Timothy Olyphant Stars in HOLD ON TO ME DARLING, Opening Tonight at Atlantic Theater

Atlantic Theater Company presents the world premiere of Academy Award nominee and Pulitzer Prize finalist Kenneth Lonergan's latest play HOLD ON TO ME DARLING, directed by Atlantic Artistic Director Neil Pepe.

HOLD ON TO ME DARLING will feature Adelaide Clemens ("Rectify"), Tony Award nominee Jonathan Hogan (As Is), Jenn Lyon (Fish in the Dark), Keith Nobbs (Lombardi), Emmy Award nominee Timothy Olyphant ("Justified") and C.J. Wilson (Bronx Bombers).

HOLD ON TO ME DARLING officially opens tonight, March 14, and play a limited engagement through Sunday, April 3, 2016 Off Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20 Street).

On learning of his mother's death, world famous country and western star Strings McCrane (Olyphant) begins questioning the meaning of his life and what it all adds up to. Determined to abandon his celebrity and career, he moves back to his hometown in Tennessee. It doesn't go well. This compelling new play from acclaimed playwright Kenneth Lonergan examines the costs of fame, fortune and narcissism in pursuit of the American Dream.

Adelaide Clemens makes her Off Broadway debut, stars in the Sundance series "Rectify" and was featured in the Baz Luhrmann film The Great Gatsby. Tony Award nominee Jonathan Hogan has appeared on Broadway in Comedians, Otherwise Engaged, Fifth of July, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, As Is, Burn This, Taking Steps and The Homecoming. Jenn Lyon appeared on Broadway in Fish in the Dark and The Coast of Utopia trilogy and Off Broadway in the Drama Desk Award winning production of The Wayside Motor Inn. Keith Nobbs' Broadway credits include Lombardi, Bronx Bombers and Lion in Winter and returns to Atlantic after appearing in Romance and Dublin Carol. Emmy Award nominee Timothy Olyphant returns Off Broadway for the first time in twenty years following starring in The Santaland Diaries and The Monogamist. He is best known for his starring role on all six seasons of the hit FX series "Justified." C.J. Wilson appeared in the Atlantic productions of Dying for It, Our New Girl, Offices and The Voysey Inheritance and on Broadway in Bronx Bombers, The Big Knife, Festen, Henry IV and The Best Man.

Prolific playwright and screenwriter Kenneth Lonergan makes his Atlantic Theater Company debut following last season's Tony Award nominated hit Broadway revival of This is Our Youth. His plays include the Pulitzer Prize finalist The Waverly Gallery; Olivier, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Award nominated play Lobby Hero; The Starry Messenger and Medieval Play. His debut feature film, You Can Count on Me, which he wrote and directed, was an Academy Award and Golden Globe nominee for Best Screenplay and won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize. He co-wrote the screenplays for Analyze This and Gangs of New York, for which he received an Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

Atlantic Theater Company Artistic Director Neil Pepe recently staged the American premiere of Moira Buffini's Dying For It and the acclaimed world premiere production of John Guare's 3 Kinds of Exile at Atlantic and the Broadway productions of the new musical Hands on a Hardbody, the hit revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow and Mamet's A Life in the Theatre. Off-Broadway highlights include Jez Butterworth's Parlour Song, Mojo and The Night Heron; Ethan Coen's Happy Hour, Offices and Almost an Evening; Harold Pinter's Celebration and The Room and Adam Rapp's Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling.

HOLD ON TO ME DARLING will feature scenic design by Walt Spangler, costume design by Suttirat Larlarb, lighting design by Brian MacDevitt, sound design by David Van Tieghem, dialects by Stephen Gabis and casting by Telsey + Company.

