s Premiere of New Eve Ensler Play 'O.P.C.'

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Diane Paulus, Artistic Director, begins performances of the second production of its 2014/15 Season: the world premiere of Eve Ensler's O.P.C. (Obsessive Political Correctness), directed by Pesha Rudnick, starting on November 28 and running through January 4, 2015 at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Harvard Square. Tickets from $25. Box Office: 617.547.8300 or visit us on line at americanrepertorytheater.org

A new comedy from the author of The Vagina Monologues, O.P.C. is a wildly funny exploration of consumption and politics that asks, "How are we to survive as a species if we insist on destroying the world we love?" Romi Weil, a dumpster-diving Freegan, is doing just fine squatting in an abandoned apartment. But when her mother, a candidaterunning for the Senate, tries to make her toe the party line, radicalism comes into comic collision with mainstream liberalism. As Election Day approaches, mother and daughter wrestle with the inconvenient truths at theheart of consumer culture, tossed between political compromise and Obsessive Political Correctness.

The cast includes Olivia Thirlby as Romi, Kate Mulligan as Smith, and Michael T. Weiss as Bruce; supported by Nancy Linehan Charles as Mrs. M, Nicole Lowrance as Kansas, Liz Mikel as Sister Ro, Peter Porte as Damien, and Babak Tafti as Prakash, The creative team also includes scenic designer Brett J. Banakis, costume designer ESosa (The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess, Witness Uganda, Father Comes Home From the Wars), lighting designer Bradley King, sound designer Jane Shaw, and projection designer Shawn Sagady (All the Way).

Kate Mulligan (Smith) has spent the last six seasons at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, where her roles included Penelope Martin in The Cocoanuts; Blanche DuBois in A Streetcar Named Desire; Mrs. Whitehead in Animal Crackers; Karen Weston in August: Osage County; Mae in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof; Beatrice and Ensemble in The Servant of Two Masters; The Widow in All's Well That Ends Well; and Lou in Welcome Home, Jenny Sutter. Other credits include Embedded (The Public Theater), Bunny Bunny (New York Stage & Film), The Women of Lockerbie, Euphoria, The Imaginary Invalid, Four Roses, Mephisto, The Dressing Room (The Actors' Gang); The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler, Habeas Corpus (South Coast Repertory); As U Lyk It (Pasadena Playhouse); Living Out (Mark Taper Forum); Medea/ Macbeth/Cinderella (Yale Repertory Theatre); Fall (Taper Too). Film/TVcredits include It's Always Sunny in Philadelphia, Desperate Housewives, 10 Items or Less, Crossing Jordan, Judging Amy, Strong Medicine, ER, NYPD Blue, The Practice, Seinfeld, Life and Stuff, Good Sports, The Boys, It's Garry Shandling's Show, Embedded, Camera Obscura, and The Zeroes.

Olivia Thirlby (Romi) made her off-Broadway debut in the Atlantic Theater Company production of Faargut North, written by Beau Willimon and directed by Doug Hughes, which she later reprised in the West Coast premiere of the production at the Geffen Playhouse. Most recently she played the lead role of Heather in Paul Weitz's play Lonely, I'm Not, directed by Trip Cullman at the Second Stage Theatre in New York. Her film credits include Jason Reitman's Oscar nominated film Juno opposite Ellen Page; Paul Greengrass' award-winning United 93; Jonathan Levine's Sundance Award-winning The Wackness, opposite Sir Ben Kingsley; Kenneth Lonnergan's Margaret with Anna Paquin; Ivan Reitman's comedy No Strings Attached with Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher; Brett Ratner's New York, I Love You with Anton Yelchin; among many others. Her most recent films 5 to 7 opposite Glenn Close and Frank Langella and Just Before I Go, directed by Courtney Cox were presented at the 2014 Tribeca Film Festival. Her television credits include the recurring role of Suzanne, Jason Schwartzman's ex-girlfriend on the HBO series "Bored to Death," and she also played the series regular role of Jeena in MTV/ Good Humor animated series "Good Vibes."

She studied acting at both the American Globe Theatre and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Michael T. Weiss (Bruce) appeared on Broadway in Impressionism; Off-Broadway in The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity (OBIE Award Best Play, Lucille Lortel Award Best Play) at Second Stage; Scarcity (Drama Desk nomination) at the Atlantic Theatre; and A Perfect Future at the Cherry Lane. Regional credits include Burn This (Pale), Les Liaisons Dangereuses (Valmont), Huntington Theatre Company; Of Equal Measure, Center Theatre Group. Film and TV credits include Sex and the City 2; Jeffrey; Freeway (Sundance Film Festival); Freeway 2; Bones; Iowa (Tribeca Film Festival, Best Actor Award Midwest Film Festival); Disney's Tarzan and Jane; Until the Night; Marmalade; "The Pretender" (Jarod and over 50 different characters).

Eve Ensler is the Tony Award winning playwright, activist and author of the theatrical phenomenon, The Vagina Monologues, which has been published in 48 languages and performed in over 140 countries. Eve's plays include Necessary Targets, The Treatment, The Good Body, and Emotional Creature. Her books include Insecure At Last: A Political Memoir; the New York Times bestseller I Am An Emotional Creature, and her latest critically acclaimed memoir In the Body of the World. She is founder of V-Day, the global activist movement to end violence against women and girls, and One Billion Rising, a global mass action campaign in over 200 countries. She was named one of Newsweek's "150 Women Who Changed the World" and The Guardian's "100 Most Influential Women."

Pesha Rudnick is the co-founder and Artistic Director of LOCAL Theater Company in Boulder, Colorado where she pursues the company's mission to discover and develop new American plays. She has directed over twenty new works and runs an annual new play festival involving artists from around the country. Directing credits from LOCAL include the world premiere of Michael Mitnick's Elijah: An Adventure. Ms, Rudnick has recently collaborated with Eve Ensler as Associate Director of the world premiere of Ensler's play Emotional Creature at Berkley Repertory Theatre and Signature Theatre Center. Additional credits include the National New Play Network world premiere of Quiara Alegria Hudes' 26 Miles at Curious Theatre Company, The Hairy Ape and Tartuffe at Hangar Theatre, Sandra Cisneros' The House on Mango Street at the Kennedy Center; and she was the Assistant Director of the world premiere of American Night by Richard Montoya and Culture Clash at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Rudnick is a member of Lincoln Center's Director's Lab in New York City, and a Drama League Directing Fellow.

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