Manhattan Theatre Club’s CLOSE UP SPACE Begins Previews Tonight

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere of CLOSE UP SPACE, the new play by Molly Smith Metzler, directed by Leigh Silverman begins previews tonight, December 1 at 8 PM at MTC at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). The limited engagement will open Monday, December 19.

CLOSE UP SPACE features Obie Award winner Michael Chernus (The Aliens, In The Wake), Jessica Digiovanni (Off-Broadway debut), Colby Minifie (The Pillowman, Landscape of the Body), Academy Award and Emmy Award nominee Rosie Perez (Fearless, The Ritz) and Tony Award and four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce ("Frasier," Curtains).

Tony Award and four-time Emmy Award winner David Hyde Pierce brings his signature wit back to the MTC stage as Paul Barrow, an obsessive book editor on a major deadline. With an assistant (Chernus) who's been camping in the office, a famous author (Perez) threatening to bail on him and an intern (DiGiovanni) who is no help at all, Paul's just about had it! But when his fiery daughter (Minifie) shows up and lambasts him in Russian, Paul faces a glaring personal error that can't be corrected with red ink. Leigh Silverman (Well, From Up Here, Chinglish) returns to MTC to direct this funny and poignant new play about how hard it can be to communicate… in any language.

The creative team for CLOSE UP SPACE includes: Todd Rosenthal (scenic design), Emily Rebholz (costume design), Matt Frey (lighting design), and Jill BC Du Boff (sound design).

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting new American plays at Manhattan Theatre Club.

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. Over the past three decades, MTC productions have earned a total of 18 Tony Awards and six Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and an Off-Broadway theatre at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). Since January 2011, Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) has taken the lead in programming and execution at MTC's Off-Broadway home. Renowned MTC productions include Master Class; Good People; The Whipping Man; Time Stands Still; The Royal Family; Ruined; The American Plan; Come Back, Little Sheba; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; A Small Family Business; Sylvia; Putting It Together; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin.'

For more information on MTC, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.