Rhea Perlman Joins the New Group's Production of David Rabe's GOOD FOR OTTO

The New Group has announced that Rhea Perlman will join F. Murray Abraham, Kate Buddeke, Laura Esterman, Nancy Giles, Lily Gladstone, Ed Harris, Charlotte Hope, Mark Linn-Baker, Amy Madigan, Rileigh McDonald, Kenny Mellman, Maulik Pancholy and Michael Rabe in the New York premiere of David Rabe's Good for Otto. Rhea Perlman will appear in the role of Nora, as Rosie O'Donnell, previously announced, is unable to appear due to illness.

Directed by Scott Elliott, this production will play a limited Off-Broadway engagement February 20 - April 1, with Opening Night on Thursday, March 8 at The Pershing Square Signature Center (The Alice Griffin Jewel Box Theatre, 480 West 42nd Street).

Through the microcosm of a rural Connecticut mental health center, Tony Award-winning playwright David Rabe conjures a whole American community on the edge. Like their patients and their families, Dr. Michaels (Ed Harris), his colleague Evangeline (Amy Madigan) and the clinic itself teeter between breakdown and survival, wielding dedication and humanity against the cunning, inventive adversary of mental illness, to hold onto the need to fight - and to live. Inspired by a real clinic, Rabe finds humor and compassion in a raft of richly drawn characters adrift in a society and a system stretched beyond capacity.

Directed by Scott Elliott, this New York premiere of Good for Otto features F. Murray Abraham (Barnard), Kate Buddeke (Jane), Laura Esterman (Mrs. Garland), Nancy Giles (Marci), Lily Gladstone (Denise), Ed Harris (Dr. Michaels), Charlotte Hope (Mom), Mark Linn-Baker (Timothy), Amy Madigan (Evangeline), Rileigh McDonald (Frannie), Kenny Mellman (Jerome), Maulik Pancholy (Alex), Rhea Perlman (Nora) and Michael Rabe (Jimmy).

This production includes Scenic Design by Derek McLane, Costume Design by Jeff Mahshie, Lighting Design by Jeff Croiter and Sound Design by Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen. Casting by Judy Henderson, CSA. Production Stage Manager is Valerie A. Peterson.

This marks a return for playwright David Rabe to The New Group. Earlier, The New Group presented widely acclaimed revivals of David Rabe's Hurlyburly and Sticks and Bones, both directed by Scott Elliott; and the world premiere of An Early History of Fire, directed by Jo Bonney. Additionally, Ed Harris and Amy Madigan return to The New Group with this production. Previously, they appeared at The New Group in Beth Henley's The Jacksonian, directed by Robert Falls, and Sam Shepard's Buried Child, directed by Scott Elliott. Ed Harris and Amy Madigan also appeared on the West End, in the London production of The New Group's Buried Child.

Good for Otto premiered at the Gift Theatre in Chicago, directed by Michael Patrick Thornton (October 5, 2015 - February 7, 2016).

The New Group's 2017-2018 season launched with the world premiere of Seth Zvi Rosenfeld's Downtown Race Riot, directed by Scott Elliott, with Cristian DeMeo, David Levi, Moise Morancy, Josh Pais, Sadie Scott, Chloë Sevigny and Daniel Sovich (November 14 - December 23, 2017) and continues with Jerry Springer - The Opera, featuring music by Richard Thomas and book & additional lyrics by Stewart Lee and Richard Thomas and choreography by Chris Bailey, directed by John Rando (in previews, opens February 22). Following this New York premiere of David Rabe's Good for Otto, the season concludes with the world premiere of Lily Thorne's Peace for Mary Frances, directed by Lila Neugebauer, featuring Lois Smith (begins May 2018).

Productions in The New Group's 2017-2018 Season take place at The Pershing Square Signature Center, 480 West 42nd Street.

Subscriptions and memberships for The New Group's 2017-2018 season are available now. For subscription purchases and season info, please visit www.thenewgroup.org. Subscriptions can also be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, or in person at 416 West 42nd Street (12-8pm daily).

