Baker, Parsons et al. Join McDormand & Donovan in MTC's GOOD PEOPLE

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director) and Barry Grove (Executive Producer) are pleased to announce full casting for Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming world premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner David Lindsay-Abaire's GOOD PEOPLE directed by Tony Award winner Daniel Sullivan.

The previously announced Tate Donovan ("Damages," Amy's View) and Academy Award winner Frances McDormand (Fargo, North Atlantic) will be joined by Becky Ann Baker (All My Sons, Assassins), Patrick Carroll (Broadway debut), Emmy Award nominee Renée Elise Goldsberry ("One Life to Live," Rent), and Oscar winner Estelle Parsons (August: Osage County, "Roseanne").

GOOD PEOPLE will play at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). Previews for the limited engagement will begin on Tuesday, February 8 with an opening night of Thursday, March 3.

Welcome to Southie, a Boston neighborhood where a night on the town means a few rounds of bingo... where this month's paycheck covers last month's bills... and where Margie Walsh (McDormand) has just been let go from yet another job. Facing eviction and scrambling to catch a break, Margie thinks an old fling (Donovan) who has made it out of Southie might be her ticket to a fresh new start. But is this apparently self-made man secure enough to face his humble beginnings? Margie is about to risk what little she has left to find out.

With his signature humorous glow, Lindsay-Abaire explores the struggles, shifting loyalties and unshakeable hopes that come with having next to nothing in America.

Together, David Lindsay-Abaire and MTC have brought four outstanding new plays to the New York stage. Their most recent collaboration with director Daniel Sullivan, Rabbit Hole, earned a Tony Award and garnered Lindsay-Abaire the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

The creative team for GOOD PEOPLE includes: John Lee Beatty (scenic design), David Zinn (costume design), Pat Collins (lighting design), and Jill BC DuBoff (sound design).

GOOD PEOPLE was commissioned through MTC's Bank of America Commissioning Program.

Special funding for GOOD PEOPLE was provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.

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 17 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). Renowned MTC productions include 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, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Tickets are available by calling Telecharge at 212-239-6200, online by visiting www.Telecharge.com, or by visiting the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Box Office (261 West 47th Street). Ticket prices are $57 - $121.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE FOR GOOD PEOPLE: TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 8 - SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 27: Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM, Sunday at 7 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. MONDAY, FEBRUARY 28 - SUNDAY, APRIL 3: Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.
MONDAY, APRIL 4 - SUNDAY, APRIL 10: Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Saturday and Sunday at 2 PM. Please note there are only seven performances on sale to the general public this week. MONDAY, APRIL 11 - SUNDAY, APRIL 24: Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday through Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.

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David Lindsay-Abaire (Playwright) was most recently nominated for two Tony Awards for his work on Shrek The Musical: Best Book of a Musical and Best Score (with composer Jeanine Tesori). Prior to that he was awarded the 2008 Ed Kleban Award as America's most promising musical theatre lyricist and the 2007 Pulitzer Prize for Drama for his play Rabbit Hole, which premiered on Broadway at MTC. Rabbit Hole also received five Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, and the Spirit of America Award. His other shows include Fuddy Meers, Kimberly Akimbo, Wonder of the World, High Fidelity and A Devil Inside, among others. In addition to his work in theatre, David's screen adaptation of Rabbit Hole is scheduled for release this month. It stars Nicole Kidman and is directed by John Cameron Mitchell. David is a proud New Dramatists alum, a graduate of Sarah Lawrence College and the Juilliard School, as well as a member of the WGA and the Dramatists Guild Council.

