RIALTO CHATTER: David Alan Grier Joins Mamet's Broadway 'RACE'

RACE, the new play written and directed by DAVID MAMET, welcomes DAVID ALAN GRIER to the cast alongside previously announced cast members JAMES SPADER, RICHARD THOMAS and KERRY WASHINGTON.

RACE will make its world premiere at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre (located at 243 West 47th St.) beginning on Monday, November 16, 2009 with the official opening night on Sunday, December 6, 2009. Rehearsals are set to begin on Tuesday, October 20, 2009.

Although DAVID ALAN GRIER has been known for his ability to create comedy and humor, the graduate of the Yale School of Drama has successfully made the diverse jump from theatre to television to film and still alternates between all three.

Trained in Shakespeare at Yale, Grier began his professional career on Broadway as Jackie Robinson in "The First," for which he earned a Tony nomination in 1981. He then joined the cast of Dreamgirls, went on to star opposite Denzel Washington in A Soldier's Play, and both actors continued their roles in the film version, "A Soldier's Story." Grier's extraordinary performance in the role attracted the attention of Robert Altman, who cast him into a lead role in his film adaptation of David Rabe's "Streamers." The ensemble cast of "Streamers" won the Golden Lion award at the Venice Film Festival in 1983.

Grier has gained recognition for many additional feature film roles, including "Baadasssss!" for director Mario Van Peebles, "The Woodsman" opposite Kevin Bacon and Mos Def, "15 Minutes," "Boomerang," "Bewitched," and "Jumanji." David also co-wrote, produced and appeared in the independent film "Poker House," Lori Petty's directorial debut.

Grier's other theatre credits include the lead role of Pseudolus in the Broadway revival of A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, and well as the New York Shakespeare Festival productions of Richard III and The Merry Wives of Windsor at Central Park. In 2006, David joined the La Jolla Playhouse's staging of The Wiz for Des McAnuff.

RACE will feature Scenic Design by SANTO LOQUASTO and Lighting Design by BRIAN MacDEVITT.

RACE will be produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel & Steve Traxler, the award-winning producers of Speed-The-Plow, Glengarry Glen Ross as well as August: Osage County and Blithe Spirit.

DAVID MAMET, winner of the Pulitzer Prize and New York Drama Critics Circle Award for Glengarry Glen Ross, has also written Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Lakeboat, The Water Engine, The Duck Variations, Reunion, The Blue Hour, The Shawl, Bobby Gould in Hell, Edmond, Romance, The Old Neighborhood and the recent adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance. A two-time Academy Award nominee for The Verdict and Wag the Dog, Mamet's additional film credits include The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Untouchables, Hoffa, Ronin, The Edge, and We're No Angels. His nonfiction work includes The Wicked Son, True and False, and Bambi vs. Godzilla. He is a member of New York's Atlantic Theater Company, which he founded in 1985 with William H. Macy.

JAMES SPADER most recently received his third Emmy Award for his portrayal of lawyer Alan Shore on ABC's hit drama "Boston Legal". His numerous film credits include Steven Soderbergh's Sex, Lies, and Videotape, for which he received the prestigious Best Actor award at the Cannes Film Festival; the critically acclaimed Secretary, opposite Maggie Gyllenhall; David Cronenberg's Crash, opposite Holly Hunter; Mike Nichols' Wolf, opposite Jack Nicholson; Bob Roberts; Wall Street, and Less than Zero, among many others. He co-stars in Robert Rodriguez's film Shorts, to be released this late summer.

RICHARD THOMAS made his Broadway debut at the age of seven in 1959 in Sunrise at Campbobello. His second play on Broadway was The Actors Studio Theatre production of Eugene O'Neill's Strange Interlude, which ran at the Hudson Theatre in 1963 and starred Jane Fonda, Geraldine Page, Ben Gazzara, Pat Hingle & Franchot Tone. He is currently starring in a production of Terrance McNally's "Unusual Acts of Devotion" at the La Jolla Playhouse alongside Doris Roberts and Harriet Harris. Since making his Broadway debut in Sunrise At Campobello in 1958, Mr. Thomas has appeared on New York & tour stages countless times, most recently in Michael Frayn's Democracy, As You Like It in Central Park as well as the hit National Tour of Twelve Angry Men. Other oadway credits include: Love Letters, The Front Page, Fifth of July, Everything in the Garden, The Playroom and Strange Interlude. Thomas received his first major roles in film, appearing in the 1969 motion pictures Winning with Paul Newman and Last Summer with Barbara Hershey. Mr. Thomas has starred in more than forty films for television including Terrence McNally's "Andre's Mother" and "Wild Hearts" for Hallmark. His television series have included "It's A Miracle," "Just Cause" and "The Walton's," for which he won an Emmy Award in 1972. Among numerous recent acting projects, he may be mostly in the public conscious (or sub-conscious) as the voice of Mercedes-Benz for the last few years on television and radio.

KERRY WASHINGTON Winner of "Outstanding Actress in a Motion Picture" for Ray at the 2005 NAACP Image Awards and Nominated for an Independent Spirit Award for "Best Actress" in the film Lift in 2002, she has built an impressive list of credits in a relatively short amount of time. She garnered critical acclaim for her recent roles in The Last King of Scotland opposite Forest Whitaker for which she was nominated for "Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Motion Picture" at the NAACP Image Awards in 2007, The Dead Girl opposite Marcia Gay Harden and Brittany Murphy, and in Lakeview Terrace starring opposite Samuel L. Jackson and Patrick Wilson. Kerry will next be seen in A Thousand Words starring opposite Eddie Murphy and Howard Zinn's documentary The People Speak, which premieres on History in October 2009. She recently completed filming Mother and Child a drama centered around three women portrayed by Annette Bening, Naomi Watts and Washington. Prior to these films, Washington starred as Alicia Masters in Fantastic Four and it's sequel Rise of the Silver Surfer, I Think I Love My Wife opposite Chris Rock, the Wayans Brothers' comedy Little Man, Mr. and Mrs. Smith, starring Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie, Spike Lee's She Hate Me, Sidney Lumet's HBO film Strip Search and the independent film Sexual Life. Other film credits for Washington include Against the Ropes, The United States of Leland, The Human Stain, Bad Company, Save the Last Dance for which she received a Teen Choice Award for Best Breakout Performance, and the highly acclaimed independent film, Our Song.