Murray and Pankow Set For Atlantic's KEEP YOUR PANTHEON And SCHOOL, Full Casting Announced

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is proud to announce casting for the New York and world premieres of a double bill of one-act plays from Atlantic's founder.

TWO UNRELATED PLAYS BY David Mamet: KEEP YOUR PANTHEON AND SCHOOL, directed by Neil Pepe, will feature the ensemble cast of Jeffrey Addiss, Michael Cassidy, Steven Hawley, J.J. Johnston, Jordan Lage, Brian Murray, Rod McLachlan, John Pankow, Jonathan Rossetti, Jack Wallace and Todd Weeks.

KEEP YOUR PANTHEON AND SCHOOL will begin previews Wednesday, September 9; officially open Wednesday, September 30; and play a limited engagement through Sunday, November 1, 2009 Off-Broadway at The Linda Gross Theater (330 West 20 Street).

Founder David Mamet returns to Atlantic with his new comedy that made its world premiere at Center Theatre Group, directed by Atlantic Artistic Director Neil Pepe. KEEP YOUR PANTHEON is a rousing farce that follows the fortunes and misfortunes of an acting troupe in ancient Rome. An impoverished acting company on The Edge of eviction is offered a lucrative engagement. But through a series of mishaps, the troupe finds its problems have actually multiplied.

Mamet's world premiere play SCHOOL is a brief comic discourse on recycling, poster design and the transmission of information.

Pulitzer Prize winning playwright David Mamet returns to the company he founded with a double bill of one-act plays - the world premiere of SCHOOL and the New York premiere of KEEP YOUR PANTHEON, following an acclaimed staging at Center Theatre Group last season, directed by Atlantic Artistic Director Neil Pepe. Mamet was last represented on the Atlantic stage with the smash hit comedy Romance, also staged by Pepe.

Neil Pepe made his acclaimed Broadway debut with the hit revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow last season and staged the world premiere of Ethan Coen's trio of one act comedies Offices. He directed the world premiere of Mamet's Keep Your Pantheon as well as The Duck Variations at Center Theatre Group.

Jeffrey Addiss and Michael Cassidy appeared in the world premiere of Keep Your Pantheon at Center Theater Group. Atlantic ensemble member Steven Hawley appeared in the world premiere of David Mamet's Romance at Atlantic and at the Mark Taper Forum. Mamet veteran J.J. Johnston appeared in the world premiere of Keep Your Pantheon at Center Theater Group. Founding Atlantic ensemble member Jordan Lage recently played the role of "Bobby Gould" in the hit Broadway revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow. Three time Tony Award® nominee Brian Murray appeared on Broadway in the acclaimed Mary Stuart this season. Atlantic ensemble member Rod McLachlan has appeared in Edmund and Clean. John Pankow recently starred in Why Torture is Wrong, and the People Who Love Them Off-Broadway and in Cymbeline on Broadway. Jonathan Rossetti and Mamet veteran Jack Wallace appeared in the world premiere of Keep Your Pantheon at Center Theatre Group. Atlantic ensemble member Todd Weeks recently appeared in Some Americans Abroad Off-Broadway and Atlantic's Scarcity.

The creative team for KEEP YOUR PANTHEON AND SCHOOL will feature scenic design by Takeshi Kata, costume design by Ilona Somogyi, lighting design by Chris Akerlind and sound design by Obadiah Eaves.

JEFFREY ADDISS. Off-Broadway: The Night Heron (Atlantic). Other New York includes I Was Tom Cruise (Winner: Outstanding Play Fringe NYC), Girl in the Flammable Skirt (Ateh Theatre Group), Abraham/A Shot in the Head (Ontological-Hysteric Theater). Los Angeles: Two Unrelated Plays by David Mamet (Center Theater Group). Regional: Sister Mary Ignatious Explains It All For You (Westport Playhouse). Tours: Mike Mulligan and His Steam Shovel (TheatreWorksUSA). Television: "Lie To Me." Graduate of NYU, the Atlantic Theater Company Acting School and the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art's Shakespeare Intensive.

