Real-Life Fiances Patrick J. Adams and Troian Bellisario Lead THE LAST MATCH, Opening Tonight at The Old Globe

The Old Globe's world premiere of Anna Ziegler's THE LAST MATCH, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch (who directed Bethany at the Globe in 2014), opens tonight, February 18, 2016.

The cast includes real-life fiancés Patrick J. Adams (Tim; SAG Award-nominated star of TV's "Suits," Garland Award for Bill Cain's play Nine Circles) and Troian Bellisario (Mallory; star of TV's "Pretty Little Liars," Equivocation and Farragut North at Geffen Playhouse) alongside Alex Mickiewicz (Sergei; Broadway's Thérèse Raquin) and Natalia Payne (Galina; New York premieres of Anna Ziegler's Novel, Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I, David Ives's New Jerusalem).

The creative team includes Tim Mackabee (Scenic Design), Denitsa Bliznakova (Costume Design), Bradley King (Lighting Design), Bray Poor (Sound Design), David Huber (Vocal Coach), Caparelliotis Casting/Lauren Port, CSA (Casting), and Diana Moser (Production Stage Manager).

The US Open tennis semifinals are underway. As Russian phenom Sergei Sergeyev and American superstar Tim Porter do battle under the lights on center court, Galina and Mallory, the funny and complicated women who share their lives, watch anxiously from the sidelines. But as the back-and-forth action unfolds, we journey into the minds of the players and the lives of the two couples in a fast-paced and moving exploration of family, parenthood, and the legacy we leave behind. Before it's game, set, and match, more than a championship will be won or lost.

Developed in the Globe's 2014 New Voices Festival, this funny and visceral look at the sacrifices we make to stay on top will run in the Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, part of the Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, through March 13, 2016. Opening night is tonight, February 18, at 8:00 p.m.

"Anna Ziegler's star is rising fast in the American theatre, and the Globe is both honored and delighted to give her latest work its world premiere," said Artistic Director Barry Edelstein. "The Last Match is just a terrific play: funny and smart and suspenseful and populated by vivid and articulate characters with whom it's a pleasure to spend two hours. It looks at some big American ideas that happen to be very much in the air right now: winning and losing, and the price of fame, and whether or not getting what we want is in fact the key to real happiness. Its use of tennis as a metaphor is both witty and probing, and as it puts center court at center stage, it delivers a real ace of an evening. Director GT Upchurch and her very exciting cast are all as good as it gets in our theatre, and their work on this special play is sure to get the Globe's 2016 off to a wonderful start."

Anna Ziegler's (Playwright) plays include Photograph 51, directed on the West End in 2015 by Michael Grandage and starring Nicole Kidman, previously produced at Ensemble Studio Theatre, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Theater J, and more; Boy, upcoming at Keen Company/Ensemble Studio Theatre; A Delicate Ship at The Playwrights Realm at the Peter Jay Sharp Theater and Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park; Another Way Home, upcoming at Theater J, previously produced at Magic Theatre; Dov and Ali at Theatre503 and The Playwrights Realm at Cherry Lane Theatre; The Minotaur at Rorschach Theatre and Synchronicity Theatre; and BFF with WET Productions at DR2 Theatre. She has been commissioned by The Old Globe, Manhattan Theatre Club, Seattle Repertory Theatre, Ensemble Studio Theatre, Virginia Stage Company, and New Georges. Her plays have been developed at Sundance Institute Theatre Lab, The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center National Playwrights Conference, Williamstown Theatre Festival, New York Stage and Film, The Araca Group, Old Vic New Voices, and Soho Repertory Theater's Writer/Director Lab, among others. Ziegler is a graduate of Yale College and holds an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from New York University's Tisch School of the Arts.

Gaye Taylor Upchurch (Director) made her Globe debut in 2014 directing Laura Marks's Bethany. She has directed the Off Broadway productions of Nancy Harris's Our New Girl and Simon Stephens's Harper Regan and Bluebird with Simon Russell Beale (Atlantic Theater Company), Bethany (Women's Project Theater, Lucille Lortel Award nomination for Outstanding Play), and Lucy Thurber's Stay (Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, Obie Award for the play cycle The Hill Town Plays). Regionally Upchurch directed the world premieres of Clare Lizzimore's Animal (The Studio Theatre) and Melissa Ross's Of Good Stock (South Coast Repertory). She has developed new work at New Dramatists, New York Stage and Film, The Kennedy Center, Playwrights' Center, and SPACE on Ryder Farm. Upchurch is an alumna of the Women's Project Theater Directors Lab, The Drama League, and the University of North Carolina School of the Arts.