Tickets for Good for Otto available now. General playing schedule: Tuesday - Friday at 7:30pm? Saturday at 2:00 & 8:00pm; Sunday at 2:00pm. Regular tickets start at $85. For single ticket purchases, please visit www.thenewgroup.org. Single tickets can also be purchased by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200, or in person at 416 West 42nd Street (12-8pm daily).

The New Group's productions are supported, in part, by public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council.

Programming is made possible by the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Andrew Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Production support for Good for Otto is generously provided by The Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation, The Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater and Venturous Theater Fund of the Tides Foundation.

The New Group (Scott Elliott, Artistic Director; Adam Bernstein, Executive Director) is an award-winning, artist-driven company with a commitment to developing and producing powerful, contemporary theater. While constantly evolving, the company strives to maintain an ensemble approach to all its work and an articulated style of emotional immediacy in its productions. In this way, The New Group seeks a theater that is adventurous, stimulating and most importantly "now," a true forum for the present culture.

The New Group's 2016-2017 season launched with Sweet Charity, choreographed by Joshua Bergasse, directed by Leigh Silverman and starring Sutton Foster, which enjoyed three extensions and received Drama Desk, Drama League and Lucille Lortel Award nominations for Outstanding Revival; and continued with the recent U.S. premiere of Wallace Shawn's Evening at the Talk House, directed by Scott Elliott, featuring Matthew Broderick, Jill Eikenberry, John Epperson, Larry Pine, Wallace Shawn, Claudia Shear, Annapurna Sriram and Michael Tucker; the world premiere of All the Fine Boys, written and directed by Erica Schmidt, with Abigail Breslin, Isabelle Fuhrman, Joe Tippett and Alex Wolff; and the world premiere of Hamish Linklater's The Whirligig, directed by Scott Elliott, with Noah Bean, Norbert Leo Butz, Jon DeVries, Alex Hurt, Zosia Mamet, Jonny Orsini, Grace Van Patten and Dolly Wells.

In summer 2016, The New Group was represented in the West End by the acclaimed production of Jesse Eisenberg's The Spoils, and more recently, by the company's hit production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child, starring Ed Harris and Amy Madigan (November 14, 2016 - March 4, 2017). For his performance, Ed Harris received a 2017 Olivier Award nomination in the Best Actor category. Director Scott Elliott helmed both productions at London's Trafalgar Studios, presented by Lisa Matlin and Adam Speers for Ambassador Theatre Group.

Notable productions include David Rabe's Sticks and Bones, with Holly Hunter and Bill Pullman; Joel Drake Johnson's Rasheeda Speaking, with Tonya Pinkins and Dianne Wiest, helmed by Cynthia Nixon; Jesse Eisenberg's The Spoils, with Jesse Eisenberg and Kunal Nayyar; Ecstasy, This is Our Youth, Aunt Dan and Lemon, Hurlyburly, Abigail's Party, Rafta, Rafta..., The Starry Messenger, A Lie of the Mind, Blood From a Stone, Marie and Bruce, The Jacksonian, Intimacy and many more. The company has received more than 100 awards and nominations for excellence. The New Group is a recipient of the 2004 Tony® Award for Best Musical (Avenue Q). In 2011, The Kid received five Drama Desk nominations and the Outer Critics Award for Outstanding New Off-Broadway Musical. That year, The New Group and Scott Elliott were honored with a Drama Desk Special Award "for presenting contemporary new voices, and for uncompromisingly raw and powerful productions."

The Pershing Square Signature Center, the permanent home of Signature Theatre, is a three-theatre facility on West 42nd Street designed by Frank Gehry Architects to host Signature's three distinct playwrights' residencies and foster a cultural community. The Center is a major contribution to New York City's cultural landscape and provides a venue for cultural organizations that supports and encourages collaboration among artists throughout the space. In addition to its three intimate theatres, the Center features a Studio Theatre, rehearsal studio, a bookstore, and the Signature Café + Bar, open to the public from noon-midnight Tuesdays-Sundays. For more information on renting the Center, please visit www.signaturetheatre.org/rentals.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride / WM Photos