Michael Cassidy. Theatre: Two Unrelated Plays by David Mamet (Center Theater Group), King Lear, Macbeth (Tygres Heart Shakespeare Company), The Hobbit (Northwest Children's Theater). Film: Zoom, The Girl from Monday. Television: "Privileged," "Smallville," "Hidden Palms," "The O.C." Graduate of The New Actor's Workshop in New York City.

Steven Hawley. Atlantic Theater Ensemble member. Steven was in the world premiere of David Mamet's Romance at Atlantic and subsequently at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. Additionally, he appeared in Richard Cory at ATC, as well as numerous Atlantic 453 productions with fellow faculty members and alumni including High Above it All, Cheek to Cheek and The Three Sisters. He is currently an Associate Director of the Atlantic Acting School and serves on the faculty. He graduated from Atlantic's Professional Actor Training Program in 1995.

J.J. Johnston appeared in the world premiere of Keep Your Pantheon at Center Theatre Group. Broadway: David Mamet's American Buffalo (with Al Pacino, also originated role of Donny at the Goodman Theatre), Arsenic and Old Lace, Glengarry GLen Ross. Los Angeles Theatre: Breaking Legs (Pasadena Playhouse), Detective Story (Strasberg), Cops (The Pan Andreus), The Legendary Stardust Boys (The Odyssey), Belmont Social Club (Two Roads), Lakeboat (Tiffany Theater). Chicago: the premiere of Symmetry (Victory Gardens Theater). Awards: Theatre World Award, Bay Area Critics Award, two Drama-Logue Awards. Film: Redbelt, JFK, Fatal Attraction, Things Change, Mad Dog and Glory, Homicide, Above Suspicion, The Fixer, Lakeboat. Television: M*A*S*H, L.A. Law, Roseanne, Dynasty, All in the Family, Married With Children, The King of Queens. J.J. has also written four books on boxing history.

Jordan Lage. Founding Atlantic Theater Company Ensemble member. Productions include Almost an Evening, Sea of Tranquility, The Night Heron, Mojo, The Hothouse, Edmond, The Water Engine, Distant Fires, The Woods, Boys' Life (Drama Desk nom.). Broadway: Speed-the-Plow, Inherit the Wind, Glengarry GLen Ross (Drama Desk award), Gore Vidal's The Best Man, The Old Neighborhood, Our Town, A Few Good Men (national tour). Regional: Rabbit Hole, Love! Valor! Compassion! (Barrymore Award), Blithe Spirit. Film: You Don't Jack, SALT, Body of Lies, Michael Clayton, World Trade Center, Things Change. Television: "Ugly Betty," "Rescue Me," "All My Children," "Oz."

Rod McLachlan is an Ensemble member of Atlantic Theater Company where he has appeared in Edmund and Clean. Broadway: Holiday, The Government Inspector, Timon of Athens, Saint Joan, The Real Inspector Hound, Our Town, Death and the King's Horseman. Off-Broadway: Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme, Cyrano De Bergerac, Julius Caesar (New York Shakespeare Festival). Regional: The Corn is Green, Dead End, Observe the Sons of Ulster: Williamstown / Huntington: The Lonesome West. South Coast Rep. Film: Superhero Movie, The Bulls, National Treasure, Spiderman II, Magnolia, Where the Money Is, Instinct, Conspiracy Theory, Radioland Murders Television: "Medium," "Quarterlife," "Ugly Betty," "Boston Legal," "Teachers," "CSI," "Numb3rs," "Eyes," "The Handler," "Curb Your Enthusiasm," "The Guardian," "Judging Amy," "ER," "Any Day Now," "Law & Order."

