Jessica Hecht, Judith Light Set to Lead ASSEMBLED PARTIES at MTC; Opens 4/17

Manhattan Theatre Club has just announced Tony Award nominee Jessica Hecht (Harvey, A View From The Bridge, Brighton Beach Memoirs) and Tony and Emmy Award winner Judith Light (Other Desert Cities, Lombardi, "Ugly Betty") will star on Broadway in the world premiere of The Assembled Parties, a new play by Tony Award winner Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out, The American Plan, Three Days of Rain) directed by MTC's award-winning Artistic Director Lynne Meadow (Wit, Collected Stories, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife).

The limited engagement will begin previews Tuesday, March 19, 2013 and open Wednesday, April 17, 2013 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

Hecht is currently appearing in the hit revival of Harvey opposite Jim Parsons. Hecht received a Tony Award nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her role in the 2009 revival of A View From the Bridge and, earlier that season, received critical acclaim for her role in the revival of Brighton Beach Memoirs. Her numerous television and film credits include: "Breaking Bad," "Seinfeld," and "Friends."

Light most recently won a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play for her work in Other Desert Cities and a Tony nomination for her performance in the 2010 production of Lombardi. Her other theatrical credits include Wit, both Off-Broadway and the national tour, for which she won Helen Hayes and Elliot Norton Awards. Her television credits include her Emmy nominated roles on "Ugly Betty" and "Who's The Boss." She won two Emmys for her work in the ABC daytime drama "One Life to Live."

THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES welcomes us to the world of the Bascovs, an Upper West Side Jewish family in 1980. In a sprawling Central Park West apartment, former movie star Julie Bascov and her sister-in-law Faye bring their families together for their traditional holiday dinner. But tonight, things are not usual. A house guest has joined the festivities for the first time and he unwittingly - or perhaps by design - insinuates himself into the family drama. Twenty years later, as 2001 approaches, the Bascovs' seemingly picture-perfect life may be about to crumble. A stunning new play infused with humor, The Assembled Parties is an incisive portrait of a family grasping for stability at the dawn of a new millennium.

Greenberg returns to MTC following the acclaimed Broadway revival of his play The American Plan. MTC's collaboration with Greenberg spans 20 years and has seen the New York premieres of such lauded works as The Violet Hour, Three Days of Rain, and Eastern Standard. This production marks MTC's 10th collaboration with Greenberg.

Additional casting and creative team for The Assembled Parties will be announced in the coming weeks.

THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES completes MTC's upcoming 2012-2013 Broadway season. The season will begin this fall with the American premiere of Rebecca Lenkiewicz's new version of AN ENEMY OF THE PEOPLE by Henrik Ibsen, directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes featuring four-time Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines and Emmy Award winner Richard Thomas. This winter, MTC will produce the Broadway premiere of the acclaimed play The Other Place, by Sharr White, directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, starring three time Emmy Award winner Laurie Metcalf.

MTC's Off-Broadway season at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street) will begin this fall with the New York premiere of GOLDEN AGE, the new play by four-time Tony Award winner Terrence McNally, directed by Tony Award winner Walter Bobbie with two-time Tony and two-time Emmy Award winner Bebe Neuwirth and Drama Desk Award winner Lorenzo Pisoni. Also part of MTC's Off-Broadway season will be the world premiere of THE MADRID, the new play by Liz Flahive, directed by two-time Obie Award winner Leigh Silverman starring four-time Emmy Award winner and Tony nominee Edie Falco and the world premiere of THE EXPLORERS CLUB, the new comedy by Tony Award nominee Nell Benjamin.

This fall, MTC is launching a bold, new initiative called The Studio at Stage II (New York City Center, 131 West 55th Street). The first production in The Studio is MURDER BALLAD, a world premiere musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, directed by Trip Cullman. Next spring, The Studio at Stage II will continue with the American premiere of CHOIR BOY, a play with music by Tarell Alvin McCraney. The Studio at Stage II was partially underwritten with a major grant from The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust and the project will be known as "The Studio at Stage II - Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series."

SUBSCRIPTION INFORMATION
Subscriptions for MTC's 2012-2013 season are now available by calling (212) 399-3050 (Monday through Friday NOON - 10 PM) or online at www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / Retna Ltd.