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Ben McKenzie Completes the Cast of Broadway's GRAND HORIZONS

By: Nov. 12, 2019
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Ben McKenzie Completes the Cast of Broadway's GRAND HORIZONS  Image

Second Stage Theater (Carole Rothman, President and Artistic Director; Casey Reitz, Executive Director) has announced Ben McKenzie (Ben) will complete the cast of Bess Wohl's Grand Horizons. The production will mark his Broadway debut.

Directed by Leigh Silverman, Grand Horizons also stars Jane Alexander (Nancy), James Cromwell (Bill), Priscilla Lopez (Carla), Maulik Pancholy (Tommy), Ashley Park (Jess), and Michael Urie (Brian). Grand Horizons is a strictly limited 10-week engagement on Broadway, beginning previews December 23, 2019 and officially opening on January 23, 2020 at The Hayes Theater (240 West 44th Street).

Bill and Nancy have spent fifty full years as husband and wife. They practically breathe in unison, and can anticipate each other's every sigh, snore and sneeze. But just as they settle comfortably into their new home in Grand Horizons, the unthinkable happens: Nancy suddenly wants out. As their two adult sons struggle to cope with the shocking news, they are forced to question everything they assumed about the people they thought they knew best. By turns funny, shocking and painfully honest, Bess Wohl's new play explores a family turned upside-down and takes an intimate look at the wild, unpredictable, and enduring nature of love.

Tickets are available to the general public by calling 212-541-4516 or by visiting 2ST.com. $30 tickets are available to people age 30 and Under with valid ID. Subscription packages begin at $216. To purchase or for more information, visit 2ST.com or call Subscriber Services at 212-246-4422.

The full creative team for Grand Horizons includes scenic design by Clint Ramos, costume design by Linda Cho, lighting design by Jen Schriever, sound design by Palmer Hefferan, projection design by Bryce Cutler and casting by Telsey + Company. Grand Horizons is co-commissioned by Williamstown Theatre Festival and Second Stage Theater. The commission is supported in part by The William and Mary Greve Foundation. Grand Horizons is sponsored by American Express.

Ben McKenzie (Ben) most recently portrayed the role of Detective James Gordon in the FOX hit series "Gotham," which just wrapped its five-season run. McKenzie first captured audiences in the pop culture phenomenon "The O.C." and continued his mainstay in television starring in the critically acclaimed NBC series "Southland." He will soon be seen in the Steven C. Miller action thriller Line of Duty opposite Aaron Eckhart, and in the Amazon feature The Torture Report with Adam Driver & Annette Bening. Other credits include Junebug, 88 Minutes, Decoding Annie Parker, Johnny Got His Gun, and the animated feature Batman: Year One. McKenzie has appeared off-Broadway in Life is a Dream at the Soho Rep. Additionally, he performed in numerous productions at the Williamstown Theatre Festival, including Street Scene and The Blue Bird. He was last seen on stage in "The Glass Menagerie" at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles.

Jane Alexander (Nancy) has a distinguished stage career. She has performed in more than 100 plays, been honored with numerous awards including her Tony Award for The Great White Hope, and Obie, Drama League, Drama Desk and Theatre World awards, and was inducted into the Theatre Hall of Fame in 1994. Jane last starred at Long Wharf Theater in the world premiere of Matthew Barber's play Fireflies. A four-time Oscar nominee for Testament, Kramer vs. Kramer, All the President's Men, and The Great White Hope, Ms. Alexander has appeared in over 75 screen and television roles. On television, Jane won Emmy Awards for "Playing for Time," and "Warm Springs," and a Television Critics Circle Award for her portrayal of Eleanor Roosevelt in "Eleanor and Franklin: The White House Years." Jane has been seen most recently in recurring roles on "The Blacklist," "Elementary," "The Good Wife," and "The Good Fight." Jane stars in the final episode of the new Amazon series "Modern Love," and shot a recurring role on the new Fox 21/Amazon series "Tales From the Loop." In 1993, President Clinton appointed Ms. Alexander Chairman of the National Endowment for the Arts, a position she served for 4 years. Her book Command Performance: An Actress in the Theatre of Politics documents her tenure. Jane has been active as a wildlife conservationist for many years and sits on the national board of the Audubon Society, the BirdLife International Advisory Group, and co-chairs the Conservation Council of Panthera with Glenn Close. In 2012, she received the inaugural Jane Alexander Global Wildlife Ambassador Award from the Indianapolis Prize honoring her work in conservation. Her book Wild Things, Wild Places: Adventurous Tales of Wildlife and Conservation on Planet Earth was published by Knopf in 2016.

