Photo Flash: 'Romantic Poetry' at Manhattan Theater Club

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of ROMANTIC POETRY, a new musical by John Patrick Shanley and Henry Krieger, is currently in previews at MTC at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street) in preparation for a Tuesday, October 28 opening.

The show stars Jeb Brown (Grease, Ring of Fire), Jerry Dixon (tick, tick… BOOM!; Once On This Island), Ivan Hernandez (Zhivago, The Fantasticks), Mark Linn-Baker (Almost An Evening, "Perfect Strangers"), Patina Renea Miller (Hair, "All My Children"), and Emily Swallow (High Fidelity, The Black Eyed).

ROMANTIC POETRY features book and lyrics by John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Moonstruck), music by Henry Krieger (Dreamgirls), and direction by Shanley.

From the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of Doubt and the two-time Tonyâ-nominated composer of Dreamgirls comes this crackpot musical romance.

Connie of Woodmere (Swallow) has just married Fred of Newark (Hernandez), but her exes (Brown, Linn-Baker) are back in the picture and not sure they approve of the union. Mary of Greenpoint (Miller) climbs Frankie of Little Italy's (Dixon) fire escape with amorous erotic intent - but things go awry as she reaches for her dream.

They are all mad and they are all sane and they are all creating ROMANTIC POETRY. Genuine emotion and the excitement of living an ideal crisscross like a night of shooting stars. When you have the Academy Awardâ-winning author of Moonstruck writing the book and lyrics, and the two-time Grammyâ-winning composer of Dreamgirls collaborating, you know something delicious is coming from the kitchen.

The creative team for ROMANTIC POETRY includes: David Korins (scenic design), Laura Bauer (costume design), Donald Holder (lighting design), Brian Ronan (sound design), Devanand Janki (musical staging), Sam Davis (music director / vocal arrangements), August Eriksmoen (orchestrations), Howard Joines (Music Coordinator), and David Caparelliotis (casting).

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. Renowned MTC productions include Top Girls; From Up Here; Come Back, Little Sheba; The Receptionist; LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; Kimberly Akimbo; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin'.

This season, MTC's Broadway stage was renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The landmarked theatre has been the institution's home on Broadway since 2003 and was rehabilitated by MTC following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition, MTC operates two theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street), its Off-Broadway home since 1984.

For more information on Manhattan Theatre Club, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Mark Linn-Baker and Henry Krieger

Patina Renea Miller and Jerry Dixon

Emily Swallow and Ivan Hernandez

Emily Swallow and Henry Krieger

Patina Renea Miller, Jerry Dixon, Emily Swallow, Mark Linn-Baker, Jeb Brown and Ivan Hernandez

Mark Linn-Baker, Patina Renea Miller and Ivan Hernandez

Photos by Joan Marcus