Alexis Bledel, Richard Topol & More Lead MTC's REGRETS; Opens Mar. 27

Manhattan Theatre Club has announced full casting for the upcoming world premiere of REGRETS by Matt Charman, directed by Carolyn Cantor.

The limited engagement of REGRETS will star Alexis Bledel (“Gilmore Girls”), Curt Bouril (“Boardwalk Empire”), Ansel Elgort (Off-Broadway debut), Brian Hutchison (MTC’s From Up Here), Tony Award winner Adriane Lenox (MTC’s Doubt), Lucas Caleb Rooney (Orphan’s Home Cycle), and Richard Topol (The Normal Heart).

Rehearsals for REGRETS begin tomorrow, February 9. Previews will begin Thursday, March 8 for a Tuesday, March 27 opening at MTC at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

Matt Charman, Britain’s fastest-rising young playwright, makes his New York debut at MTC with this world-premiere play. Caleb Farley (Ansel Elgort) is the youngest man ever to show up at Mrs. Duke’s cabins (Tony Award winner Adriane Lenox), a ramshackle retreat in the Nevada desert and one of the few places men can go to secure a quick divorce in 1950s America. Caleb claims he fled his Hollywood home for the same reason as the other men in camp – to shed the lives and wives they’ve known, and loved, to begin anew. But in an era of heightened fears and political distrust, accusations that Caleb is hiding more than just a broken heart test each man’s loyalty – to country and to one another. This fascinating new drama is an uncommon tale of friendship, loss and finding the courage of one’s convictions.

The creative team for REGRETS includes: Rachel Hauck (scenic design), Ilona Somogyi (costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Jill BC Du Boff (sound design), and Thomas Schall (fight direction).

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. Over the past three decades, MTC productions have earned a total of 18 Tony Awards and six Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and an Off-Broadway theatre at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). Since January 2011, Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) has taken the lead in programming and execution at MTC’s Off-Broadway home. Renowned MTC productions include Master Class; Good People; The Whipping Man; Time Stands Still; The Royal Family; Ruined; The American Plan; Come Back, Little Sheba; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; A Small Family Business; Sylvia; Putting It Together; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin.’

For more information on MTC, visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Tickets for REGRETS are available via the New York City Center Box Office (131 West 55th Street), CityTix® (212-581-1212) and www.nycitycenter.org.

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Matt Charman (Playwright). Charman’s first play, A Night at the Dogs (at Soho Theatre, London), won the prestigious Verity Bargate Award for new writers. Other productions include The Observer, directed by Sir Richard Eyre, and The Five Wives of Maurice Pinder, which both premiered at The National Theatre of Great Britain. Charman was previously Pearson Writer in Residence at The National Theatre and is a recipient of the Peggy Ramsay Award. The Observer won the 2008 Catherine Johnson Award for Best Play. Charman is currently writing two screenplays for Universal/Working Title Film as well as an original drama series for the BBC.

Carolyn Cantor (Director) New York: The Talls (Second Stage), After the Revolution (Playwrights Horizons) Pumpgirl (Manhattan Theatre Club), In A Dark Dark House (MCC Theater), Something You Did (Primary Stages), Essential Self Defense (Playwrights Horizons), Orange Flower Water (Time Out NY Ten Best of the Year), Now That's What I Call A Storm, Living Room in Africa, Stone Cold Dead Serious (NY Times 10 Best of the Year) and Life is a Dream (Edge Theater), EVE-olution (Cherry Lane), and Kitty Kitty Kitty (SPF). Regional: The Violet Hour (Old Globe), Rabbit Hole (Geffen Garland Award), Diary of Anne Frank (Papermill), Not Waving and King Stag (both Williamstown Theatre Festival), Vera Laughed and Get What You Need (both NYS&F), After Ashley and Finer Noble Gases (both Eugene O'Neill Playwrights Conference) and Nocturne (Ojai Playwrights Conference). Film/TV: “The Green Room” (Bravo) and “Bravo Profiles: Roger Ebert.” Carolyn has received the Garson Kanin-Marion Seldes Award from the American Theatre Wing, both the Boris Sagal and Bill Foeller Fellowships from the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and a Drama League Directing Fellowship. She is the founding artistic director of the Obie Award-winning Edge Theater and a graduate of Dartmouth College.

