Double MTC News - Cast & Director Set for WE LIVE HERE; Chernus Joins CLOSE UP SPACE

Lynne Meadow (Artistic Director), Barry Grove (Executive Producer), and Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) announced additional casting and creative team members for the upcoming Manhattan Theatre Club world premiere productions of WE LIVE HERE by Zoe Kazan and CLOSE UP SPACE by Molly Smith Metzler, at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

WE LIVE HERE, the New York playwrighting debut of Zoe Kazan, will be directed by Obie Award winner Sam Gold (Kin, Tigers Be Still, Circle Mirror Transformation). The world premiere production will feature Betty Gilpin (MTC's That Face, The Language Archive) in the role of ‘Dinah,' Oscar Isaac (Ridley Scott's Robin Hood, MTC's Beauty of the Father) in the role of ‘Daniel,' and Jeremy Shamos (Clybourne Park, MTC's Reckless) in the role of ‘Sandy.'

Allie Bateman's wedding is Sunday. When Dinah (Gilpin), her precocious younger sister, returns to their parents' home for the festivities, she brings more than anyone expected: a new boyfriend, whose hidden history resurrects passions and painful memories for the whole family. Over one emotionally charged weekend, The Batemans must acknowledge and accept loss to gain hope for regeneration. Zoe Kazan, one of New York's most acclaimed young actors, returns to Manhattan Theatre Club for her New York playwriting debut with this world premiere MTC-commissioned play -an incisive and beautifully rendered portrait of a contemporary family coming together through grief and celebration.

The limited engagement of WE LIVE HERE will begin previews Thursday, September 22 and open Wednesday, October 12 at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

Additional creative team members for WE LIVE HERE include: John Lee Beatty (scenic design), David Zinn (costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Ryan Rumery (sound design), and Thomas Schall (fight direction).

WE LIVE HERE was commissioned by MTC through the Bank of America New American Play Program and is the recipient of a 2011 Edgerton New American Play Award.

In addition, CLOSE UP SPACE, the world premiere play by Molly Smith Metzler, directed by Obie Award winner Leigh Silverman, will feature Obie Award winner Michael Chernus (In The Wake, Hunting and Gathering). In CLOSE UP SPACE, Chernus will play the role of ‘Steve,' assistant to ‘Paul Barrow' (David Hyde Pierce).

Tony Award and four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce brings his signature wit back to the MTC stage as Paul Barrow, an obsessive book editor on a major deadline. With an assistant (Chernus) who's been camping in the office, a famous author threatening to bail on him and an intern who is no help at all, Paul's just about had it! But when his fiery daughter shows up and lambasts him in Russian, Paul faces a glaring personal error that can't be corrected with red ink. Leigh Silverman (Well, From Up Here, Chinglish) returns to MTC to direct this funny and poignant new play about how hard it can be to communicate... in any language.

The limited engagement of CLOSE UP SPACE will begin previews Thursday, December 1 and open Monday, December 19 at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street).

Additional creative team members for CLOSE UP SPACE include: Todd Rosenthal (scenic design), Emily Rebholz (costume design), Matthew Frey (lighting design), and Jill BC Du Boff (sound design).

Additional casting, performance schedule, and other listings information for WE LIVE HERE and CLOSE UP SPACE will be announced in the coming weeks.

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

WE LIVE HERE BIOGRAPHIES
Sam Gold (Director) most recently directed Ibsen's A Doll's House at Williamstown Theatre Festival and Tracy Letts' August: Osage County at The Old Globe. Recent credits include the world premiere of Kin by Bathsheba Doran at Playwrights Horizons; The Coward by Nick Jones at Lincoln Center Theater's LCT3; Tigers be Still by Kim Rosenstock at Roundabout Theatre Company; Stephen Belber's Dusk Rings a Bell (Atlantic Theater Company); Annie Baker's The Aliens (Rattlestick) and Circle Mirror Transformation (Playwrights Horizons, Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination). Sam directed Nick Jones' Jollyship the Whiz-Bang, which played to sold out runs at Ars Nova in 2008 and The Public Theater's Under the Radar Festival in 2010; Noah Haidle's Rag and Bone (Rattlestick), Sam Marks' The Joke (Studio Dante), Betty Shamieh's The Black Eyed (New York Theater Workshop), Colin McKenna's The Secret Agenda of Trees (Cherry Lane), The Threepenny Opera and Marlowe's Edward II (Juilliard), and Anne Carson's translation of Electra (Williams College). From 2003 to 2006, Sam served as the dramaturg at The Wooster Group. He is a Roundabout Associate Artist, NYTW Usual Suspect, a Drama League Directing Fellow, a recipient of the Princess Grace Award, and a graduate of the Juilliard Directing Program. Upcoming projects include Theresa Rebeck's Seminar, starring Alan Rickman on Broadway; John Osborne's Look Back in Anger at the Roundabout; Dan LeFranc's The Big Meal at Playwrights Horizons; and The Realistic Joneses by Will Eno at Yale Rep. Sam Gold, Nick Jones, and Dave Malloy are currently developing a new musical Homunculus, which has been commissioned and will be produced by Center Theatre Group.