Daniel Sullivan (Director). For MTC, Sullivan directed Time Stands Still, Accent on Youth, Rabbit Hole, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, and Proof. Among his other Broadway credits are Merchant of Venice; The Homecoming; Prelude to a Kiss; Julius Caesar; Morning's at Seven; I'm Not Rappaport; A Moon for the Misbegotten; The Heidi Chronicles; Conversations With My Father; Ah, Wilderness!; and The Sisters Rosensweig. Among his Off-Broadway credits are The Night Watcher, Twelfth Night, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Intimate Apparel, Stuff Happens, Far East, Spinning into Butter, Dinner with Friends. From 1981 to 1997, he served as Artistic Director of Seattle Repertory Theatre. Sullivan is the Swanlund Professor of Theatre at the University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign.

Becky Ann Baker (Jean). Broadway: All My Sons, Assassins, Titanic, A Streetcar Named Desire and The Best Little Whorehouse in Texas. Off-Broadway: Suddenly Last Summer, Othello and Two Gentlemen of Verona (NYSF), Encore's Wonderful Town, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told (NYTW), Shanghai Moon and June Moon (Drama Dept.), Durang, Durang (MTC), To Whom It May Concern, Laura Dennis (Signature), The Vagina Monologues (Westside Arts) and more. Regional: Williamstown Theatre Festival, Old Globe, South Coast Rep, Arena Stage, NJSF, Goodman and more. Film: Nights in Rodanthe, Spinning into Butter, Stay, The Night Listener, Gretchen, War of the Worlds, Two Weeks Notice, A Simple Plan, Celebrity, Men In Black, In and Out, Sabrina, Unstrung Heroes, White Squall, Lorenzo's Oil and Come See the Paradise. TV: "Kings," "Nurse Jackie," "Freaks and Geeks" (regular), "Storm of the Century," "Soul Man," "Ruby Ridge," "Frasier," "Star Trek: Voyager," "Sex and the City," "Law & Order," "L&O: SVU," "Oz" and more. Member: Actor's Studio, Drama Dept. and Usual Suspects - NYTW.

Patrick Carroll (Stevie) will make his Broadway debut in Good People. Additional theater credits include productions of Troilus & Cressida, Quills, and A Streetcar Named Desire. He made his feature film debut in a leading role in Brian DePalma's Redacted. In television, he has appeared on "Law & Order," "Eleventh Hour" and "Six Degrees." Patrick is a graduate of the Rutgers University acting conservatory program.

 

Tate Donovan (Mike). Broadway: Amy's View; Picnic (Roundabout). Off-Broadway: Lobby Hero (Playwrights Horizons); The American Plan (MTC). Other theatre includes: Rabbit Hole (Geffen); Under the Blue Sky; Once in a Lifetime and The Glass Menagerie (Williamstown); Ruffian on the Stair (Long Wharf); The Rhythm of Torn Stars (Pacific Theater Ensemble); Bent (Coast Playhouse); The Trill (Mark Taper Forum). Film credits include: Below the Belt; American Primitive; Shooter; Neal Cassady; Nancy Drew: The Mystery in Hollywood Hills; Good Night, and Good Luck (SAG Award Nomination, Outstanding Performance by a Cast in a Motion Picture); The Lather Effect; Pacifier; Swordfish; Get Well Soon; G-Men; Drop Back Ten; Murder at 1600; Holy Matrimony; Hercules; The Only Thrill; Ethan Frome; Equinox; Inside Monkey Zetterland (Independent Spirit Award Nomination, Best Supporting Actor); Love Potion #9; Little Noises; Memphis Belle; Dead Bang; Clean and Sober; Space Camp; No Small Affair. Television credits include: "Weeds;" "No Ordinary Family;" "Medium;" "Nip/Tuck;" "Damages;" "Law & Order: CI;" "Painkiller Jane;" "Silver Bells;" "The O.C.;" "Trinity;" "Friends;" "Ally McBeal;" "Partners;" "America's Dream: The Long Black Song;" "Rising Son;" "Vietnam War Stories" (ACE Award Nominee, Best Actor in a Dramatic Series); "Nutcracker;" "A Case of Deadly Force;" "Into Thin Air." Directing credits include: "Weeds;" "Medium;" "Nip/Tuck;" "Damages;" "The O.C."

