John Earl Jelks Joins the Cast of BIRTHDAY CANDLES on Broadway

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced complete casting of the New York premiere of Birthday Candles by Noah Haidle, directed by Vivienne Benesch.

Tony Award nominee John Earl Jelks as "Matt/William" will join the previously announced Emmy Award winner Debra Messing as "Ernestine," and Enrico Colantoni as "Kenneth," with Crystal Finn as "Joan/Alex/Beth," Susannah Flood as "Alice/Madeline/Ernie," and Christopher Livingston as "Billy/John.

An award-winning television star, Debra Messing was last seen on Broadway in John Patrick Shanley's play Outside Mullingar opposite Brían F. O'Byrne. Enrico Colantoni makes his Broadway debut this season; he most recently appeared in HBO Max's "Station Eleven" and Nat Geo's "The Hot Zone: Anthrax" and opposite Tom Hanks in "A Beautiful Day in the Neighborhood." John Earl Jelks was last seen on Broadway in Sweat by Lynn Nottage and received a Tony Award nomination for his work in Radio Golf by August Wilson. Roundabout Theatre Company welcomes the return of Crystal Finn who has appeared in the Roundabout Underground productions of Kingdom Come and Bobbie Clearly, and Christopher Livingston who appeared in the Underground production of Something Clean. Susannah Flood returns to Roundabout after most recently appearing in The Cherry Orchard on Broadway.

Birthday Candles will begin preview performances on Friday, March 18, 2022 and open officially on Sunday, April 10, 2022. This is a limited engagement through Sunday, May 29, 2022 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street).

Debra Messing (Will & Grace) returns to the stage as Ernestine Ashworth, who spends her 17th birthday agonizing over her insignificance in the universe. Soon enough, it's her 18th birthday. Even sooner, her 41st. Her 70th. Her 101st. Five generations, dozens of goldfish, an infinity of dreams, one cake baked over a century. What makes a lifetime...into a life? A writer of "freewheeling ambition" (Charles Isherwood, The New York Times), Noah Haidle makes his Broadway debut with a poignant new play as fearless in scope as it is tremendous in heart.

Roundabout is thrilled to present a new Noah Haidle play following their collaboration on his black comedy Mr. Marmalade (2005) starring Mamie Gummer and Michael C. Hall. Birthday Candles was commissioned and previously produced by Detroit Public Theatre in the spring of 2018 and received the first 2019 Harold and Mimi Steinberg/ American Theatre Critics Association New Play Award citation. Ms. Benesch is the Producing Artistic Director of PlayMakers Repertory Company in Chapel Hill, NC and, as an actress, was seen in Roundabout's 2004 production of Arthur Miller's After the Fall.

The design team will include Christine Jones (Sets), Toni-Leslie James (Costumes), Jen Schriever (Lights), John Gromada (Sound) and Kate Hopgood (Original Music).

Tickets for Birthday Candles are on sale by calling 212.719.1300, online at roundabouttheatre.org, in person at a Roundabout box office. Ticket prices range from $39-$139. For groups of 10 or more please call 212-719-9393 x 365 or email groupsales@roundabouttheatre.org.

Birthday Candles will play Tuesday through Saturday evening at 8:00PM with Wednesday and Saturday matinees at 2:00PM and Sunday matinees at 3:00PM.