Brian Murray returns to Atlantic after starring in Hobson's Choice in 2002. He comes direct from the critically acclaimed production of Mary Stuart on Broadway. He previously appeared on Broadway in The Rivals, The Crucible (Tony Award® nomination), Uncle Vanya, Twelfth Night, The Little Foxes (Tony Award® nomination, Drama Desk Award), Racing Demon, Noises Off, Black Comedy, Sleuth, King Lear, Da, Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead (Tony Award® nomination). Off-Broadway: Beckett/Albee, Scattergood, The Play About the Baby (Obie Award), The Entertainer, Travels With My Aunt (Drama Desk Award), Ashes (Obie Award), Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing, Gaslight, Entertaining Mr. Sloane. Regional: Me, Myself and I; Seagull in the Hamptons; The Tempest. Film/TV: Bob Roberts, Treasure Planet, "Hamlet," "Twelfth Night." He was inducted into the Theatre Hall of fame in 2004 and has received a 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence and a 1998 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work.

John Pankow recently starred in Christopher Durang's hit play Why Torture is Wrong, and The People Who Love Them Off-Broadway at The Public Theater and in Cymbeline at Lincoln Center on Broadway. Other Broadway credits include Twelve Angry Men, The Iceman Cometh, Amadeus and Serious Money. Off-Broadway: Measure for Measure, The Tempest, Baby Anger, Henry V, Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie, Cloud Nine, Aristocrats, North Shore Fish, Ice Cream and Hot Fudge, Jazz Poets at the Grotto, The Slab Boys, Forty-Deuce, Italian American Reconciliation. Dublin: Someone Who'll Watch Over Me (Abbey Theater). Film: To Live and Die in L.A., Mortal Thoughts, Bride Wars, Life as a House, The Secret of My Success, Talk Radio, The Object of My Affection, and the upcoming films The Extra Man and Morning Glory. Television: series regular on the hit show "Mad About You," "Ally McBeal," "Law & Order," "Law & Order:CI," "Without a Trace" and "The Life and Times of Molly Dodd.

Jonathan RossETTI. Off-Broadway: Our Favorite Child (Atlantic Theater Stage Two). Off Off-Broadway: Sleeping City (Best of NYC Fringe Festival), The Collection (Next Stage), Nick of Time (Third Man Productions), The Frog Prince (Atlantic Acting School) and many others. Regional: Candles to the Sun (Actors Theatre of Louisville). Los Angeles: World premiere of Keep Your Pantheon (Kirk Douglas Theatre), Afraid. Yes. Of. (Lyric Theatre), The Audience (The Odyssey). Film: Spartan, Redbelt, The Fall of 1980, Both Thumbs (Acorn Pictures), Just Cause. Television: "The Unit." Jonathan is a graduate of The Atlantic Acting School's New York and Los Angeles Conservatory Programs. He currently resides in Los Angeles, CA but his heart will always belong to Tulsa.

Jack Wallace appeared in the world premiere production of Keep Your Pantheon at Center Theatre Group. Broadway credits include Glengarry GLen Ross (Golden Theatre); Road, House of Blue Leaves and Front Page (Lincoln Center Theater). National Tour: Glengarry GLen Ross. Off-Broadway: Distant Fires, A Lie of the Mind, Edmond, Bleacher Bums, Ba Ba Goya, Reunion. Regional: Curse of the Starving Class, Woolgather, Edmond, Tooth of Crime, Mother Courage, Old Timers Game, Escape From Happiness, One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest (Eleventh Street Theatre, 20Chicago), Goodman Theatre to name a few. Film: Redbelt, American Pie, Boogie Nights, State and Main, Lakeboat, Browns Requiem, Spanish Prisoner, Nixon, Mad Dog and Glory, Homicide, Above the Law, The Bear, Death Wish. Television: "Heroes" (recurring), "General Hospital" (recurred), "What About Brian," "The Unit," "Six Feet Under," "Cold Case," "Becker," "Lucky," "The Fixer," "Spin City," "ER," "CSI," "The Michael Richards Show," "N.Y.P.D. Blue," "Born Free," "Chicago Hope, "Trial of Shoeless Joe Jackson," "Frasier" and many more.

