Bel Powley Rounds Out Cast of Second Stage's LOBBY HERO on Broadway

Second Stage Theater has announced that Bel Powley will join the previously announced Michael Cera, Chris Evans, and Brian Tyree Henry, to complete the cast of Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, directed by Trip Cullman.

LOBBY HERO will begin previews on Thursday, March 1 at the Hayes Theater (240 West 44th Street) and will officially open on Monday, March 26.

Bel Powley made her Broadway debut in the 2011 revival of Tom Stoppard's Arcadia. She is perhaps best known for her feature film debut in the 2015 coming-of-age drama, The Diary of a Teenage Girl, for which she received the Gotham award for "Best Actress" and was nominated for BAFTA, Independent Spirit and British Independent Film awards. Most recently, Powley completed production on the film White Boy Rick, from director Yann Demange, and starring opposite Matthew McConaughey. Her film Mary Shelley, in which she co-stared opposite Elle Fanning and Douglas Booth, premiered at The Toronto Film Festival 2017 and will be distributed by IFC Films for a 2018 release. Powley recently finished playing the lead role in the World War II drama, Ashes in the Snow, based on the novel, Between Shades of Gray, by Ruta Septys. Other stage credits include Elephants at London's Hampstead Theater, The Royal Court Theatre's West End production of Tusk Tusk, as well as Jumpy at The Royal Court Theatre. Other film credits include A Royal Night Out, opposite Sarah Gadon, Jack Reynor, Rupert Everett and Emily Watson; Drake Doremus' science fiction romantic drama, Equals, starring Nicholas Hoult and Kristen Stewart; Detour opposite Tye Sheridan and Emory Cohen; and the title character in Carrie Pilby with Jason Ritter. On television, Powley is currently shooting the BBC1 and Amazon limited series "Informer," and is lending her voice to the Sky One animated series Moominvalley, alongside Kate Winslet, Rosamund Pike and Taron Egerton.

LOBBY HERO will feature scenic design by David Rockwell, costume design by Paloma Young, lighting design by Japhy Weideman, sound design by Darron L West and casting by Telsey + Company.

What happens when emotions come in conflict with principles, and how do choices under pressure define who we really are? The lobby of a Manhattan apartment building is much more than a waiting area for four New Yorkers involved in a murder investigation. It's a testing ground for what happens when personal and professional personas find themselves at odds. A young security guard with big ambitions clashes with his stern boss, an intense rookie cop and her unpredictable partner in a play from the 2017 Oscar-winning writer of Manchester by the Sea.

Under the artistic direction of Carole Rothman, Second Stage THEATER produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best contemporary theater by living American Playwrights, including 2015 Pulitzer Prize winner Between Riverside and Crazy by Stephen Adly Guirgis; 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner Water by the Spoonful by Quiara Alegria Hudes; The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown; Dogfight by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Peter Duchan; Dear Evan Hansen by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul, and Steven Levenson; By the Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage; Trust and Lonely, I'm Not by Paul Weitz; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz; Everyday Rapture and Whorl Inside a Loop by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott; Let Me Down Easy by Anna Deavere Smith; Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; Jitney by August Wilson; Jar the Floor by Cheryl L. West; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Crowns by Regina Taylor; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants by Ricky Jay; Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; and Tiny Alice by Edward Albee.

The company's more than 130 citations include six 2017 Tony Awards for Dear Evan Hansen (Best Musical; Best Lead Actor in a Musical, Ben Platt; Best Featured Actress in a Musical, Rachel Bay Jones; Best Book of a Musical; Best Original Score; Best Orchestrations), three 2009 Tony Awards for Next to Normal (Best Lead Actress in a Musical, Alice Ripley; Best Score, Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; Best Orchestrations, Michael Starobin and Tom Kitt); the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed); the 2005 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee); the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses); the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 30 Obie Awards, eight Outer Critics Circle Awards, three Clarence Derwent Awards, 13 Drama Desk Awards, nine Theatre World Awards, 19 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 23 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theater opened The Tony Kiser Theater, its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theater, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage launched "Second Stage Theater Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theater. The Theater supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

Second Stage Theater purchased the historic Helen Hayes Theater, located at 240 W. 44th Street, in 2015. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan. Second Stage Theater has enlisted David Rockwell and The Rockwell Group to make renovations and updates to the 104 year old landmark building.

In addition to Lobby Hero, Second Stage Theater's inaugural Broadway season will include the Broadway Premiere of Young Jean Lee's Straight White Men, directed by Anna D. Shapiro, opening in July 2018.

This inaugural season kicks off Second Stage's mission of creating and building a permanent home on Broadway dedicated exclusively to American plays and living American Playwrights.

Second Stage Theater is investing in its future on Broadway by co-commissioning established playwrights through its STAGE-2-STAGE program, launching with Los Angeles's Center Theatre Group. This ongoing program will provide a pathway to Broadway, with each play receiving an initial production in Los Angeles at one of CTG's three theaters before moving to New York. The commissioned playwrights are Jon Robin Baitz, Will Eno, Lisa Kron, Young Jean Lee, Lynn Nottage, and Paula Vogel.

Second Stage Theater is also co-commissioning a new work from Bess Wohl for Broadway, through a partnership with the Williamstown Theatre Festival, and new works for Broadway from Lydia R. Diamond and Dominique Morisseau, which will be developed in association with Kenny Leon's True Colors Theater.

Second Stage Theater's current season at The Tony Kiser Theater include its critically-acclaimed production of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song, directed by Moisés Kaufman; the world premiere of Greg Pierce's Cardinal, directed by Kate Whoriskey in January 2018; and the New York premiere of Tracy Letts' Mary Page Marlowe, directed by Lila Neugebauer in June of 2018.