S. Epatha Merkerson, who recently appeared in Manhattan Theatre Club's production of COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA, and Marisa Tomei, currently appearing in MTC's critically acclaimed production of TOP GIRLS, will be featured guests on "Live with Regis & Kelly" next week as a part of "Broadway Week."
Merkerson, who received a Tony nomination for COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA, will be a guest on Monday, June 9.
Tomei, who received a Drama Desk nomination for TOP GIRLS, will be a guest on Tuesday, June 10.
"Live with Regis & Kelly" airs locally on WABC at 9 AM. Check listings outside the tri-state area.
In addition to Tomei, TOP GIRLS features
Mary Catherine Garrison (Rabbit Hole, Assassins), three-time Tony Awardâ nominee
Mary Beth Hurt (A Delicate Balance, The World According to Garp),
Jennifer Ikeda (As You Like It), four-time Obie Award winner
Elizabeth Marvel (Seascape and An American Daughter on Broadway), Drama Desk Award winner
Martha Plimpton (
Shining City at MTC, The Coast of Utopia), and
Ana Reeder (No Country For Old Men, Sight Unseen). The play is directed by
James Macdonald (Drunk Enough To Say I Love You?, A Number)
TOP GIRLS marks the Broadway debut of
Caryl Churchill's groundbreaking work. At the
Top Girls Employment Agency in London in the early 1980s, Marlene has just been appointed head of the firm. But as this ambitious career woman celebrates her achievements, can we applaud her values? This bold and ingenious work from the singularly talented author of Far Away and Cloud Nine offers one of the theatre's most honest portraits of what it means to be a woman in the modern world.
The creative team for TOP GIRLS includes
Tom Pye (scenic design),
Laura Bauer (costume design),
Christopher Akerlind (lighting design), Darron L West (sound design),
Matthew Herbert (original music),
Paul Huntley (hair and wig design) and
ElizaBeth Smith (dialect consultant).
Tickets to TOP GIRLS are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, online at
Telecharge.com, and at the Biltmore Theatre box office (261 West 47th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue). Tickets range in price from $46.50-$91.50. For group ticket information, call (800) 432-7780. Student rush tickets are available the day of the performance at the Biltmore Theatre box office for $26.50.
The acclaimed Broadway production of
William Inge's COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA concluded its extended engagement at Manhattan Theatre Club's Biltmore Theatre in March. Emmy® and Golden Globe Award winner
S. Epatha Merkerson was recently nominated for a Tony Awardâ for her portrayal of "Lola" in the production. In addition, Merkerson was also nominated for an NAACP Theatre Award, an Outer Critics Circle Award, and the Drama League's Distinguished Performance Award.
Merkerson ("Lackawanna Blues," "Law and Order,") and Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee
Kevin Anderson (Death of a Salesman, Orphans) headed the cast of the production which also included
Joseph Adams ("Dirty Sexy Money"),
Chad Hoeppner (Butley),
Daniel Damon Joyce (Broadway debut),
Lyle Kanouse (Big River),
Zoe Kazan (The Prime of Miss Jean Brody),
Brian J. Smith (The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero),
Keith Randolph Smith (Jitney),
Brenda Wehle (Talking Heads) and
Matthew J. Williamson ("Will & Grace"). The production was directed by two-time Emmy Awardâ winner
Michael Pressman (To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, "Picket Fences")
Lola (Merkerson) is a faded beauty queen trapped in a lonely marriage to Doc (Anderson), a recovering alcoholic on the brink of relapse. When a pretty young woman becomes a boarder in their cluttered Midwest home, their lives are unsettled as unspoken passions rise to the surface. As the emptiness of their marriage is laid bare, can they find their way back to each other or will they be undone? This new look at
William Inge's great American story is an absorbing tale of lost hopes and unfulfilled promise, told with unflinching honesty and heartbreaking power.
The creative team for the production included:
James Noone (scenic design),
Jennifer Von Mayrhauser (costume design),
Jane Cox (lighting design),
Obadiah Eaves (sound design),
Peter Golub (original music),
J. David Brimmer (fight director), and
David Caparelliotis (casting).
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. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes as well as numerous other awards. Renowned MTC productions include LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations;
Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; 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. In addition to the Biltmore, MTC operates two theatres at New York City Center, its Off-Broadway home since 1984.
During Meadow's sabbatical this season,
Daniel Sullivan, a close associate of MTC and director of several Manhattan Theatre Club productions (Rabbit Hole,
Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Proof, Psychopathia Sexualis), is serving as Acting Artistic Director. Meadow will return to MTC for the 2008-2009 season and is consulting on the planning of that season.
For information on how to subscribe please visit
www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.
Photo Credits Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.