Todd Weeks is an Atlantic Company Ensemble member appearing in Atlantic productions of Scarcity, The Voysey Inheritance, Romance, Sea of Tranquility, The Cider House Rules, Distant Fires, and many others. He also appeared in the original cast of Howard Korder's Boys' Life and The Lights with Atlantic and subsequent productions at Lincoln Center Theater. Broadway: The Full Monty (original cast), The Last Night of Ballyhoo, Summer and Smoke and Our Town. National Tours: Angels in America and How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying. Off-Broadway: Some Americans Abroad (Second Stage), Therese Raquin (CSC) among others. Regional: The Old Globe (The Full Monty, Lucky Duck), Dallas Theater Center (Angels in America, Of Mice and Men), Alliance Theater (Angels in America, The Underpants), Mark Taper (Romance), Playmakers Rep (Copenhagen), Long Wharf Theater (The Front Page) and the Williamstown Theater Festival (Therese Raquin). Television and Film: "Numb3rs", "Medium," "The Unit," "Law & Order(s)," "Ed," "One Life to Live," The Deal (Sundance), Love Thy Brother (Sundance, Aspen Comedy Festival and HBO Comedy), Mind the Gap (Showtime), South by Southwest Film Festival) and Amos & Andrew.

David Mamet (Playwright). Plays: Keep Your Pantheon (world premiere, Center Theatre Group 2008), Romance (world premiere Atlantic 2005, Mark Taper Forum), November, Boston Marriage, Oleanna, Glengarry GLen Ross (1984 Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Award), American Buffalo, The Old Neighborhood, A Life In The Theater, Speed-the-Plow, Edmond, Lakeboat, The Water Engine, The Woods, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Reunion and The Cryptogram (1995 Obie Award). Translations and adaptations: The Voysey Inheritance by Harvey Granville-Barker, Red River by Pierre Laville and The Cherry Orchard, Three Sisters and Uncle Vanya by Anton Chekov and Faustus. Films: The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict, The Untouchables, House of Games (writer/director), Oleanna (writer/director), Homicide (writer/director), The Spanish Prisoner (writer/director), Hoffa, Wag the Dog, The Edge, The Winslow Boy (writer/director), Hannibal, State and Main (writer/director), Heist (writer/director), Spartan (writer/director), Redbelt (writer/director). Mr. Mamet is also the author of Warm and Cold, a book for children with drawings by Donald Sultan and two other children's books, Passover and The Duck and the Goat; Writing in Restaurants, Some Freaks and Make-Believe Town, three volumes of essays; The Hero Pony and The China Man, a book of poems; Three Children's Plays, On Directing Film, The Cabin and the novels The Village, The Old Religion and Wilson. His most recent books include the acting books, True and False and Three Uses of the Knife, The Wicked Son, and Bambi Vs. Godzilla. Mr. Mamet was also a co-creator of the 4-season running, hit CBS television series "The Unit." He is a co-founder and member of Atlantic Theater Company.

Neil Pepe (Director) made his acclaimed Broadway debut with the hit revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow last season and staged the world premiere of Ethan Coen's trio of one act comedies Offices. He directed the world premiere of Mamet's Keep Your Pantheon as well as The Duck Variations at Center Theatre Group. He has been the artistic director of Atlantic Theater Company since 1992. There he directed Ethan Coen's Almost an Evening; Jez Butterworth's Parlour Song; David Pittu's What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling; David Mamet's American Buffalo starring William H. Macy (also Donmar Warehouse, London); Harold Pinter's The Room and Celebration; David Mamet's Romance (also Mark Taper Forum, L.A.); Milos by John Guare; Tom Donaghy's The Beginning of August (also South Coast Rep.); Howard Korder's Sea of Tranquility; Jez Butterworth's Mojo and The Night Heron; Joe Penhall's Blue/Orange; Wolf Lullaby by Hilary Bell; Clean by Edwin Sanchez; and Shaker Heights by Quincy Long. Other credits include Further Than the Furthest Thing by Zinnie Harris (Manhattan Theatre Club), Eric Bogosian's Red Angel (Williamstown Theatre Festival) and Jessica Goldberg's Refuge (Playwrights Horizons).

