Terry Kinney to Direct Broadway-Bound REAR WINDOW; Full Creative Team Announced!

The forthcoming Broadway production Rear Window has found its creative team in playwright Keith Reddin(Too Much Memory, Life and Limb) and director Terry Kinney (reasons to be pretty, One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest). The play will be adapted from Cornell Woolrich's original short story, the iconic and haunting tale of the wheelchair-bound witness to a possible murder in his neighboring New York City apartment.

"Since initiating this project, we've been totally committed to bringing something fresh to the story," said producer Charlie Lyons. "To accomplish that, we've gone back to Cornell Woolrich's short story and brought onboard progressive, smArt Theatre artists in Keith and Terry. We couldn't be more thrilled with what this team has brought to this project."

"Rear Window is a remarkable story, with a classic film adaptation in Hitchcock's masterpiece," said director Terry Kinney. "Keith and I hope to honor the amazing source material and create a true psychological thriller for the stage - one that combines theatrical storytelling with new technology to reveal our primal fears."

Also new to the team is producer Lias J. 'Jeff' Steen, who joins producers Charlie Lyons, Jay Russell and Tim Guinee. Steen, who has served as Executive Producer on four feature films in various stages of release and post production, notes "it is gratifying to be part of assembling a world class team to bring this iconic classic to the stage." The show's General Management will be handled by Richards/Climan, Inc.

"Rear Window" was written in 1942 by noted author, Cornell Woolrich. With fans such as Ray Bradbury, who once proclaimed that Woolrich "deserves to be discovered and rediscovered by each generation," Mr. Woolrich carries the distinction of being the most adapted crime novelist of all time including, of course, for the classic 1954 motion picture "Rear Window" directed by Alfred Hitchcock.

A planned production timeline, casting, and further creative team members for Rear Window will be announced shortly.

BIOGRAPHIES:

Keith Reddin (Adaptor) is a graduate of Northwestern University and the Yale Drama School. His plays include: the Sloane Commission, Some Brighter Distance. Too Much Memory, which won the 2008 outstanding play award in the New York Fringe Festival and was revived at New York Theatre Workshop in December 2008; Life and Limb, Rum and Coke, Big Time, Nebraska, Life During Wartime, Brutality of Fact, Almost Blue, All The Rage, But Not For Me, Frame 312,Human Error, and The Missionary Position. Adaptations include; Moliere's The Imaginary Invalid, Thornton Wilder's Heaven's My Destination, and F.Scott Fitzgerald's Rich Boy, plays by Soviet playwrights Alexander Buravsky (The Russian Teacher) and Mikhail Bulgakov (Black Snow). Mr. Reddin's adaptation of Mikhail Shatrov's Maybe was presented at the Royal Exchange Theatre in Manchester, England in April 1993, starring Vanessa Redgrave. Black Snow had its world premiere at the Goodman Theater (Chicago) in May 1993. It won the Joseph Jefferson Award - Best Play 1993. His plays have been produced all over the United States and Canada as well as foreign productions throughout Europe, Australia, and South America. Film credits include All The Rage, with Joan Allen and Gary Sinise, the Playwrights' Cinema, Turner Network Television movies: The Heart of Justice, Bad Boys and Milken and a film adaptation of his play Big Time for American Playhouse PBS. Mr. Reddin has been awarded the Charles MacArthur Fellowship (1983), an NEA Playwriting Fellowship (1984), the San Diego Critics Circle Award for Best New Play (1989 and 1990), the Joseph Kesserling Award (1990) and a DramaLogue Award (1990).

Terry Kinney (Director) is a co-founder of Steppenwolf Theatre Company. His directing credits there include The Violet Hour, A Streetcar Named Desire, A Clockwork Orange, Of Mice and Men, and One Flew Over The Cuckoo's Nest, which moved to Broadway and won a Tony Award for Best Revival of a Play. NYC directing credits include the world premiere of Checkers by Doug McGrath, reasons to be pretty for MCC and Broadway (2009 Tony Nomination, Best Play), After Ashleyand Beautiful Child at the Vineyard Theatre, among others. Upcoming projects include The Money Shot by Neil LaBute, Sins of the Mother by Israel Horowitz, and Rear Window, adapted by Keith Reddin. Mr. Kinney's film directing credits include the short film Kubuku Rides (This Is It) for Steppenwolf Films, and Diminished Capacitywith Matthew Broderick and Alan Alda. Film appearances include Save the Last Dance, Sleepers, Fly Away Home, Last of the Mohicans, The Firm, Devil in a Blue Dress, and Turn The River. TV credits include Tim McManus in HBO's prison drama "Oz," "The Mentalist," "The Unusuals" (ABC), "The Laramie Project," "30something," "Kidnapped," "George Wallace," and "The Good Wife" with Julianna Margulies.

LIAS J. "JEFF' STEEN (Producer). A native of rural Texas, Jeff Steen was born and raised in Cuero, Texas. He attended the public schools of DeWitt County and graduated from Texas A&M University with a BA in Agricultural Economics in 1980. He went on to receive his Juris Doctor from South Texas College of Law in 1987. After a post college stint in Washington D.C. working on Capitol Hill in the early 80's, he has been involved in the oil and gas industry in various capacities for the past 30 years. He has served in numerous executive roles of increasing responsibility for a number of publically traded oil and gas service companies. He currently serves as the Senior Vice President of Legal and Human Resources for Oil States International Inc. In addition to his role at Oil States International, Steen manages a diverse portfolio of real estate, ranching and oil and gas interests in Texas and New Mexico. Steen is the Executive Producer for four feature films in various stages of release and post production. He is married, the proud father of two sons and resides in Houston, Texas.