Alexis Bledel (Chrissie Myers) recently appeared with James McAvoy and Robin Wright Penn in Director Robert Redford's period drama The Conspirator. Next, she stars opposite Saoirse Ronan in toplining Violet and Daisy. Alexis made her television debut in the critically acclaimed series “Gilmore Girls.” Through seven successful seasons, Alexis’ portrayal of Rory Gilmore earned her the 2005 and 2006 Teen Choice Award for Choice Actress in a Comedy and the 2002 Family Friendly Forum Award for Best Actress in a Drama. Alexis starred as “Lena” in Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants and Sisterhood of the Traveling Pants 2 and made her feature film debut in 2002 in Disney’s Tuck Everlasting, which is based on the acclaimed novel by Natalie Babbitt. Alexis was also part of the ensemble cast of the Robert Rodriguez film Sin City with Bruce Willis, Josh Hartnett, Rosario Dawson, and Brittany Murphy. Other films include Post-Grad, The Good Guy, Bride and Prejudice, an Indian musical version of Jane Austen's Pride and Prejudice, and the independent films Orphan King and I Am Reed Fish. In 2009, Alexis guest starred as “Dr. Julia Wise” in the two-hour series finale of the NBC hit series “ER,” which drew over 16 million viewers. Alexis began her acting career appearing in community theater in her hometown of Houston, Texas. She also modeled in New York during her school breaks. Before winning the role of Rory Gilmore, Alexis attended NYU Film School to study writing and directing.

Curt Bouril (Robert Hanratty) is making his second appearance with MTC after working on Broadway in MTC's Accent on Youth. Other theatrical appearances include the Broadway production of A Man for All Seasons, the Off-Broadway production of The Guest at Central Park West and The Bow Wow Club (Los Angeles). Off-Off-Broadway: Tickets Please. Bouril’s film and television credits include “Boardwalk Empire” (winner of 2012 SAG Award for Best Ensemble), Found in Time, We are the Hartmans, The Take, Black Jack, “The Onion Sports Dome,” “Law & Order: CSI,” “Boston Legal,” “All My Children,” “Guiding Light” and National Lampoon’s Bachelor Party.

Ansel Elgort (Caleb Farley) is thrilled to be making his professional acting debut at Manhattan Theatre Club. He is currently a senior at LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts, where he has starred as ‘Sky Masterson’ in Guys and Dolls and ‘Link Larson’ in Hairspray. Ansel also attended Stagedoor Manor for seven years. His roles included ‘Joseph’ in Joseph and the Amazing Technicolor Dream Coat and Collins in Rent. Elgort found his love for performing through dance. Last season he was featured tap-dancing at the CFDA Awards, and as a child he performed both in The Nutcracker and Swan Lake at Lincoln Center with the New York City Ballet. As a singer, Ansel has worked with many composers including Jason Robert Brown, Glen Roven and Louis Andriessen.

Brian Hutchison (Ben Clancy). Broadway: Man and Boy, Looped, Exit the King, Proof, The Invention of Love. Off-Broadway: Spirit Control, From Up Here (MTC); Go Back To Where You Are (Playwrights Horizons); Oh, The Humanity... (Flea Theater); Mr. Marmalade (Roundabout); People Be Heard (Playwrights Horizons); Indoor/Outdoor (SPF, DR2 Theatre); The Hiding Place (Atlantic); Theophilus North, Can't Let Go (Keen Company); She Stoops to Conquer (Irish Rep). Regional theatre credits include: 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: Love & Other Drugs, Vino Veritas, Dealbreaker, “The Good Wife,” “Hope & Faith,” “Law & Order: SVU,” and “CI.” MFA Old Globe/USD.

