Tickets On Sale To MRS. MURRAY'S MENAGERIE At The Mad Ones And Ensembl

Ars Nova, "one of the most adventurous Off-Broadway companies" (New York Times), under the leadership of Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan and Managing Director Renee Blinkwolt, is proud to announce that tickets are on sale for Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, created by The Mad Ones and Phillip James Brannon, Brad Heberlee, Carmen M. Herlihy and January LaVoy. Directed by Lila Neugebauer, Mrs. Murray's Menagerie kicks-off Ars Nova at Greenwich House and marks The Mad Ones' first production since their critically acclaimed play Miles For Mary.

The Mad Ones has been Ars Nova's Company-in-Residence since 2015, developing Mrs. Murray's Menagerie as well as Miles For Mary. With this world premiere commission, The Mad Ones celebrate ten years of "triumphantly original" and "skillfully acted" (New York Times) theater that is saturated with "precision, invention, and richness" (Time Out New York).

In Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, the creators of a 1970s children's television program have commissioned a focus group to probe the parents of the show's target audience. Over stale coffee and donuts, a group of strangers navigates the murky waters of American belief and perception.

Jesse Green in The New York Times selected Mrs. Murray's Menagerie as an Off-Broadway production he is looking forward to this spring season. Green wrote, "As if to top themselves, The Mad Ones return this spring with Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, set in (a) the 1970s; at (b) a focus group; for (c) a children's television show. That is all we know, and all we need to know. Except that the Ars Nova production, which begins performances on March 26 at the Greenwich House Theater, features a cast of expertly light-touch farceurs under the direction of Lila Neugebauer, who made Miles for Mary so moving behind the laughs. If this is banality, let's have more!"

Ars Nova's Founding Artistic Director Jason Eagan remarked, "Since discovering The Mad Ones in ANT Fest 2009, it's been one of my greater pleasures to watch them grow as artists and human beings. With Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, their uniquely collaborative process paired with an unending curiosity has once again elevated them to new creative heights. As Ars Nova's Company-In-Residence since 2015, it's thrilling to have their commission launch Ars Nova at Greenwich House, our new second home."

The cast for Mrs. Murray's Menagerie includes The Mad Ones' company members Marc Bovino, Joe Curnutte, Michael Dalto and Stephanie Wright Thompson who are joined by Phillip James Brannon, Brad Heberlee, Carmen M. Herlihy and January LaVoy,

The creative team includes You-Shin Chen & Laura Jellinek (Scenic Design), Ásta Bennie Hostetter (Costume Design), Mike Inwood (Lighting Design), Stowe Nelson (Sound Design), Emmie Finckel & Noah Mease (Prop Design), Alfreda "Fre" Howard - Face by Fre, LLC (Wig & Makeup Design), Justin Ellington (Composer), Raja Feather Kelly (Core Artistic Collaborator), Sarah Lunnie (Dramaturg), Lauren Port (Casting Consultant), John C. Moore (Production Stage Manager) and Bryan Bauer (Assistant Stage Manager).

Performances of Mrs. Murray's Menagerie will take place March 26-April 27 at Ars Nova at Greenwich House (27 Barrow Street) with an opening night of Monday, April 8. Tickets, starting at $35, are now on sale. ARSNOVANYC.COM for more info.

Ars Nova's Ticket Initiative, generously supported by New York City's Department of Cultural Affairs, Con Edison and the Seth Sprague Educational and Charitable Foundation, underwrites the cost of tickets to all performances. Acknowledging that a major barrier to arts access is cost, this Ticket Initiative helps to remove this barrier by making general admission tickets to Ars Nova's Off-Broadway Premiere Productions $35 for every performance during the initial run, without any hoops to jump through. Ars Nova gives voice to a new generation of theater artists and, through this Ticket Initiative, makes it accessible to the next generation of audiences - all while also paying those artists a living wage.

About the Artists

The Mad Ones are a New York City-based company that creates ensemble-driven new work. The Mad Ones consist of Co-Artistic Directors Marc Bovino (writer/performer), Joe Curnutte (writer/performer), Stephanie Wright Thompson (writer/performer), Lila Neugebauer (writer/director), Associate Director Michael Dalto (writer/performer) and company members Laura Jellinek (sets), Ásta Bennie Hostetter (costumes), Mike Inwood (lights), Sarah Lunnie (dramaturgy) and Stowe Nelson (sound). The Mad Ones' plays include Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Tremendous Tremendous, The Essential Straight & Narrow and Miles for Mary. The Mad Ones have received significant accolades and critical praise, including multiple New York Times Critics' Picks, Five Star Time Out New York reviews, Drama Desk, and Lucille Lortel Nominations and multiple New York Innovative Theatre Awards. The Mad Ones are company-in-residence at Ars Nova.