James Cromwell (Bill) earned an Academy Award nomination for his performance as 'Farmer Hoggett' in the international smash Babe, reprising his role in the hit sequel, Babe: Pig in the City. In 2018, he appeared notably in the Steven Spielberg/Universal blockbuster Jurassic World: Ancient Futures. He was seen opposite Meryl Streep in The Laundromat for Steven Soderbergh, and will next star in the period drama Emperor alongside Bruce Dern and Ben Robson. Cromwell was on screen in 2017 in The Promise alongside Oscar Isaac and Christian Bale, and Marshall alongside Chadwick Boseman and Sterling K. Brown. Earlier film work includes the Academy Award-winning The Artist, football dramedy The Longest Yard opposite Adam Sandler, I, Robot alongside Will Smith, Oscar-nominated features The Green Mile (Frank Darabont), The Queen (Stephen Frears), Secretariat (Gary Ross), Spiderman III (Sam Raimi), and LA Confidential (Curtis Hanson) among many others. For his starring role opposite Genevieve Bujold in the Samuel Goldwyn film Still Mine (Toronto Film Festival Premiere/ Top Ten Canadian Films of 2012), James won the Best Actor Award at the 2013 Canadian Film Awards, a Genie Award, and the Best Actor Award at the Seattle International Film Festival. Cromwell won a 2013 Emmy Award for his turn opposite Jessica Lange and Lily Rabe on "American Horror Story: Asylum" and currently recurs on HBO's "Succession" opposite Brian Cox. Last year he appeared in two season-long arcs concurrently on Epix's "Berlin Station" opposite Richard Jenkins and on Starz' "Counterpart" opposite JK Simmons. He earlier starred opposite Lee Pace on AMC's "Halt & Catch Fire," starred in the HBO miniseries "The Young Pope" opposite Jude Law and Diane Keaton, and appeared in a multi-season arc on the TBS comedy "The Detour" playing Jason Jones' mysterious, wily father-in-law. Previously James played erudite defense attorney 'Warren Daniels' on the TNT/Steven Bochco series "Murder in the First," 'Andrew Mellon' on HBO's "Boardwalk Empire," starred on the ABC series "Betrayal" as millionaire industrialist 'Thatcher Karsten,' and portrayed 'Phillip Bauer' on the Fox hit "24." He earned multiple Emmy Award nominations for his work on the HBO original series "Six Feet Under," the HBO movie "RKO 281," and the NBC drama "ER." James' body of work encompasses dozens of miniseries and MOWs, including TNT's "A Slight Case of Murder," HBO's "Angels in America," "West Wing," "Picket Fences," "Home Improvement," "L.A. Law" and "Star Trek: The Next Generation." Cromwell has made innumerable stage appearances, including the Centennial CTG/Los Angeles production of Waiting for Godot, and productions of Hamlet, The Iceman Cometh, Devil's Disciple, All's Well That Ends Well, Beckett and Othello, in many of the country's most distinguished theatres, including the South Coast Repertory, The Goodman Theatre, the Mark Taper Forum, the American Shakespeare Festival, Center Stage, the Long Wharf Theatre and The Old Globe. He played A. E. Houseman in the American premiere of Tom Stoppard's The Invention of Love at A.C.T. in San Francisco and in fall 2014, he played 'Rupert Murdoch' in David Williamson's controversial play Rupert at Theatre Royal in Sydney, Australia. Cromwell has directed at resident theatres across the country and was Founder and artistic director of his own company, Stage West, in Springfield, Mass. Born in Los Angeles, Cromwell grew up in New York and Waterford, Connecticut, and studied at Carnegie Mellon University (then Carnegie Tech). His father, John Cromwell, an acclaimed actor and director, was one of the first presidents of the Screen Directors Guild. His mother, Kay Johnson, was a stage and film actress.

Priscilla Lopez (Carla) Ms. Lopez joined WTF2017 in Sara Ruhl's production of The Clean House. On Broadway, in the Tony Award-winning revival of Pippin, she portrated Berthe, the trapeze-flying Granny. In Lin Manuel Miranda's In the Heights, she originated the role of Camila Rosario and appeared in Nilo Cruz's Pulitzer Prize winner, Anna in the Tropics. She received a Tony Award as Best Featured Actress portraying Harpo Marx in Hollywood/Ukraine and as the original Diana Morales in A Chorus Line, she received an Obie Award and a Tony Award Nomination, introducing the songs "Nothing" and "What I Did For Love."

