Manhattan Theatre Club Announces '06-'07 Slate

MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) is pleased to announce upcoming productions for its 2006-2007 season, including two shows on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and four productions at MTC's Off-Broadway theatres at Stage I and Stage II at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). A third Biltmore production will be announced at a later date.

MTC's 2006-2007 season features a diverse and exciting roster of works by authors Charles Busch, David Greig, David Harrower, Simon Mendes da Costa, Paul Rudnick, and Brian Friel, including three American premieres and two world premieres.

BILTMORE THEATRE

Losing Louie AMERICAN PREMIERE
Written by SIMON MENDES DA COSTA Directed by Jerry Zaks

Previews begin: September 21, 2006
Opening Night: October 12, 2006

How do our childhood memories affect our lives? How do the mistakes of one generation impact the next? And most importantly, why does love make us do such crazy things? Interwoven events from the past and present blend together in this wise and witty new play, as two generations of family members work things out in the same bedroom, fifty years apart. This American premiere announces the arrival of a major talent, playwright Simon Mendes da Costa, in a new production of the comedy that was a recent hit in London's West End. Directing is four-time Tony Award' winner Jerry Zaks (Guys and Dolls, Six Degrees of Separation). Losing Louie will star Matthew Arkin, Scott Cohen, Patricia Kalember, Mark Linn-Baker, Michele Pawk, Ana Reeder, and Jama Williamson.

Translations
Written by Brian Friel Directed by Garry Hynes A coproduction with McCarter Theatre Center

Previews Begin: January 4, 2007
Opening Night: January 25, 2007

In 1981, MTC produced the American premiere of Brian Friel's masterpiece Translations. Twenty-five years later, the themes of this play are as timely as ever. Clashing cultures and tragedies of miscommunication unfold in Friel's invented Irish county of Ballybeg, a place he has explored in his plays Dancing at Lughnasa, Aristocrats and Molly Sweeney. Poignant and moving, Translations depicts the power of language to unite and divide people in a time of cultural imperialism. The co-production with McCarter Theatre Center (Emily Mann, Artistic Director; Jeffrey Woodward, Managing Director) will be directed by Tony Award winner Garry Hynes (Beauty Queen of Leenane).

NY CITY CENTER STAGE I

Regrets Only WORLD PREMIERE
Written by Paul Rudnick Directed by Christopher Ashley

Previews begin: October 19, 2006
Opening Night: November 14, 2006

From the pen of the inspired Paul Rudnick comes a delicious world premiere comedy of Manhattan manners, exploring the very latest topics in marriage and friendship. The setting: a Park Avenue penthouse. The players: a powerhouse attorney, his deliriously social wife and their closest friend, one of the world's most staggeringly successful fashion designers. Add a daughter's engagement, some major gowns, the President of the United States, and stir. This wedding gift arrives courtesy of the Obie-winning author of such plays as Jeffrey, The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, and I Hate Hamlet, and movies like Addams Family Values and In & Out. Directing is Mr. Rudnick's frequent collaborator Christopher Ashley, whose MTC credits include Wonder of the World and Between Us. The production will star Christine Baranski, Diane Davis, George Grizzard, Jackie Hoffman, Si'n Phillips and David Rasche.

Blackbird AMERICAN PREMIERE
Written by DAVID HARROWER Directed by Joe Mantello

Previews begin: March 15, 2007
Opening Night: April 10, 2007

One of the most talked-about plays to come out of London in years, David Harrower's Blackbird will come to life at MTC in a thrilling new American production. This powerful, volatile piece begins when Una shows up unexpectedly at the office of Ray, forcing Ray to come to terms with the effects of their relationship. Una pulls Ray into an encounter that is gripping, surprising and utterly unforgettable. Blackbird will star Golden Globe nominee Jeff Daniels (The Squid and The Whale) and Tony Award nominee Alison Pill (The Lieutenant of Inishmore) and will be directed by two time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Love! Valour! Compassion!).

NY CITY CENTER STAGE II

The American Pilot AMERICAN PREMIERE
Written DAVID GREIG Directed by LYNNE MEADOW

Previews Begin: November 2, 2006
Opening Night: November 21, 2006

In a rural village in a war-torn country, an American pilot crash-lands. Should the villagers in the region help him, murder him or use him as a pawn in a dangerous game with the enemy? This powerful, topical and very human new play just earned raves at London's Royal Shakespeare Company. This new production will mark its eagerly anticipated American premiere.

Our Leading Lady WORLD PREMIERE
Written by Charles Busch Directed by LYNNE MEADOW

Previews begin: February 22, 2007
Opening Night: March 15, 2007

The author of the hilarious MTC hit The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, which earned a Tony nomination for Best Play, returns with a truly original play about the theatre. Laura Keene, a 19th century American stage luminary, prepares to perform at Ford's Theatre on the fateful night when Abraham Lincoln is in the audience. This new play captures the magic of the theatre as only Charles Busch can. Directing is MTC's Lynne Meadow, who staged The Tale of the Allergist's Wife.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. Renowned MTC productions include Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Yellowman; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin. In 2003, MTC reopened Broadway's landmark long neglected Biltmore Theatre, following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign.

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