Marc Bovino (Performer/Writer/co-Artistic Director) The Mad Ones: Miles for Mary (Lucille Lortel Outstanding Featured Actor Nominee), The Essential Straight & Narrow, Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Tremendous Tremendous and Inspector Pennywhistle... New York: Be The Death of Me (The Civilians, Irondale Center) Trade Practices, Lush Valley, Rus(h) (HERE). Regional: A Christmas Carol, Dracula (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Uncle Sam's Satiric Spectacular (Humana Festival), A Christmas Carol (Hartford Stage).

Phillip James Brannon (Performer/Writer) (Earnest) Broadway: JUNK (Lincoln Center). Off-Broadway: The Antipodes (Signature), Tiny Beautiful Things, ToasT (Public), The City of Conversation (Lincoln Center), Nat Turner in Jerusalem, Love and Information, Belleville (NYTW) Log Cabin, BootyCandy (Playwrights Horizons, OBIE Award), We Are Proud... (Soho Rep). Regional: Dangerous House (Williamstown), Huntington, Wilma, Woolly Mammoth, KC Rep, Steppenwolf, Goodman, Court, Chicago Shakespeare. TV/Film: Servant, The Good Fight, Elementary, The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel, Law & Order: SVU, Contagion. BFA in Acting, DePaul University.

Joe Curnutte (Performer/Writer/co-Artistic Director) The Mad Ones: Miles for Mary, The Essential Straight & Narrow, Samuel & Alasdair, The Tremendous Tremendous and Inspector Pennywhistle and the Nefarious Case of the Sweet Shop Murder. Also a writer/actor of Unnatural Acts (CSC, multiple Drama Desk nominee). TV: The Get Down (Netflix), American Odyssey (NBC), Person of Interest (CBS) and the upcoming series HALF LIFE. Featured in Rockstar Games' Grand Theft Auto V and Red Dead Redemption II.

Michael Dalto (Performer/Writer/Associate Director) The Mad Ones: Miles for Mary, The Essential Straight & Narrow, Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Tremendous Tremendous. Regional: Pride and Prejudice, Shipwrecked! The Amazing Adventures of Louis De Rougemont (Actors Theatre of Louisville), Brink! (Humana Festival), Man of La Mancha, A Christmas Carol, Romeo & Juliet (Virginia Stage Co.), Lemony Snickett's The Composer is Dead (Virginia Symphony Orchestra), Pericles, Robin Hood (Georgia Shakespeare Festival).

Brad Heberlee (Performer/Writer) Most recently appeared in Bess Wohl's Make Believe at Hartford Stage. Off-Broadway: A Life (Playwrights Horizons), Small Mouth Sounds (Ars Nova), Peter Pan (Bedlam), These Paper Bullets! (Atlantic), This Beautiful City (Vineyard/Civilians), Vanity Fair, The Bald Soprano (Pearl), The Thugs (Soho Rep). Regional: Yale Rep, Geffen Playhouse, Center Theatre Group, Actors Theatre of Louisville, ART, Huntington, Denver Center, Center Stage. Television: White Collar, Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt, Person Of Interest, Unforgettable. Education: Yale School of Drama.

Carmen M. Herlihy (Performer/Writer) Select Credits Include - Theater: Kingdom Come (Roundabout), Top Girls (Huntington Theatre), The Tomb of King Tot (Clubbed Thumb), crooked (Women's Project; Lucille Lortel Nomination for Outstanding Lead Actress), The Piano Teacher (Vineyard Theatre); TV: Mrs. Fletcher, High Maintenance, Madam Secretary; Film: The Trouble with Cali, The Switch, The Rebound, Burn After Reading, Morning Glory, Extremely Loud and Incredibly Close, My First Kiss and the People Involved; Training: NYU Tisch, RADA, The Public Theater Shakespeare Lab. For Judes.

January LaVoy (Performer/Writer) Broadway: ENRON. Off-Broadway: Wakey, Wakey, Funnyhouse of a Negro, Two Trains Running, Home (Signature); Measure for Measure (TFANA); Wings (2ST); Coraline (MCC). Selected Regional: Native Guard (Alliance Theatre), Joe Turner's Come and Gone (Mark Taper Forum), Benny & Joon (Old Globe), Good People (Pittsburgh Public), A Streetcar Named Desire, Lobby Hero, The Merchant of Venice (Denver Center). TV: Blue Bloods, Law & Order, Noelle Ortiz on One Life to Live. VO: 200+ audiobooks, multiple Audie Awards. januarylavoy.com.

