Topher Grace & Olivia Thirlby to Lead LONELY, I'M NOT at Second Stage

Topher Grace and Olivia Thirlby will co-star in Second Stage Theatre's production of Paul Weitz's world premiere comedy, LONELY, I'M NOT, directed by Trip Cullman. Preview performances are scheduled to begin on Tuesday, April 10 at Second Stage's Tony Kiser Theatre (305 West 43rd street). The production will officially open on Monday, May 7. For tickets or more information, please visit www.2ST.com. Additional casting will be announced shortly.

Both Topher Grace and Olivia Thirlby have previously worked with writer/director Paul Weitz: Topher Grace starred in Weitz's acclaimed 2004 romantic comedy, In Good Company, opposite Dennis Quaid and Scarlett Johansson, and Olivia Thirlby will soon be seen opposite Robert DeNiro and Paul Dano in Weitz's upcoming film, Being Flynn, opening Friday, March 2.

At an age when most people are discovering what they want to do with their lives, Porter has been married and divorced, earned seven figures as a corporate "ninja," and had a nervous breakdown. It's been four years since he's had a job or a date, and he's decided to give life another shot. LONELY, I'M NOT is a comic journey that follows Porter as he meets an ambitious young businesswoman who is overcoming her own obstacles to emotional success.

LONELY, I'M NOT features scenic design by Mark Wendland; costume design by Emily Rebholz; lighting design by Matt Frey; sound design by Bart Fasbender; and projection design by Aaron Rhyne.

Topher Grace is well known to audiences from Steven Soderbergh's Traffic, Paul Weitz's In Good Company, Spider-Man 3, Valentine's Day, Predators, P.S., Mona Lisa Smile and Win a Date with Tad Hamilton, as well as his seven year run as Eric Forman on the popular TV series, "That '70's Show." He can be seen in the upcoming feature films The Big Wedding, in which he stars opposite Robert DeNiro, Diane Keaton and Amanda Seyfried, and The Giant Mechanical Man, opposite Jenna Fischer and Malin Ackerman. He was last seen starring in Curtis Hanson's acclaimed film Too Big To Fail with William Hurt and Paul Giamatti. LONELY, I'M NOT marks his professional stage debut.
Olivia Thirlby's upcoming film projects include Paul Weitz's feature, Being Flynn, opposite Robert De Niro, Julianne Moore and Paul Dano; Nobody Walks opposite Rosemarie DeWitt and John Krasinski; and Dredd opposite Karl Urban and Lena Headey. Thirlby's other film credits Jason Reitman's Oscar nominated film Juno opposite Ellen Page; Paul Greengrass' United 93; The Wackness opposite Sir Ben Kingsley and Josh Peck; No Strings Attached opposite Natalie Portman and Ashton Kutcher; What Goes Up; The Answer Man, opposite Jeff Daniels; Kenneth Lonnergan's Margaret; Uncertainty opposite Joseph Gordon-Levitt; and New York, I Love You, among others. Her television credits include a recurring role opposite Jason Schwartzman on the series "Bored to Death." Thirlby made her off-Broadway debut in Farragut North, written by Beau Willimon and directed by Doug Hughes. She later reprised this role in the West Coast premiere of the production at the Geffen Playhouse. Thirlby studied at the American Globe Theatre and at the Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts in London.

Paul Weitz is the author of the acclaimed plays Trust, Show People, and Privilege, all of which premiered at Second Stage Theatre. His play Mango Tea was produced Off-Broadway with Marisa Tomei and Rob Morrow by New York's Ensemble Studio Theatre, which also produced his next works, Captive, All for One, and the acclaimed ensemble comedy Roulette, directed by Trip Cullman. He also wrote and directed the comedy American Dreamz, starring Hugh Grant, Dennis Quaid, and MAndy Moore, as well as the critically acclaimed film In Good Company, starring Topher Grace and Scarlett Johansson. With his brother and frequent collaborator Chris Weitz, he co-directed and adapted the screenplay from Nick Hornby's novel for the award winning hit, About a Boy. The screenplay received an Academy Award nomination for Best Adapted Screenplay. Prior to their screenwriting work on About a Boy, the brothers collaborated on several screenplays, including Antz. He made his feature directorial debut teaming with his brother on American Pie, the phenomenally successful first installment of the Pie franchise. His latest film, Being Flynn, which he directed and wrote, stars Robert DeNiro, Paul Dano, and Olivia Thirlby, and will be released on March 2.

Trip Cullman returns to Second Stage where he directed Leslye Headland's Bachelorette, Terrence McNally's Some Men, and Adam Bock's Swimming in the Shallows. Other directing credits include Headland's Assistance, Bock's A Small Fire (Drama Desk nomination) and The Drunken City, Sarah Schulman's Manic Flight Reaction (all at Playwrights Horizons); Adam Rapp's The Hallway Trilogy: Nursing (Rattlestick); Bert V. Royal's Dog Sees God (Century Center); Jonathan Tolins's The Last Sunday in June (Rattlestick and Century Center); Paul Weitz's Roulette (EST); Robert Farquhar's Bad Jazz (Play Co.); Gina Gionfriddo's US Drag (stageFARM); Lloyd Suh's American Hwangap (Play Co./Ma Yi); and Rinne Groff's Of a White Christmas (Clubbed Thumb). Regional credits include John Guare's Six Degrees of Separation (Old Globe), Richard Greenberg's The Injured Party (South Coast Rep), McNally's Unusual Acts of Devotion (La Jolla Playhouse), Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation (Bay Street Theater), and Bess Wohl's Touched (Williamstown Theatre Festival). He graduated from the Yale School of Drama.

Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman, Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best Contemporary Theatre, including Tiny Alice and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; Painting Churches and Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On the Stem by Ricky Jay; Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Some Men by Terrence McNally; eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; Everyday Rapture by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott; Let Me Down Easy by Anna Deavere Smith; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L. West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic Magic by Lanford Wilson; and Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da Vinci by Mary Zimmerman.

The company's more than 130 citations include the 2010 Pulitzer Prize for Next to Normal, the 2009 Tony Awards for Best Score, Best Orchestrations, and Best Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley) for Next to Normal, the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 27 Obie Awards, six Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, 12 Drama Desk Awards, nine Theatre World Awards, 12 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened The Tony Kiser Theatre, its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage launched "Second Stage Theatre Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs.

Second Stage Theatre has acquired the right to purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street. With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theatre company on Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of contemporary American theatrical productions. Second Stage will also become one of only four non-profit theatre companies that own and operate theatres on Broadway. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theatres on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.

For more information, please visit www.2ST.com