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is the award winning Off-Broadway theater dedicated to producing great plays simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble. Atlantic believes that the story of the play and the intent of the playwright are at the core of the creative process.

Atlantic and Neil Pepe were awarded a special 2009 Drama Desk Award for exceptional craftsmanship, dedication to excellence and productions that engage, inspire and enlighten, while Atlantic and Druid's hit revival of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan was awarded an Outstanding Ensemble Performance Award.

Atlantic's acclaimed world premiere production of its first musical Spring Awakening, with music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater and direction by Michael Mayer, won 8 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical. In 2006, Atlantic was awarded the Lucille Lortel Prize for Outstanding Body of Work.

Atlantic produced five world premieres during its 2007-2008 season: Academy Award® winner Ethan Coen's comedy Almost an Evening, directed by Neil Pepe and featuring Academy Award® winner F. Murray Abraham and Mark Linn-Baker; Peter Parnell's Trumpery, directed by David Esbjornson and featuring Tony Award® winner Michael Cristofer and Tony Award® nominee Manoel Felciano; Lucy Thurber's Scarcity, directed by Jackson Gay and featuring Emmy Award® winner Kristen Johnston, Jesse Eisenberg and Michael T. Weiss, Jez Butterworth's Parlour Song, directed by Neil Pepe and featuring Chris Bauer, Jonathan Cake and Emily Mortimer and Annie Baker's Body Awareness, directed by Karen Kohlhaas and featuring Academy Award® nominee JoBeth Williams, Peter Friedman and Mary McCann and the critically acclaimed New York premiere production of Oliver Award® winning and Tony Award® nominated playwright Conor McPherson's play Port Authority, directed by Henry Wishcamper and featuring Tony Award® nominee Brian d'Arcy James, Tony Award® winner John Gallagher, Jr. and Tony Award® winner Jim Norton.

Playwright Beau Willimon made his celebrated Off-Broadway debut during the 2008-2009 season with the world premiere of Farragut North starring Chris Noth and John Gallagher, Jr. The world premiere comedy What's That Smell: The Music of Jacob Sterling, written and performed by Tony Award® nominee David Pittu, transferred Off-Broadway to New World Stages following a critically acclaimed extended engagement at Atlantic Stage 2. Atlantic and Druid's critically acclaimed production of Martin McDonagh's The Cripple of Inishmaan, directed by Tony Award® winner Garry Hynes, was extended three times and received four 2009 Lucille Lortel Award nominations including Outstanding Revival, three Outer Critics Circle Award nominations including Outstanding Revival, and a Drama League Award nomination for Distinguished Revival. Academy Award® winner Ethan Coen returned to Atlantic with a trio of one-act comedies, Offices, directed by Neil Pepe, and Leslie Ayvazian's new comedy Make Me made its world premiere at Stage 2 directed by Atlantic Associate Artistic Director Christian Parker.

Since it's inception in 1985, Atlantic has produced more than 120 productions including the Tony Award® winning play The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the world premieres of Woody Allen's A Second Hand Memory and Writer's Block, the acclaimed world premiere of David Mamet's Romance and his new adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance, the musicals Spring Awakening and 10 Million Miles, Jez Butterworth's Mojo, Tom Donaghy's Minutes From The Blue Route, Edwin Sanchez' Trafficking in Broken Hearts and the American premieres of Blue/Orange, Dublin Carol and The Night Heron, the New York premieres of The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and The Cider House Rules, the revivals of American Buffalo, Edmond, The Hothouse and Hobson's Choice. Atlantic maintains an ensemble of acclaimed actors, writers and directors including David Mamet (playwright and director) and William H. Macy (Academy Award® nominee for Fargo), who founded Atlantic over twenty years ago in 1985.

KEEP YOUR PANTHEON AND SCHOOL will play Tuesday through Friday at 8p, Saturday at 2p and 8p and Sundays at 3p and 7p.

Atlantic Theater Company AT THE LINDA GROSS THEATER is located at 336 West 20th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are $65.00 and available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 (ticketcentral.com).

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Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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