Lila Neugebauer (Director/Writer/co-Artistic Director) Broadway: The Waverly Gallery. Recent Off-Broadway: At Home at the Zoo, The Antipodes, Everybody, Signature Plays (The Sandbox, Drowning and Funnyhouse of a Negro), The Wayside Motor Inn (Signature Theatre); Mary Page Marlowe (Second Stage); The Wolves, After the Blast, Kill Floor (Lincoln Center Theater); Peace For Mary Frances (The New Group). With The Mad Ones: Miles for Mary (Playwrights Horizons), Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Essential Straight and Narrow. Television: Room 104. OBIE, Drama Desk and Princess Grace Award winner.

Stephanie Wright Thompson (Performer/Writer/co-Artistic Director) The Mad Ones: Miles for Mary, The Essential Straight & Narrow, Samuel & Alasdair: A Personal History of the Robot War, The Tremendous Tremendous. Other credits: The Messenger (Clubbed Thumb), The Subtle Body (59E59), The Hatmaker's Wife (Playwrights Realm), Mission Drift (The TEAM), Habit (PS122), The Bird and the Two-Ton Weight (EST), Have You Seen Steve Steven? (13P). Regional: Six Years and Neon Mirage (Humana Festival), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Actors Theatre of Louisville).

About Ars Nova

Ars Nova exists to discover, develop and launch singular theater, music and comedy artists in the early stages of their professional careers. Their dynamic slate of programs supports outside-the-box thinking and encourages innovative, genre-bending work. Dubbed by The New York Times as a "fertile incubator of offbeat theater," Ars Nova blurs genres and subverts the status quo. With their feverish bounty of programming, Ars Nova is a stomping ground and launching pad for visionary, adventurous artists of all stripes. By providing a protective environment where risk-taking and collaboration are paramount, Ars Nova gives voice to a new generation of diverse artists and audiences, pushing the boundaries of live entertainment by nurturing creative ideas into smart, surprising new work.

With the 2019 premiere of Mrs. Murray's Menagerie, Ars Nova at Greenwich House creates a new, permanent home for the company to launch its artists with Off-Broadway premiere productions. This second home in the historic, 199-seat Greenwich House Theater will allow Ars Nova to rededicate the Ars Nova Building on 54th Street solely to discovering and developing new talent. Through year-round programming, the Ars Nova Hub will bustle with comedy, music and theater artists testing out new ideas in front of adventurous audiences.

Notable past Off Broadway premiere productions include: The New York Times' "Best of 2018" Rags Parkland Sings The Songs of The Future created by Andrew R. Butler, directed by Jordan Fein; the Richard Rodgers Award-winning The Lucky Ones, created by The Bengsons and Sarah Gancher, directed by Anne Kauffman; "Outstanding Musical" Lortel Award-winner KPOP, created by Jason Kim, Max Vernon, Helen Park and Woodshed Collective, directed by Teddy Bergman; "Best New American Theatre Work" OBIE Award-winner and The New York Times' "Best of 2016" Underground Railroad Game by Jennifer Kidwell and Scott R. Sheppard with Lightning Rod Special, directed by Taibi Magar (now on international tour); "Outstanding Musical" Lortel Award-winner FUTURITY, by César Alvarez with The Lisps, directed by Sarah Benson; The New York Times' and New York Post's "Best of 2015" Small Mouth Sounds by Bess Wohl, directed by Rachel Chavkin; Time Out New York's "Best of 2014" JACUZZI by The Debate Society, directed by Oliver Butler; the Tony Award-winning smash-hit Natasha, Pierre & The Great Comet of 1812 by Dave Malloy, directed by Rachel Chavkin; Jollyship the Whiz-Bang by Nick Jones and Raja Azar, directed by Sam Gold; the world premiere of the 2009 season's most-produced play boom by Peter Sinn Nachtrieb, directed by Alex Timbers; the show that put Bridget Everett on the map, At Least It's Pink by Everett, Michael Patrick King and Kenny Mellman, directed by King; and Lin-Manuel Miranda and Thomas Kail's first New York production, Freestyle Love Supreme by Anthony Veneziale and Miranda, directed by Thomas Kail.

For this sustained quality and commitment to the development and production of new work, Ars Nova has been honored with an OBIE Award and a Special Citation from the New York Drama Critics' Circle.