Charlie Lyons (Producer) is an established film and stage producer and financier. Lyons is the Managing Partner of Holding Pictures and a partner in Beacon Communications. Beacon and Holding Pictures have generated over three billion dollars of film revenues, with critically-acclaimed libraries of over 40 movies. Holding's films include The Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, Open Range, The Guardian, Firewall, Ladder 49, Raising Helen, A Lot Like Love and PU-239. Beacon's library includes The Hurricane, Air Force One, The Family Man, Spy Game, For Love of the Game and Thirteen Days. Lyons also produces the popular Bring It On franchise, which consists of five motion pictures and a musical. The phenomenon, Bring It On, has been seen by over 100 million people and has generated over a billion dollars in revenue. Lyons is a creator, producer, and presenter of the Tony Award-nominated Bring It On: The Musical.

Jay Russell (Producer). Best known for directing critically acclaimed, audience pleasing fare, filmmaker Jay Russell has an impressive track record of telling compelling stories with emotional resonance. Russell got his first break at the age of 19, helming a series of commercials for the Arkansas Parks and Tourism division. Like his boss at the time, Governor Bill Clinton, Russell would go on to bigger and better things. A native of North Little Rock, Arkansas, Russell won a number of regional honors for his music while in high school and then received a full music scholarship to Memphis University. While in Memphis, Russell's passion for music was supplanted, however, by another longtime passion - namely, filmmaking. Russell continued his post?grad studies at Columbia University in New York City, where he studied under the tutelage of Academy Award winning director Milos Forman. After receiving his MFA in Screenwriting and Directing, Russell was invited to attend the famed Sundance Institute Film Workshop, working alongside Academy Award winner Robert Redford. It was there that Russell began development on what would become his first film, End of the Line (1988), a tale of two down?and?out railway workers named Leo and Will (played by Levon Helm and Wilford Brimley) The cast also included Kevin Bacon and Academy Award winners Mary Steenburgen and Holly Hunter. End of the Line was well received at Sundance and won a theatrical release by Sony Classics. After End of the Line, Russell developed a number of projects for Ron Howard and Brian Grazer's Imagine Entertainment, as well as Tri?Star Pictures. Russell also found success at that time in the world of reality television and documentaries. In the mid 1990's, Russell produced a number of documentary series and specials for NBC, CBS, The Learning Channel, and the Discovery Channel. In 1997, PBS approached Russell to write, produce, and direct "Great Drives", a five?hour miniseries on America's most famous highways. It was during the filming of "Great Drives" that Russell met Pulitzer Prize nominated author Willie Morris. At the time, Morris was working on an autobiographical memoir about his childhood. When the book, My Dog Skip, became a national bestseller, Russell - who had stayed in regular contact with Morris ?secured the movie rights to the book. In 2000, Warner Bros. released the Russell produced and directed film adaptation of My Dog Skip, which starred Kevin Bacon, Frankie Muniz, Luke Wilson and Diane Lane. The film was a hit with critics and audiences alike and eventually went on to score numerous awards, including the 2001 Critic's Choice Award for Best Family Film. Russell followed up with Walt Disney's Tuck Everlasting (2002) - starring Alexis Bledel ("Gilmore Girls") along with Academy Award winners, Sir Ben Kingsley, William Hurt and Sissy Spacek. The well?received fantasy was also nominated for a Critic's Choice Award for Best Family Film of 2002. In 2004, Russell tackled his most commercial and adult?oriented project yet with Disney/Touchstone PicturesLadder 49. The film, an ode to the heroism of firefighters, starred Academy Award nominees John Travolta and Joaquin Phoenix as a pair of Baltimore firemen who share a father?son relationship that forges the backbone of this emotionally satisfying film. Ladder 49 remains as one of the top October weekend openers of all time and went on to make over $100 + million in worldwide box office. Next, Sony Picture's Water Horse: Legend of the Deep, was one of the best?reviewed family films of 2008. Starring Alex Etel and Academy Award winner Emily Watson, the film was also nominated by the Visual Effects Society for the groundbreaking digital work of the world famous New Zealand FX company, Weta Workshop. Worldwide, The Water Horse, became Russell's second $100 + million dollar moneymaker in a row. In 2011, Russell served as a Producer for Academy Award nominee Terry George (Hotel Rwanda) on his Belfast, Northern Ireland based indie?comedy, Whole Lotta Sole to be released in 2012.

Tim Guinee (Producer) is an extremely prolific and versatile actor. After graduating from the North Carolina School of the Arts, he quickly established a robust career in film and television. He is an equally respected theatre actor, having appeared on stage at The Ensemble Studio Theatre, NY Shakespeare Festival, MTC, The Edge Theater, and Lincoln Center, among many other venues. Over 175 appearances in film and television include roles in Ali Selim's (Spirit Award winning) Sweet Land, Iron Man I & II, Ladder 49, "The Good Wife", and "Homeland". Upcoming films include The Oranges, Gus Van Sant's Promised Land and famed French director Rashid Buchareb's Just Like A Woman. He can currently be seen as a series regular on NBC's hit show "Revolution."

Photo Credit: Walter McBride