Laura Linney to Star in MTC's World Premiere of SUMMER, 1976 in Spring 2023

Manhattan Theatre Club will present the world premiere of Summer, 1976 written by Pulitzer Prize winner David Auburn (Proof, The Columnist), starring Tony Award® & Academy Award® nominee Laura Linney (My Name is Lucy Barton, "Ozark") and directed by Tony winner Daniel Sullivan (Proof, Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes).

Tony Award nominee and four-time Emmy Award® winner Laura Linney (My Name Is Lucy Barton, Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes) returns to Broadway in a new play by Pulitzer Prize-winning author David Auburn (Proof, The Columnist). This deeply moving, insightful piece is about connection, memories, and the small moments that can change the course of our lives. Over one fateful summer, an unlikely friendship develops between Diana, a fiercely iconoclastic artist and single mom, and Alice, a free-spirited yet naive young housewife. As the Bicentennial is celebrated across the country, these two young women in Ohio navigate motherhood, ambition, and intimacy, and help each other discover their own independence. Directing is Tony winner Daniel Sullivan (Proof, Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes).

Summer, 1976 was commissioned by MTC through the Bank of America New Play Program.

Summer, 1976 will begin previews on Tuesday, April 4, 2023 at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

Additional casting, the opening night date and creative team for Summer, 1976 will be announced soon.

Summer, 1976 was originally announced for MTC's Stage II theatre.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB's artistic profile is defined by our sustained commitment to producing new theatrical works of the highest quality in our three theatres. We are dedicated to living playwrights, working with the most accomplished artists and launching new talent. Each season, we aspire to create an innovative, entertaining, thought-provoking, and diverse repertoire of exciting productions. Over five decades, MTC has grown from a small off-off-Broadway showcase into one of the country's most prestigious and award-winning theatre companies, creating approximately 600 world, American, New York and Broadway premieres. Our productions have earned 7 Pulitzer Prizes, 28 Tony Awards, 50 Drama Desk Awards and 49 Obie Awards amongst many other honors. Our Broadway home is the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47thStreet) and our two Off-Broadway theatres are at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). MTC is an anti-racist organization that respects and honors all voices, and upholds the values of community and equity. For more information, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

TICKETING INFORMATION

Joining MTC's season of plays is easy! Just call the MTC Clubline at 212-399-3050 or go to www.manhattantheatreclub.com. Single ticket information for Summer, 1976 will be announced at a later date.

ABOUT Laura Linney

Laura Linney is an American actress who works in film, television and theatre.

In June 2018, Laura made her London theatre debut in Richard Eyre's limited three-week run of My Name Is Lucy Barton, the stage play adapted from the Elizabeth Strout novel of the same name and opened to rave reviews. Back by popular demand, the one-woman show returned to the London stage in 2019 and made its Broadway debut at MTC to rave reviews. The story follows Lucy Barton, who after an operation wakes to find her estranged mother at the end of her bed, bringing back memories of her early life in the country, her subsequent escape to New York and the two women's complex relationships. Linney was nominated for a Tony Award® for her Broadway run.

Laura can most recently be seen in all four seasons of Ozark, the critically acclaimed Netflix original series where she plays Wendy Byrde, staring opposite Jason Bateman. The series follow's The Byrdes as a married couple who relocate their family to the Ozarks following a money laundering scheme gone wrong. Linney received her seventh Emmy Award® nomination, this time for her portrayal as Wendy Byrde. Upcoming for Laura is The Miracle Club, where she is set to star opposite Maggie Smith and Kathy Bates, a comedy film about the journey of working-class women from Dublin whose pilgrimage to Lourdes leads them to discover each other's friendship and their own personal miracles. She is also set to star in Searchlight's Suncoast, opposite Woody Harrelson and Nico Parker. Inspired by director Laura Chinn's life experience, the story follows a teenager living with her strong-willed mother (Linney), who must take her brother to live at a specialized facility. There, she strikes up an unlikely friendship with an eccentric activist amid protests surrounding controversial medical cases.

Laura Linney's numerous film credits include Falling, The Roads Not Taken, The Dinner, Nocturnal Animals, Sully, Genius, Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles: Out of the Shadows, You Can Count On Me, Kinsey, The Savages, The Fifth Estate, Hyde Park On Hudson, The Squid And The Whale, Mystic River, Absolute Power, The Truman Show, Primal Fear, The Mothman Prophecies, Love Actually, P.S., The House Of Mirth, The Details and Congo, among many others.

Laura starred in and served as an executive producer for the Showtime Series The Big C for four seasons, for which she won a few awards. She also won multiple awards for her portrayal of Abigail Adams in the HBO miniseries John Adams directed by Tom Hooper. Laura served as an executive producer and starred in the highly anticipated Netflix revival of Tales of the City. She appeared as Kelsey Grammer's final girlfriend in the last six episodes of Fraiser, was directed by Stanley Donen in Love Letters, and starred opposite Joanne Woodward in Blind Spot.

She has also appeared in many Broadway productions at MTC most notably Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes, and Time Stands Still and Sight Unseen, directed by Daniel Sullivan and written by Donald Margulies. Additional credits include Arthur Miller's The Crucible, directed by Richard Eyre opposite Liam Neeson, Six Degrees of Separation, Honour, Uncle Vanya, Les Liaisons, Dangereuses, Holiday and The Seagull.

Linney has been nominated three times for an Academy Award, five times for a Tony Award, eight times for a SAG award, once for a BAFTA Award and seven times for a Golden Globe. She has won one Screen Actors Guild Award, one National Board of Review Award, two Golden Globes and four Emmy Awards. She holds two honorary Doctorates from her alma maters, Brown University and The Juilliard School.

Photo credit: Nino Munoz