Tickets to The Last Match start at $29, currently available by subscription only, and will go on sale to the general public on Friday, January 15 at noon. Tickets can be purchased online at www.TheOldGlobe.org, by phone at (619) 23-GLOBE, or by visiting the Box Office at 1363 Old Globe Way in Balboa Park. Performances begin on February 13 and continue through March 13. Performance times: Previews: Saturday, February 13 at 8:00 p.m., Sunday, February 14 at 7:00 p.m., Tuesday, February 16 at 7:00pm, and Wednesday, February 17 at 7:00 p.m. Opening Night is Thursday, February 18 at 8:00 p.m. Regular Performances: Tuesday and Wednesday evenings at 7:00 p.m., Thursday, Friday, and Saturday evenings at 8:00 p.m., Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m., and Sunday evenings at 7:00 p.m. There will be a Wednesday matinee performance on March 2 at 2:00 p.m. and no matinee performance on Saturday, March 5. Discounts are available for full-time students, patrons 29 years of age and under, seniors, military members, and groups of 10 or more.

Additional events taking place during the run of The Last Match include:

INSIGHTS SEMINAR: Tuesday, February 16 at 5:30 p.m.

The seminar series features a panel selected from the current show. Reception at 5:00 p.m. FREE

SUBJECT MATTERS: Saturday, February 27

Following the 2:00 p.m. performance, explore the ideas and issues raised by the production through brief, illuminating post-show discussions with local experts. FREE

POST-SHOW FORUMS: Tuesday, February 23, Tuesday, March 1, and Wednesday, March 9

Discuss the play with members of the cast and crew following the performance. FREE

The Tony Award-winning Old Globe is one of the country's leading professional regional theatres and has stood as San Diego's flagship arts institution for over 80 years. Under the leadership of Artistic Director Barry Edelstein and Managing Director Michael G. Murphy, The Old Globe produces a year-round season of 15 productions of classic, contemporary, and new works on its three Balboa Park stages: the Donald and Darlene Shiley Stage in the 600-seat Old Globe Theatre and the 250-seat Sheryl and Harvey White Theatre, both part of The Old Globe's Conrad Prebys Theatre Center, and the 605-seat outdoor Lowell Davies Festival Theatre, home of its internationally renowned Shakespeare Festival. More than 250,000 people attend Globe productions annually and participate in the theatre's education and community programs. Numerous world premieres such as the 2014 Tony Award winner for Best Musical, A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder, Allegiance, The Full Monty, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and the annual holiday musical Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! have been developed at The Old Globe and have gone on to enjoy highly successful runs on Broadway and at regional theatres across the country.

ABOUT THE CAST & CREATIVE TEAM:

Patrick J. Adams (Tim) is a USC School of Theatre graduate with many Southern California theatre credits. For Ojai Playwrights Conference, he produced and starred in Nine Circles by Bill Cain (2012 Back Stage Garland Award, 2011 Los Angeles Drama Critics Circle Award nominations), and he starred in Equivocation, which he subsequently starred in at Geffen Playhouse (2010 Ovation Award for Best Production of a Play). Adams made his professional stage debut in the West Coast premiere of Edward Albee's The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia? at Mark Taper Forum (2004 Ovation Award for Best Play). He also produced and directed a hit revival of Marat/Sade (2006 L.A. Weekly Theater Award for Production of the Year). Adams plays Mike Ross on "Suits" and sometimes he takes pretty pictures of the sky, the trash, his dogs, and his fiancée, Troian.

Troian Bellisario (Mallory) is a burgeoning actress, writer, and producer best known for her starring role on the acclaimed ABC Family smash hit "Pretty Little Liars." She wrote, produced, and just wrapped filming the leading role in the independent feature Feed, which marks her first produced, full-length work. She will soon be seen in the indie film Martyrs directed by the Goetz Brothers, and she has previously appeared in the film Consent. Bellisario also wrote, produced, and starred in the short film Exiles, and she starred in the title role of "Lauren" for a WIGS web series focused on sexual assault in the military. On stage, she appeared in Equivocation at Geffen Playhouse in Los Angeles. With the Casitas Group, a theatre company of which she is a founding member, Bellisario appeared in an exclusive engagement of Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman as well as a Sam Shepard double feature: Fool for Love and True West. During her time as a B.F.A. at the USC School of Theatre, she performed in productions of The Crucible, All's Well That Ends Well, Red Light Winter, Compleat Female Stage Beauty, and Cloud 9.

