John Patrick Shanley's DEFIANCE Announces Full Cast

Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, artistic director; Barry Grove, executive producer) is pleased to announce casting for the world premiere of John Patrick Shanley's DEFIANCE, to be directed by Doug Hughes.

The cast will feature (in alphabetical order): Chris Bauer (Chaplin White), Stephen Lang (Colonel Littlefield), Trevor Long (Gunney), Margaret Colin (Margaret Littlefield), Jeremy Strong (Private Evan Davis), and Chris Chalk (Captain Lee King).

DEFIANCE is set on a United States Marine Corps base in North Carolina in 1971. Two officers, one black (Chalk) and one white (Lang), are on a collision course over race, women, and the high cost of doing the right thing.

The play is about power, love, and responsibility – who has it, who wants it, and who deserves it.

DEFIANCE is part of an intended trilogy of plays by playwright John Patrick Shanley that began with Doubt.

"Doubt was about the birth of uncertainty in a person of faith set in a church school I attended in the '60s. Shortly thereafter, the country went through a cultural earthquake. The authority of most of our institutions was called into question, and a powerful cynicism took hold. In short, Doubt turned into DEFIANCE, which is my second play about American hierarchy," John Patrick Shanley said, "I feel doubt is an important and valuable exercise, a hallmark of wisdom. Defiance is a necessary step in the life of an individual and in the life of a nation, but it is an intermediate step – that's why there's going to be a third play."

The production begins previews at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street) on Thursday, February 9 and opens on Tuesday, February 28.

The design team will feature: John Lee Beatty (Set Design), Catherine Zuber (Costume Design), Pat Collins (Lighting Design), David Van Tieghem (Original Music and Sound Design).

Shanley and Hughes previously collaborated on Doubt, which premiered at New York City Center – Stage I during MTC's 2004-2005 season. Doubt subsequently transferred to Broadway's Walter Kerr Theatre, and won the Pulitzer Prize and four Tony Awards, including Best Play and Best Director.

Tickets are $65 and can be reserved by calling CityTix at (212) 581-1212. Group and student rates are available. For group ticket information, call (212) 399-3000 x 134. Student tickets are $25 and are on sale for all performances based on availability on the day of the performance, up to one hour before showtime. Call (212) 581-1212 for further information. MTC at New York City Center is accessible to people with disabilities and is equipped with a hearing augmentation system.

Visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com for more information

BIOGRAPHIES:

John Patrick Shanley (Playwright). John Patrick Shanley is from the Bronx. He was thrown out of St. Helena's kindergarten. He was banned from St. Anthony's hot lunch program for life. He was expelled from Cardinal Spellman High School. He was placed on academic probation by New York University and instructed to appear before a tribunal if he wished to return. When asked why he had been treated in this way by all these institutions, he burst into tears and said he had no idea. Then he went in the United States Marine Corps. He did fine. He's still doing okay.

Doug Hughes (Director) received the Tony Award, the Drama Desk Award, the Outer Critics Circle Award, the Lucille Lortel Award, and the Callaway Award for his direction of Doubt. This season, he directed Richard Greenberg's A Naked Girl on the Appian Way and the revival of A Touch of the Poet at Roundabout. He is resident director at MCC Theater, where he has directed Last Easter, Scattergood, Frozen, and The Grey Zone (Obie Award and Drama Desk nomination), co-produced Wit and received the first-ever MCC Award. Recent work in New York includes Engaged; Flesh and Blood (Callaway Award), The Beard of Avon and A Question of Mercy, all at NYTW; Othello (with Keith David and Liev Schreiber) at the Public; John Guare's Lake Hollywood at Signature; and An Experiment with An Air Pump for MTC. He has directed five productions for the Guthrie, where he also served as director of artistic planning. Other regional: Long Wharf; Seattle Rep; LaJolla Playhouse; the Shakespeare Theatre in D.C.; London's Bush Theatre; Yale Rep; and the McCarter. For his work on Frozen, Hughes received Tony, Lortel and OCC nominations. He received a special Obie award in 2005 for sustained excellence in theatre.