Adelaide Clemens is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

Kenneth Lonergan (Playwright). Plays include This is Our Youth (1996), Drama Desk Best Play nominee, 2015 Tony Award Best Revival nominee (Steppenwolf); The Waverly Gallery (2000), Pulitzer Prize finalist; Lobby Hero (2001), Drama Desk Best Play nominee, Outer Critics Circle Best Play nominee, 2002 Olivier Award nominee for Best Play during its West End run; The Starry Messenger (2009), and Medieval Play (2012). His first film, You Can Count On Me (2000), which he wrote and directed, was an Academy Award and Golden Globe Nominee for Best Screenplay, and won the Sundance Grand Jury Prize, Waldo Salt Screenwriting Award, NY Film Critics Circle, LA Film Critics Circle, Independent Spirit Award for Best Film and Best Screenplay, among numerous awards and nominations. His second film, Margaret (2011) and Margaret - Extended Edition (2012), won the European Film Critics' FIPRESCI Award at the Vienna Film Festival, and the Traverse City Film Festival Founders Prize, and received widespread critical acclaim both in the U.S. and abroad, as well as becoming a cause celebre among cinema journalists and critics worldwide. He also co-wrote the screenplays for Analyze This and Gangs of New York (2002 WGA and Academy Award nomination for Best Original Screenplay). He lives in New York City with his wife and frequent collaborator, actress J. Smith-Cameron, and their daughter, Nellie.

Neil Pepe's Broadway directing credits include the musical Hands on a Hardbody, the acclaimed revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow and A Life in the Theatre. Off-Broadway: Moira Buffini's Dying For It, John Guare's 3 Kinds of Exile, Jez Butterworth's Parlour Song, Mojo and The Night Heron; Ethan Coen's Happy Hour, Offices and Almost an Evening; Harold Pinter's Celebration and The Room; Adam Rapp's Dreams of Flying, Dreams of Falling; Joe Penhall's Blue/Orange; Hilary Bell's Wolf Lullaby; David Pittu's What's That Smell?; Howard Korder's Sea of Tranquility (all at Atlantic); David Mamet's American Buffalo (Donmar Warehouse, Atlantic); Romance, Keep Your Pantheon/School (Center Theatre Group, Atlantic); Zinnie Harris' Further than the Furthest Thing (Manhattan Theatre Club); Jessica Goldberg's Refuge (Playwrights Horizons); Tom Donaghy's The Beginning of August (South Coast Repertory, Atlantic). Frank Gilroy's The Subject Was Roses with Martin Sheen (CTG). Also, Eric Bogosian's Red Angel (Williamstown Theater Festival). Since 1992, Neil has been the artistic director of the award-winning Off-Broadway company, Atlantic Theater Company.

ADELAIDE CLEMENS (Essie) makes her Off Broadway debut with HOLD ON TO ME DARLING. She co-stars in the hit Sundance Channel series "Rectify," now in its fourth season, and has received critical acclaim for her performance as 'Tawney.' She began working as an actress in Australian television and came to prominence as 'Harper' in the critically acclaimed series "Love My Way." She starred as 'Valentine' in the Tom Stoppard HBO/BBC miniseries "Parade's End" opposite Benedict Cumberbatch and Rebecca Hall, directed by Susanna White. On film she was featured in Baz Luhrmann's film adaptation of The Great Gatsby, playing 'Katherine' opposite Joel Edgerton, Isla Fisher, Leonardo DiCaprio and Carey Mulligan and just wrapped filming the female lead in Martha Coolidge's Music, War, and Love in Warsaw, Poland. She can soon be seen in the British film The Night of The Lotus opposite Sam Neil directed by Henry Mason.