Maulik Pancholy (Tommy) played Jonathan on the Emmy® , Golden Globe and Screen Actors Guild award-winning NBC comedy "30 Rock," Sanjay on Showtime's award-winning series "Weeds," and Neal on the NBC comedy "Whitney." He has recurred and guest starred on numerous other television shows including "The Good Fight," "Dynasty," "Elementary," "Star Trek: Discovery," "The Good Wife," "Web Therapy," and "The Comeback." He was last seen on Broadway in It's Only A Play, and recently played Off Broadway in The New Group's production of Good for Otto. Other theater credits include the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway productions of Guantanamo: Honor Bound to Defend Freedom (The Culture Project) and Aunt Dan & Lemon (The New Group), and the New York productions of The Awake (59E59 Theaters), India Awaiting (Samuel Beckett Theater) and The Happy Sad (SPF at The Public). Regional credits include Studio Theatre, Shakespeare Theater Company, Yale Rep, Shakespeare Festival Los Angeles, The Goodman, and the Mark Taper Forum. On the big screen, Pancholy has appeared in films such as 27 Dresses, Friends with Money and Hitch as well as several independent features. He is the voice of the title character of Sanjay on Nickelodeon's hit animated series "Sanjay & Craig" and the voice of Baljeet on Disney's Emmy® award-winning "Phineas & Ferb." Pancholy has shared the Screen Actors Guild Award nomination for Outstanding Ensemble four times - three times with the cast of "30 Rock" (winning in 2009) and once with the cast of "Weeds." He served on President Obama's Advisory Commission on Asian Americans and Pacific Islanders, and he is the co-founder of the anti-bullying organization acttochange.org. His debut novel "The Best at It" comes out October 8, 2019 from Balzer + Bray / HarperCollins.

Ashley Park (Jess) received Tony, Drama League, Drama Desk, Outer Critics, & Chita Rivera nominations for originating the role of "Gretchen Wieners" in Mean Girls on Broadway. Other Broadway: "Tuptim" in Lincoln Center's revival of The King and I (Grammy nomination), Sunday in the Park With George, Mamma Mia! TV: "Tales of the City" (Netflix Original series); "Nightcap" (PopTV/Lionsgate). Off-Broadway: "Mwe" in KPOP (Lortel Winner; Drama Desk & Drama League nom.); Tour: R&H's Cinderella (Gabrielle). Recipient of Actor Equity's 2018 Clarence Derwent Award and the Inaugural Marin Mazzie Award for Empowerment by the Cancer Support Community. University of Michigan graduate.

Michael Urie (Brian) was recently seen on Broadway in the Tony nominated revival of Harvey Fierstein's Torch Song following his critically acclaimed performance in the off-Broadway production at Second Stage for which he received Lucille Lortel Award and Drama League Award nominations. He originated the role of Alex More in Jonathan Tolins' Buyer & Cellar Off-Broadway, on tour, and in London, for which he received the Drama Desk Award, Clarence Derwent Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, LA Drama Critics Award and nominations for the Drama League and Outer Critics Circle Awards. This past June, Michael coproduced the Pride Plays festival at The Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. New York theatre credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Broadway), High Button Shoes (Encores!), The Government Inspector (Drama League, OCC nominations), Shows For Days (LCT), Homos, Or Everyone In America (Obie Award), The Cherry Orchard (CSC), Angels in America (Signature), The Temperamentals (Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk and Theatre World awards, Drama League nomination), The Revenger's Tragedy (Red Bull), and Another Vermeer (HB Playwrights). Regionally, Urie has worked for The Kennedy Center, Shakespeare Theatre Company (Wash. DC), Two River, The Old Globe, Vineyard Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Folger Shakespeare, Barrington Stage, Hyde Park (Austin), and The Blank (L.A.). Film: Lavender, He's Way More Famous Than You (also directed), Thank You for Judging (co-director/exec. producer), Beverly Hills Chihuahua, WTC View, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, The Decoy Bride, Petunia, Such Good People, The Hyperglot (director), and Grantham & Rose (exec. producer). TV: Gavin Sinclair on "Modern Family," "Younger," "The Good Fight," "The Good Wife," "Hot in Cleveland," "Workaholics," "Partners" and Marc St. James on "Ugly Betty." He hosted four seasons of Logo's "Cocktails And Classics." Web series: "What's Your Emergency" (director). Training: Juilliard.

For more information visit: https://2st.com/

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos




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