Tim Daly and Tyne Daly to Star in Dorset Theatre Festival's DOWNSTAIRS

Dorset Theatre Festival opens its 40th Anniversary Season with the World Premiere of Theresa Rebeck's Downstairs, starring brother and sister Tim Daly and Tyne Daly, who will be appearing together for the first time on the stage. Dorset Theatre Festival veteran John Procaccino rounds out this all-star cast. Downstairs, under the direction of Resident Director Adrienne Campbell-Holt, runs for 16 performances between June 22 - July 8, 2017. All performances take place at the Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset.

"It is always a gift to collaborate with Theresa, our resident playwright, but to bring in such a cast-and in particular, to have Tim and Tyne working together in a play written just for them, joined by the incomparable John Procaccino-is a dream come true. It doesn't get any better than this," says Artistic Director Dina Janis.

Downstairs is a thought-provoking family drama written with Tim and Tyne in mind. The world premiere of Downstairs marks the first time that Tim and Tyne will work together onstage and the first ever that they will be playing brother and sister. Downstairs follows the story of Irene (Tyne Daly), whose brother Teddy (Tim Daly) has decided to move home and live in her basement. Irene's husband Gerry (John Procaccino) is less than thrilled about this. And Teddy is more than a little off his game. As the brother and sister struggle to understand their present and their past, questions of betrayal, disappointment, and madness rise and fall. Who is saving whom?

"I've been a Vermont lover for a long time," says Tim Daly in a recent Stratton Magazine interview. "I loved that theater and I loved the feeling of it. It's 20 minutes away from my farm. So it gives me a chance to be in the country and plant the garden during the day and go and play my art at night."

Tim Daly is an Emmy-nominated actor, director, producer and philanthropist, beloved by Dorset Theatre Festival audiences for his critically acclaimed performances as Mark Rothko in Red by John Logan and in The Scene by Theresa Rebeck. Downstairs will mark the third collaboration between Tim and director Adrienne Campbell-Holt. Tim's other theatre credits include The Exonerated; Six Degrees of Separation; The Caine Mutiny Court Material; Henry Flamethrowa; Coastal Disturbances; Oliver, Oliver; Buried Child, and most recently, The Ruins of Civilization for the Manhattan Theater Club. Since 2014, Tim has played the role of Henry McCord in the hit CBS series Madam Secretary. He is also well known for his past roles as Joe Hackett on the NBC sitcom Wings, as Clark Kent/Superman in Superman: The Animated Series, and as the drug-addicted screenwriter J.T. Dolan on The Sopranos, for which he was nominated for an Emmy Award.

Behind the camera, Tim produced the documentary film Poliwood, directed by Barry Levinson. He also produced and starred in Edge of America, which earned the Humanitas Prize, Peabody Award, Writers Guild Award and Directors Guild Award. Tim is also the longtime president of The Creative Coalition, which is a non-profit, non-partisan, social and political advocacy organization in which members of the entertainment community promote issues of public importance, specifically in the areas of First Amendment rights, arts advocacy and public education.

Tyne Daly is an accomplished American stage and screen actress best known for her work on the acclaimed television series Cagney & Lacey as title character Detective Mary Beth Lacey alongside Sharon Gless as Detective Christine Cagney. The two won the series a record six Primetime Emmy Awards for Outstanding Leading Actress in a row, which remains unmatched to this day. Tyne's performance earned her four of the six Emmy Awards. Tyne is also well known on television for her role as social worker Maxine Gray, who was the mother to the show's title character on the CBS drama Judging Amy (1999-2005). More recently, Tyne can be seen alongside Sally Field in the feature film Hello, My Name is Doris. Tyne will next appear in Spiderman: Homecoming as Anne Marie Hoag for Sony/Marvel to be released July 2017.

Tyne has been in Broadway stage productions since 1967, including hits like Gypsy, (1989) for which she won the 1990 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Musical, The Seagull (1992), as well as Rabbit Hole (2006) where she played the mother of the protagonist, played by Cynthia Nixon. Over the past several years, Daly has continued to appear in Broadway and Off-Broadway plays. In 2012, she reprised her role as Maria Callas in the West End Production of Master Class.

John Procaccino last joined Dorset Theatre Festival for their production of Out of the City. Broadway: Our Mother's Brief Affair, A Time to Kill, An Enemy of the People, An American Daughter, A Thousand Clowns, Conversations with My Father, 'Art'. Off-Broadway: Incident at Vichy (Signature Theatre), The Layover (Second Stage Theatre), Love and Information (NYTW), Blood and Gifts; Nikolai and the Others (Lincoln Center), The Qualms (Playwrights Horizons). National tour: The Light in the Piazza. Regional: The Normal Heart (Arena); 'Art', Good Boys and True (Steppenwolf); Death of a Salesman (Old Globe); A Prayer for My Enemy, Curse of the Starving Class, A Moon for the Misbegotten (Long Wharf); All the Kings Men, Arms and the Man (Intiman); Tartuffe, Caucasian Chalk Circle, Long Day's Journey into Night (Seattle Repertory); Dinner with Friends, Side Man, The Crucible (ACT-Theater). Film and TV: A Most Violent Year, The Runner Stumbles, Three Fugitives, Born to Be Wild, Law & Order, NYPD Blue, Northern Exposure, Smash, The Good Wife, Elementary, Braindead, The Good Fight, The Americans.

Theresa Rebeck is a widely produced playwright throughout the United States and abroad. She is the screenwriter and director of the upcoming film Trouble, starring Anjelica Huston, Bill Pullman, and David Morse. Theresa is the author of three novels: Three Girls and Their Brother, Twelve Rooms With A View, and I'm Glad About You, which was recently released in February 2016. For television, Theresa has written for Dream On, Brooklyn Bridge, L.A. Law, American Dreamer, Maximum Bob, First Wave, and Third Watch. She is also the creator of the NBC drama Smash. Her produced feature films include Poor Behavior, Harriet the Spy, Gossip, and the independent features Sunday on the Rocks and Seducing Charlie Barker, which is an adaptation of her play, The Scene.

DORSET THEATRE FESTIVAL

Dorset Theatre Festival, sponsored for its 40th season by Manchester Designer Outlets, creates bold and innovative theatre that engages a diverse, multi-generational community: enlightening, entertaining, and inspiring its audience through the celebration of great plays produced with the highest degree of artistry.

Dorset Theatre Festival's 2017 mainstage summer season includes Downstairs by Theresa Rebeck, running June 22-July 8; Ken Ludwig's Baskerville: A Sherlock Holmes Mystery, running July 13-29; The Legend of Georgia McBride by Matthew Lopez, running August 3-19; and American Buffalo by David Mamet, running August 24-September 2. All performances take place at the Dorset Playhouse, 104 Cheney Road, Dorset, VT.

Single tickets and subscriptions for the 2017 Summer Season are now on sale. The box office may be reached by calling (802) 867-2223 ex. 2 Tuesday through Saturday 12-6pm (8pm on performance days) and Sunday 12-4pm. For more information, or to purchase tickets and subscriptions online, visit Dorset Theatre Festival's website at dorsettheatrefestival.org.