JONATHAN HOGAN (Mitch) has appeared on Broadway in Comedians, Otherwise Engaged, Fifth of July, The Caine Mutiny Court Martial, As Is (Tony and Drama Desk Award nominations Best Actor), Burn This, Taking Steps and The Homecoming. A few of the plays he appeared in as a member, for 25 years, of the celebrated, award winning Circle Rep include The Hot l Baltimore, The Mound Builders and Balm in Gilead (in collaboration with Steppenwolf, Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble). Off Broadway includes Book of Days, Molly Sweeney, London Wall and Pocatello (2015 Drama Desk nomination Outstanding Featured Actor). Regional: The Berkshire Theatre Festival, The McCarter Theatre, George Street Playhouse, La Jolla Playhouse, The Repertory Theatre of St. Louis and Hartford Stage. Film includes: In Country, The House on Carroll Street, A Fish in the Bathtub and Revolution #9. Television: "As The World Turns," "One Life to Live," several Movies of the Week, "L.A. Law," "Quantum Leap," all the "Law & Orders" and three episodes on season three of "House of Cards." Mr. Hogan is a graduate of The Goodman Theatre and School of Drama.

JENN LYON (Nancy). Broadway: Fish in the Dark, The Coast of Utopia: Voyage, Shipwreck, Salvage. Off-Broadway: The Wayside Motor Inn, (Drama Desk Award) Twelfth Night. Select regional roles include Hildy in His Girl Friday (La Jolla Playhouse), Billie Dawn in Born Yesterday (ACT Theatre), Brooke Ashton in Noises Off (South Coast Rep) and several world premieres including John Guare's Are You There McPhee? (McCarter Theatre) and Polly Penn's Embarrassments (Wilma Theatre). Television: series regular on "Saint George," "Justified" (seasons 3 and 4) "Suburgatory," "Louie," "All My Children," "Army Wives." Film: Phil Spector, The Flower Shop. Co-founder/writer for online sketch comedy group "Poykpac" (over 90 million views). jennlyon.net

KEITH NOBBS (Jimmy). Broadway: Lombardi, Bronx Bombers, Lion in Winter. Off-Broadway: The Legend of Georgia McBride, I'm Looking for Helen Twelvetrees, The Tutors, Great God Pan, Lemon Sky, Dog Sees God, Romance, The Hasty Heart, Triple Happiness, Bye Bye Birdie at Encores!, Dublin Carol, Free to Be You and Me, Four (Lortel Award, Drama Desk nomination), Fuddy Meers, Hope is the Thing with Feathers, Stupid Kids. Film: The Bad Guys, Weakness, The Briefcase, Phone Booth, Double Whammy and more. Television: series regular in Ed Burns' and Steven Spielberg's "Public Morals" on TNT, "The Pacific" (Emmy Awards Outstanding mini-series and casting) and Muhammad Ali's "Greatest Fight" on HBO, "The Black Donnellys" (series regular), "In Plain Sight," "In Treatment," "Person of Interest," the "Law & Orders," "Fringe." Graduate of LaGuardia High School of Performing Arts.

TIMOTHY OLYPHANT (Strings McCrane) returns to the New York stage for the first time in twenty years following starring Off Broadway in The Santaland Diaries and The Monogamist, for which he received a prestigious Theatre World Award for Outstanding Debut Performance. He is best known for his Emmy Award nominated performance as 'US Marshal Raylan Givens' on all six seasons of the critically acclaimed FX series "Justified." He recently returned to television in a recurring guest-star role on Fox's "The Grinder," for which he received a Critics' Choice Award for Best Guest Actor in a Comedy Series, and will next be seen in Gary Marshall's film Mother's Day and Oliver Stone's Snowden. Television includes NBC's hit comedy series "The Office," FX's award winning series "Damages," and guest appearances on popular shows such as Fox's "The Mindy Project," FX's "The League" and "Archer," NBC's "My Name Is Earl," ABC's "Samantha Who?" and HBO's "Sex and The City." He first garnered critical acclaim for his portrayal of 'Seth Bullock' in HBO's groundbreaking series "Deadwood." Film includes This is Where I Leave You, I Am Number Four, The Crazies, High Life, A Perfect Getaway, Live Free or Die Hard, Hitman, The Girl Next Door, GO, Meet Bill, Catch and Release, Dreamcatcher, Rock Star, Gone In 60 Seconds, A Man Apart, Scream 2, A Life Less Ordinary and he voiced the role of 'The Spirit of the West' in the animated film Rango.