Adriane Lenox (Mrs. Duke) returns to MTC after having created the role of ‘Mrs. Muller’ in John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt for which she received the Tony Award, Drama Desk Award and Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Featured Actress in a Play. She was most recently seen in the long-running Off-Broadway hit Love, Loss, and What I Wore. Her other Broadway credits include: Caroline, or Change; Kiss Me, Kate; How to Succeed…; Dreamgirls; Ain’t Misbehavin’. Off-Broadway: Miss Evers’ Boys, Dinah Was (Obie Award, AUDELCO), Cavedweller. Regional: Blithe Spirit, The Color Purple (premiere), On the Town (Helen Hayes Award). Film: The Sorcerer’s Apprentice, The Blind Side, Black Snake Moan, My Blueberry Nights, Where God Left His Shoes, Preachin' to the Choir. TV: “Damages,” “30 Rock,” “Detroit 187,” “Lipstick Jungle,” “Griffin & Phoenix,” “Third Watch,” "Law & Order: SVU," “Law & Order,” and "Shark."

Lucas Caleb Rooney (Gerald Driscoll). Broadway: The Country Girl with Morgan Freeman and Frances McDormand, directed by Mike Nichols, Henry IV with Kevin Kline & Ethan Hawke, Directed by Jack O’Brien. Off-Broadway: Measure for Measure (Shakespeare in the Park), Orphan’s Home Cycle (Signature) YellowFace (Public), Creation (Theatre 315), Polish Play (Katharsis), She Stoops to Conquer (Irish Rep), Mimesophobia (Beckett Theatre). Regional: Death of a Salesman (Old Globe), Orphan’s Home Cycle, Mid-Summer Night’s Dream (Hartford Stage), YellowFace (Mark Taper), All My Sons, Complete Female Stage Beauty, Twelfth Night, (Old Globe), Tempest (Franklin Stage), A Streetcar Named Desire (Cleveland Playhouse), Dirty Blonde (Pittsburg Public). TV: “Person of Interest,” “Cold Case,” “CSI: Miami,” “Journeyman,” “Law & Order,” “Kidnapped,” “Six Degrees.” Film: Summer at Dog Dave’s (with Morgan Freeman), On Broadway, One Last Thing. MFA: Old Globe Theatre.

Richard Topol (Alvin Novotny) was last seen in the fall production of King Lear at The Public Theater (directed by James MacDonald). Recently, he finished work on Steven Spielberg’s Lincoln playing ‘Attorney General James Speed’ alongside Daniel Day-Lewis. Last season, he performed in the Tony Award-winning Revival of The Normal Heart (winner of the Drama Desk Award Outstanding Ensemble Performance, directed by George C. Wolfe and Joel Grey) and The Merchant of Venice (with Al Pacino, directed by Dan Sullivan). LCT: ‘Henry Law’ in When The Rain Stops Falling (directed by David Cromer), ‘Sam’ in Odets’ Awake and Sing directed by Bartlet Sher (Drama Desk Award) and Cymbeline (directed by Mark Lamos). Also on Broadway: The Country Girl (directed by Mike Nichols), Julius Caesar (with Denzel Washington, directed by Dan Sullivan), School for Scandal (directed by Gerald Freedman). Off-Broadway: The Winter’s Tale, The Merchant of Venice (both Shakespeare in the Park), Hamlet (TFANA), Mouth to Mouth (New Group), Opus (Primary Stages), Omnium Gatherum (Variety Arts), Twelfth Night, The African Company Presents Richard III (Public – Audelco Award), also Playwrights Horizons, EST, Soho Rep, WPA, Naked Angels. Film/TV: Mickey Blue Eyes, Party Girl, “Pan Am,” all “Law & Orders,” “Damages,” “Nurse Jackie,” “Rescue Me,” “Ghost Whisperer,” “Ed,” “Drew Carey,” “Malcolm in the Middle,” “Gilmore Girls,” and recurring roles on “The Practice,” “Strong Medicine” and “The Guardian.”