RENÉE ELISE GOLDSBERRY (Kate) returns to Broadway having played Mimi in the final cast of Rent as well as in the acclaimed film Rent: Live on Broadway. Other New York theatre credits include The Color Purple, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Lion King, and The Baker's Wife. Goldsberry received two Daytime Emmy nominations for her role on "One Life to Live." Other recent television credits include "Running Wilde," "Royal Pains," "White Collar," "The Good Wife," "Life on Mars," "Ally McBeal," and "Providence." Her film credits include Pistol Whipped, All About You, Turnaround, Amistad, Godzilla, and Bob Roberts.

Frances McDormand (Margie Walsh) studied at the Yale School of Drama. Stage appearances include The Country Girl directed by Mike Nichols on Broadway, Caryl Churchill's Far Away directed by Stephen Daldry at New York Theatre Workshop, her Tony-nominated performance as ‘Stella' in A Streetcar Named Desire, The Sisters Rosenzweig directed by Daniel Sullivan at Lincoln Center Theatre, The Swan at The Public Theatre, A Streetcar Named Desire (this time as ‘Blanche') at the Gate Theater in Dublin, and Dare Clubb's Oedipus at the Blue Light Theater Company opposite Billy Crudup. With The Wooster Group, she performed in To You, The Birdie! and North Atlantic.

Films include Burn After Reading, Miss Pettigrew Lives for a Day, Friends With Money, Laurel Canyon, Something's Gotta Give, Wonder Boys, City By The Sea, Madeline, Primal Fear, Lone Star, Palookaville, Chattahoochee, Darkman, Hidden Agenda, Short Cuts, Beyond Rangoon, Paradise Road, The Man Who Wasn't There, Raising Arizona, and Blood Simple. She can next be seen in Transformers 3 and opposite Sean Penn in This Must Be the Place.

She is the recipient of four Academy Award nominations: Mississippi Burning, Almost Famous, North Country, and Fargo, for which she received the award for her performance as ‘Marge Gunderson'.

Estelle Parsons (Dottie) enjoys a lengthy and successful career, having appeared on television, film, and the stage since the early 1950's. Her first foray into the business began when she was hired by "The Today Show," first as a production assistant, then staff writer, which eventually led her to become the first female television network political news reporter. Towards the late 1950's Estelle began acting and appeared in her first stage performance in 1956 for the production of Happy Hunting. Since then, Estelle has gone on to either star in or direct over 25 productions. Most notably, she has been nominated for the Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play for her performances in The Seven Descents of Myrtle (1968); And Miss Reardon Drinks a Little (1971); and Miss Margarida's Way (1978). Furthermore, she was nominated for the Tony Award for Featured Actress for her work in Mornings at Seven (2002). Estelle's first film role came in Ladybug, Ladybug in 1963 and continued with 15 more roles over the next 30 years. In particular, her role in Bonnie & Clyde garnered an Academy Award (1967), and she was nominated again the following year for her work in Rachel, Rachel (1968). Other film performances include Don't Drink the Water (1969), I Walk the Line (1970), I Never Sang for My Father (1970), Watermelon Man (1970), For Pete's Sake (1974), Dick Tracy (1990), Boys on the Side (1995), and Looking for Richard (1996). On television, Estelle appeared in "All in the Family," but is best remembered as the mother of "Roseanne" on the eponymous hit sitcom, logging over 50 episodes during the show's 9 year run. Most recently, she has appeared in the television mini-series on HBO "Empire Falls" (2005). She triumphantly returned to Broadway in 2008 as the star of August: Osage County, and subsequently toured Canada and the States. She won the Garland Award in Los Angeles for Best Actress. She also recently starred in Deathtrap in the West End with Simon Russell Beale. In addition to teaching acting at Columbia and Yale, Estelle Parsons served as the Artistic Director of the Actors' Studio between 1996 and 2001.

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