C.J. WILSON (Duke). Atlantic Theater Company: Dying for It, Our New Girl, Offices, The Voysey Inheritance. Broadway: Bronx Bombers, The Big Knife, Festen, Henry IV, The Best Man. Off-Broadway: Bronx Bombers, Happy Now? (Lucille Lortel nomination, Primary Stages); The Lady from Dubuque, Medieval Play (Signature); All-American (LCT3); Race (CSC); Home of the Brave (Jewish Rep); Stop Kiss (Public). Regional: Old Globe, Shakespeare Theatre, Berkshire Theatre Group, Williamstown Theatre Festival, McCarter, Chautauqua, and the Acting Co. Film: The Intern. Upcoming: Manchester-by-the-Sea, Demolition, Easy Living. Television: "House of Cards," "The Characters," "The Following," "The Sound of Music Live!" "Blue Bloods," "Brotherhood," "Without a Trace," "L&O," "L&O: SVU," "L&O: CI," "Onion Sportsdome," "Pan Am," "Third Watch," "Amsterdam." Fox Fellow.

ATLANTIC THEATER COMPANY (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is the award winning Off-Broadway theater that produces great plays simply and truthfully, utilizing an artistic ensemble. Atlantic believes that the story of a play and the intent of its playwright are at the core of the creative process. The plays in the Atlantic repertory, from both new and established playwrights, are boldly interpreted by today's finest theater artists and resonate with contemporary audiences. Now in its 30th Anniversary Season, Atlantic has produced more than 150 plays including Tony Award winning productions of Spring Awakening and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Martin McDonagh); New York Drama Critics Circle winner for Best New Play, The Night Alive (Conor McPherson); world premieres of I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard (Halley Feiffer); Between Riverside and Crazy (Stephen Adly Guirgis); world premieres of Almost an Evening, Offices, Happy Hour and Women or Nothing (Ethan Coen); the musical revival of Bertolt Brecht and Kurt Weill's The Threepenny Opera directed by Martha Clarke; Our New Girl (Nancy Harris) Bluebird and Harper Regan (Simon Stephens); What Rhymes With America (Melissa James Gibson); 3 Kinds of Exile (John Guare); Storefront Church (John Patrick Shanley); The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Cripple of Inishmaan (Martin McDonagh); Body Awareness (Annie Baker); Romance (David Mamet); Through a Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman, adapted by Jenny Worton); Farragut North (Beau Willimon); Blue/Orange (Joe Penhall); Port Authority and Dublin Carol (Conor McPherson); Writer's Block (Woody Allen); American Buffalo and Edmond (David Mamet); The Cider House Rules(adapted by Peter Parnell); Good Television (Rod McLachlan); Celebration & The Room, The Collection & A Kind of Alaska and The Hothouse (Harold Pinter); Dying For It, Gabriel (Moira Buffini); Oohrah! (Bekah Brunstetter); Mojo, Parlour Song (Jez Butterworth); Boys' Life and The Lights (Howard Korder); Distant Fires (Kevin Heelan); The Lying Lesson, Missing Persons (Craig Lucas).

Atlantic has garnered 12 Tony Awards, 15 Lucille Lortel Awards, 16 Obie Awards, 7 Drama Desk Awards, 6 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 3 Drama League Awards, 3 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards, and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama. Atlantic also operates The Atlantic Theater Company Acting School, which has an undergraduate program in conjunction with New York University, as well as a two-year professional acting program and a six-week intensive workshop every summer. Atlantic for Kids and the Educational Outreach Program partners with schools and teachers throughout the greater metropolitan area coordinating in-school visits of teaching artists and post-theater talkbacks.

Photo Credit: Ahron R. Foster

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