Alex Mickiewicz (Sergei) recently made his Broadway debut in the ensemble of the Roundabout Theatre Company production of Thérèse Raquin starring Keira Knightley. As an understudy, he had the opportunity to play the male lead opposite Knightley. Mickiewicz's other credits include Robin Hood, The Coming World, Becoming Sylvia, Tripolitania, and The Comedy of Errors (Williamstown Theatre Festival), Three Translations of Uncle Vanya at the Same Time (New Saloon), and a workshop of The Last Match (Powerhouse Theater).

Natalia Payne (Galina) is making her Globe debut. Her theatre credits include the New York premieres of Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I (Playwrights Horizons), David Ives's New Jerusalem (Classic Stage Company), Anna Ziegler's Novel (Summer Play Festival/Theatre Row), Jailbait (Cherry Lane Theatre), Aliens with Extraordinary Skills (Women's Project Theater), and deathvariations (59E59 Theaters). Around the country, Payne has appeared in Dirt (The Studio Theatre, Helen Hayes Award nomination), Sarah Ruhl's Three Sisters (Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre), Acquainted with the Night (The Eugene O'Neill Theater Center), Memory House (Martha's Vineyard Playhouse), and Trouble in Mind (Yale Repertory Theatre). Payne has acted in the films The Loss of a Teardrop Diamond, The Word, and Crazy Love, and her television credits include "Law & Order: Special Victims Unit," "Sensitive Skin," "Reign," "Defiance," "Dark Matter," and the upcoming television remake of Anne of Green Gables. In addition to narrating numerous audiobooks, she lends her voice and movements to the Assassin's Creed video games.

Tim Mackabee (Scenic Design) is making his Globe debut. His Broadway credits include The Elephant Man starring Bradley Cooper (also West End) and Mike Tyson: Undisputed Truth directed by Spike Lee. His Off Broadway credits include Heathers: The Musical (New World Stages), Gigantic (Vineyard Theatre), Guards at the Taj and Our New Girl (Atlantic Theater Company), Luce (Lincoln Center Theater), Important Hats of the Twentieth Century (Manhattan Theatre Club), and Much Ado About Nothing (The Public Theater). Regionally he has designed for American Conservatory Theater, South Coast Repertory, Center Stage, Portland Center Stage, Dallas Theater Center, Cleveland Play House, Asolo Repertory Theatre, Yale Repertory Theatre, Syracuse Stage, Philadelphia Theatre Company, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Geva Theatre, Denver Center Theatre Company, Ford's Theatre, The Studio Theatre, Theater J, Paper Mill Playhouse, The Muny, and Pittsburgh Civic Light Opera. Mackabee's television credits include Amy Schumer: Live at the Apollo, "Gotham," "Smash," and "Today."

Denitsa Bliznakova (Costume Design) is happy to return to The Old Globe, where she has designed The Royale, Good People, Anne Christie, Groundswell, Jane Austen's Emma - A Musical Romantic Comedy, The Whipping Man, Opus, and The Merry Wives of Windsor. Her work has been seen nationwide at venues such as Geffen Playhouse, The Denver Center for the Performing Arts, The Kennedy Center, San Diego Opera, Cleveland Play House, A Noise Within, New Repertory Theatre, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Falcon Theatre, and others. Her costume design and stylist credits for other media include music videos for various artists and films. A Bulgarian-born costume designer, her academic background includes a B.F.A. in Fashion Design from Parsons School of Design and an M.F.A. in Theatre Arts from Brandeis University. Bliznakova is a professor in the School of Theatre, Television and Film at San Diego State University and is also the head of its M.F.A. Design and Technical Theatre program.