Betty Gilpin (Dinah) made her Off-Broadway debut in 2008 in the Second Stage's production of Good Boys and True. Most recently, Betty co-starred in the world premier of Lucas Kavner's Fish Eye at Here in New York. She also recently appeared in the Roundabout Theatre Company's production of The Language Archive, Manhattan Theatre Club's production of That Face and at the Second Stage in Howard Korder's Boys Life. She co-starred with Wendie Malick in Noah Haidle's two character play, What is the Cause of Thunder? at the Williamstown Theatre Festival. Television and film appearances include "The Good Wife," "Past Life," "The Unusuals," Possible Side Effects, "Fringe," New Amsterdam, "Law & Order," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Medium," Death in Love, The Northern Kingdom and the DreamWorks feature Ghost Town with Ricky Gervais. She received her Bachelor of Arts degree at Fordham College at Lincoln Center and lives in New York City.

Oscar Isaac (Daniel) is classically trained with an internationally diverse heritage, and is poised to take Hollywood by storm. His upcoming films include Drive (Film District) starring opposite Ryan Gosling and Carey Mulligan and directed by Nicolas Winding Refn, W.E. (Weinstein Company) co-starring Abbie Cornish and directed by Madonna, Ten Year directed by Jamie Linden and co-starring Channing Tatum, Anthony Mackie, Rosario Dawson, and Justin Long, Cristiada opposite Andy Garcia, Still I Rise (Walden Media) opposite Maggie Gyllenhaal and Viola Davis, Revenge for Jolly! with Kristen Wiig, Elijah Wood and Ryan Phillipe, and The Bourne Legacy (Universal) opposite Jeremy Renner and directed by Tony Gilroy. In Agora (Universal Focus), directed by Academy Award Winner Alejandro Amenabar, Oscar co-starred opposite Academy Award winner, Rachel Weisz and Max Minghella. In 2009, Isaac won the Australian Film Institute Award for Best Supporting Actor for his work in Balibo playing Nobel Peace Prize winner, ‘Jose Ramos Horta.' He previously worked with W.E. co-star Abbie Cornish on Zack Snyder's Sucker Punch (Warner Brothers). Issac co-starred in Robin Hood (Universal) and Body of Lies (Warner Brothers) both directed by Ridley Scott and was also seen in Steven Soderbergh's Che, with Benicio del Toro. His first starring role was as ‘Shiv' opposite Paddy Considine and Radha Mitchell in the critically lauded PU-239 from HBO Films. The film was directed by Scott Z. Burns and premiered at the Toronto Film Festival in 2006 and aired on HBO in 2007. Isaac wowed audiences with his performance as ‘Joseph' in New Line Cinema's Christmas drama, The Nativity Story, which chronicled the arduous journey of Mary and Joseph, a miraculous pregnancy, and the history-defining birth of Jesus. It was the first film ever to premiere at the Vatican. Isaac has also garnered superb reviews for his stage work, his credits include the title role in Romeo and Juliet and Two Gentlemen of Verona both for The Public Theatre's revered Shakespeare in the Park, Beauty of the Father by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Nilo Cruz at Manhattan Theatre Club and Grace with Lynn Redgrave at the MCC Theater. Isaac also writes and performs music with his band, nightLab. He was raised in Miami and currently resides in New York.

Jeremy Shamos (Sandy). Broadway credits include: Elling, Reckless, and The Rivals. Off-Broadway credits include: Clybourne Park (Drama League, Lucille Lortel Award nominations); Animals Out of Paper (Drama Desk Award nomination); Engaged (Obie Award); The New York Idea (Atlantic Theater); 100 Saints You Should Know, Miss Witherspoon (Playwrights Horizons); Gutenberg! The Musical! (Actors' Playhouse/59E59); Observe the Sons of Ulster... (Linclon Center Theater), Shakespeare (Abridged) (Century Center); Race, The Alchemist (Classic Stage Company); Stranger (Vineyard); Hamlet, Cymbeline and Paris Commune (Public Theater); Corpus Christi (MTC). "Bottom" in New York Philharmonic's Midsummer's... (Sir Neville Mariner conductor). Regional: The McCarter, The Huntington, Hartford Stage, The Long Wharf, La Jolla Playhouse, Court Theater in Chicago and The Williamstown Theater Festival. Film: Taking Woodstock, Dedication, The Rebound, Trust the Man. Television: "Fringe," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Damages," "Stella," and "Hack."

CLOSE UP SPACE BIOGRAPHY
Michael Chernus (Steve). Off-Broadway: In the Wake (Lortel nomination), The Aliens, Hunting and Gathering, The Poor Itch, Rag and Bone, American Sligo, Mr. Marmalade, Essential Self-Defense, Finer Noble Gases, Living Room in Africa. Regional: Romeo and Juliet (Guthrie), The Mistakes Madeline Made (Yale Rep.), Create Fate (Williamstown), Jump/Cut (Woolly Mammoth). Film: The Messenger, Lovely By Surprise, Love and Other Drugs, Higher Ground, Jack and Diane, Feed the Fish, NoNAMES, Coach, The Rebound, Winter Passing, and the upcoming Men In Black 3. TV: "Mercy," "Bored to Death," "Damages." Training: Juilliard.

 

 

Photo Credit: Peter James Zielinski