Chris Bauer (Chaplin White). Recently starred in the revival of A Streetcar Named Desire for which he received an Outer Critics Circle nomination. Recent theatre credits include the Atlantic Theater Company productions of The Night Heron, Hothouse and Mojo; Refuge at Playwrights Horizons. Chris has performed in many regional theatres such as Steppenwolf, the Goodman and Yale Repertory. Recent films include Keane and the upcoming The Ballad of Bettie Paige and Dead Flowers. Other credits: Face/Off, The Devil's Advocate, Flawless, 8MM and Animal Factory. On television Bauer played a leading role in HBO's "61*." He has appeared in several seasons of John Wells' "Third Watch" and simultaneously starred in the second season of HBO's "The Wire" to great critical acclaim. He has been a series regular in the ESPN series "Tilt," John Wells' "Jonny Zero," and the Showtime movie "Our Fathers."

CHRIS CHALK (Captain Lee King). Theatre credits include: A Matter of Choice; Dutchmasters; The Children of Hericles; Good; Race, Religion, Politics; Blue Silence; Songs of Robert; Perfect Party; Bedroom Farce; and Dragonflies. Film and TV credits include: Carlito's Way, "Law & Order," and "Law & Order: SVU."

Margaret Colin (Margaret Littlefield) has previously appeared in MTC's productions of Sight Unseen (original Off-Broadway production), John Patrick Shanley's Psychopathia Sexualis, and Aristocrats for which she received a Drama Desk nomination. Broadway: A Day in the Death of Joe Egg, Jackie in Jackie (Theatre World Award). Off-Broadway: Temporary Help, Speaking in Tongues (RTC), Last Moons, Salome (Actors Studio). Films: First Daughter, Blue Car, Unfaithful, Independence Day, Devil's Own, True Believer, The Butcher's Wife, Amos and Andrew, Like Father Like Son, Something Wild, The Adventures of Sebastian Cole, Three Men and a Baby, Pretty in Pink. TV: "Time to Say Goodbye," "Hit and Run," "Familiar Stranger" (Lifetime), "Good Night Sweet Wife," "Wedding Dress," "Swing Vote," "Stranger Waits," "The Return of Sherlock Holmes." Series: "Now and Again," "Wright Verdicts," "Chicago Hope," "Sibs," "Leg Work," "Foley Square," "As the World Turns" (first Margo) and "Edge of Night."

Stephen Lang (Colonel Littlefield). appeared at Chicago's Goodman Theatre in the world premiere of Steve Tesich's The Speed of Darkness, directed by Robert Falls. The production went on to Broadway, where Mr. Lang received a Tony nomination for his performance. Also on Broadway, Mr. Lang created the role of Colonel Jessip in A Few Good Men, appeared as Happy in Death of a Salesman with Dustin Hoffman, and in Wait Until Dark opposite Quentin Tarantino. He has performed in major regional theaters across the country. His many feature film credits include Tombstone, Gettysburg, Last Exit to Brooklyn, and Gods and Generals. A longtime member of the Actors Studio, he recently made his debut as a writer and director in his one-man show Beyond Glory.

TREVOR LONG (Gunney) previously appeared in John Patrick Shanley's Out West at the Lucille Lortel Theatre. Other theatre credits include: Last Days of Judas Iscariot and In Arabia We'd All Be Kings, both directed by Phillip Seymour Hoffman; Stephen Adly Guirgis's Den of Thieves (New York and the subsequent West Coast premiere); the New York premiere of Scotch and Water. His film credits include: Karaoke King, Don Juan DeMarco, Fat Cats, and Birds in Neutral.

JEREMY STRONG (Private Evan Davis) is making his MTC debut with Defiance. In New York he has appeared in A Matter of Choice (Chashama), Rum & Vodka (Belt Theater), Pearl (Rattlestick Theater), and By The Bier (Cherry Lane Alt.). Through Williamstown's programs, he has appeared in productions of The Dwarfs, White People, Our Country's Good, On The Razzle, and A Clockwork Orange. At Yale he appeared in productions of Speed The Plow, American Buffalo, Hughie, and Indian Wants The Bronx. Training includes Williamstown, Steppenwolf Theater Company School, and Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts.