THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES Begins Previews Tonight

Manhattan Theatre Club's world premiere production of The Assembled Parties the new play by Tony Award winner Richard Greenberg, directed by MTC's award-winning Artistic Director Lynne Meadow, begins previews tonight at 8 PM at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) in preparation for a Wednesday, April 17 opening night.

THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES features Tony nominee Jessica Hecht, Tony and Emmy Award winner Judith Light, Tony Award nominee Jeremy Shamos, Obie Award winner Mark Blum, Lauren Blumenfeld (We Are Proud to Present...), Alex Dreier (Billy Elliot), Jake Silbermann ("As The World Turns"), and Jonathan Walker (The Divine Sister).

THE ASSEMBLED PARTIES welcomes us to the world of the Bascovs, an Upper West Side Jewish family in 1980. In a sprawling Central Park West apartment, former movie star Julie Bascov (Tony Award nominee Jessica Hecht) and her sister-in-law Faye (Tony and Emmy Award winner Judith Light) bring their families together for their traditional holiday dinner. But tonight, things are not usual. A house guest (Tony nominee Jeremy Shamos) has joined the festivities for the first time and he unwittingly - or perhaps by design - insinuates himself into the family drama. Twenty years later, as 2001 approaches, the Bascovs' seemingly picture-perfect life may be about to crumble. A stunning new play infused with humor, The Assembled Parties is an incisive portrait of a family grasping for stability at the dawn of a new millennium.

Greenberg returns to MTC following the acclaimed Broadway revival of his play The American Plan. MTC's collaboration with Greenberg spans 20 years and has seen the New York premieres of such lauded works as The Violet Hour, Three Days of Rain, and Eastern Standard. This production marks MTC's 10th collaboration with Greenberg.

The creative team for The Assembled Parties includes: Santo Loquasto (scenic design), Jane Greenwood (costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design), Obadiah Eaves (original music & sound design), and Tom Watson (hair & wig design).

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 two Off-Broadway theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). Renowned MTC productions include Venus in Fur; 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.