Bradley King (Lighting Design) is a lighting designer based in New York City. His recent work includes Natasha, Pierre and the Great Comet of 1812 (American Repertory Theater, Kazino, Ars Nova), Empanada Loca, Sucker Emcee, and Ninth and Joanie (LAByrinth Theater Company), Elijah Green (The Kitchen), A Winter's Tale (The Pearl Theatre Company), Jacuzzi (Ars Nova), And I and Silence (Signature Theatre Company), and Women or Nothing (Atlantic Theater Company). His work has been seen regionally at The Old Globe, American Repertory Theater, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, La Jolla Playhouse, McCarter Theatre Center, Penobscot Theatre Company, South Coast Repertory, Virginia Stage Company, Yale Repertory Theatre, and Williamstown Theatre Festival. His opera work includes Bard SummerScape, Boston Early Music Festival, Kentucky Opera, New York City Opera, Opera Omaha, Vancouver Opera, and Virginia Opera.

Bray Poor (Sound Design) has designed the Broadway productions of The Real Thing, The American Plan, and In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. He has designed sound and created music for many Off Broadway theatres, including The Public Theater, Signature Theatre Company, New York Theatre Workshop, Lincoln Center Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Second Stage Theatre, Soho Repertory Theater, and Clubbed Thumb. His regional credits include Yale Repertory Theatre, Long Wharf Theatre, Trinity Repertory Company, Arena Stage, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, Actors Theatre of Louisville, and more. Poor has been nominated for both Drama Desk and Lucille Lortel Awards. He has also designed sound and created music for numerous videos and installations.

David Huber (Vocal Coach) previously worked on the Globe productions of Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Arms and the Man, Buyer & Cellar, The Royale, Bright Star, and The Two Gentlemen of Verona. His other previous Globe credits include The Winter's Tale directed by Jack O'Brien, The Tempest, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, and The Merchant of Venice, among several others. He has studied voice with Master Linklater Voice teacher David Smukler, Eric Armstrong, and Kate Burke. He is a graduate of the Graduate Voice Teacher Diploma Program at York University in Toronto. His regional theatre credits include Actors Theatre of Louisville, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Pittsburgh Playhouse, PCPA Theaterfest, Texas Shakespeare Festival, Center REP Theatre, Centennial Theater Festival, and Mo'olelo Performing Arts Company. Huber is currently on faculty at Grossmont College and has been a faculty member at MiraCosta College in the Actor's Academy for the last two years. He is also a graduate of the Old Globe/USD M.F.A. Program.

Caparelliotis Casting/Lauren Port, CSA (Casting) has cast the Globe productions of Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas!, Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, Rich Girl, Arms and the Man, Buyer & Cellar, The White Snake, The Twenty-seventh Man, The Royale, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike, Water by the Spoonful, Time and the Conways, Bethany, The Winter's Tale, The Few, Double Indemnity, The Rainmaker, Other Desert Cities, Be a Good Little Widow, A Doll's House, The Brothers Size, Pygmalion, and Good People. Their Broadway casting credits include Blackbird, An Act of God, Airline Highway, Fish in the Dark, It's Only a Play, Disgraced, The Country House, Holler If Ya Hear Me, Casa Valentina, The Snow Geese, Lyle Kessler's Orphans, The Trip to Bountiful, Grace, Dead Accounts, The Other Place, Seminar, The Columnist, Stick Fly, Good People, Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, The House of Blue Leaves, Fences, Lend Me a Tenor, and The Royal Family. They also cast for Manhattan Theatre Club, Second Stage Theatre, Atlantic Theater Company, LCT3, Ars Nova, Goodman Theatre, McCarter Theatre Center, Arena Stage, and three seasons with Williamstown Theatre Festival. Their recent film and television credits include HairBrained with Brendan Fraser, "American Odyssey" (NBC), "How to Get Away with Murder" (ABC pilot), "Ironside" (NBC), and Steel Magnolias (Sony for Lifetime).

Diana Moser (Production Stage Manager) recently stage managed the Globe productions of Rich Girl, Time and the Conways, and, for Globe for All, Much Ado About Nothing and All's Well That Ends Well. Since 2004 she has worked on over 25 shows at the Globe including Other Desert Cities, The Brothers Size, August: Osage County, The Recommendation, Brighton Beach Memoirs and Broadway Bound, The Whipping Man, I Do! I Do!, Opus, Six Degrees of Separation, The Pleasure of His Company, In This Corner, the 2007 Summer Shakespeare Festival, Restoration Comedy, and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. Moser's regional credits include La Jolla Playhouse, San Diego Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, New York Theatre Workshop, Berkshire Theatre Festival, Children's Theatre Company of Minneapolis, and Arizona Theatre Company.

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