American Repertory Theater Presents the New England Premiere of FINGERSMITH

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University, under the leadership of Artistic Director Diane Paulus and Executive Director Diane Quinn, begins performances of Fingersmith by Alexa Junge, based on the novel by Sarah Waters, directed by Bill Rauch. Performances begin on Sunday, December 4, 2016 and run through Sunday, January 8, 2017 at the Loeb Drama Center, 64 Brattle Street, Cambridge.

Performance dates:December 4, 6-11, 13-22, 26-31, January 3-7 at 7:30PM;

December 10, 11, 17, 18, 21, 22, 28, 31, January 4, 7, 8 at 2PM

Press opening: Wednesday, December 14 at 7:30PM

Press invitations will be sent out in mid-November.

Open Captioned and Audio Described performances: Thursday, January 5 at 7:30PM & Sunday, January 8 at 2PM

ASL Interpreted performances: Wednesday, January 4 at 7:30PM and Saturday, January 7 at 2PM

Ticket prices from $25. Now on sale by phone at 617.547.8300, in person at the Loeb Drama Center Ticket Services at 64 Brattle Street, or online at AmericanRepertoryTheater.org.

The job seems simple at first: all that pickpocket Sue Tinder has to do is help a con man cheat a gullible young heiress out of her fortune. But nothing is quite what it seems in this mystery set in The Shadows of Victorian England. Spiraling through London streets, madhouses, and a stifling mansion with a shocking secret, Sue finds herself in the most dangerous landscape of all: awakening sexuality, love, and betrayal. Oregon Shakespeare Festival Artistic Director Bill Rauch (All the Way) directs this adaptation of Sarah Waters' best-selling novel, a finalist for the Man Booker Prize. This production premiered at the Oregon Shakespeare Festival in 2015.

The principal cast members are Tracee Chimo as Sue Tinder, Christina Bennett Lind as Maud Lilly, Kristine Nielsen as Mrs. Sucksby, and T. Ryder Smith as Christopher Lilly. The cast also includes Zachary Infante as Charles Cream, Lenne Klingaman as Marianne, Kate Levy as Mrs. Styles, Luke Marinkovich as John Vroom, Jo Mei as Dainty, and Lauren Modica as Cook. Set design is by Chris Acebo, costume design by Deb Dryden, lighting design by Jennifer Schriever, sound design by Andre Pluess, and projections by Shawn Sagady.

About the Principal Cast members:

Tracee Chimo's (Sue Tinder) Broadway credits include the Tony Award nominated Noises Off, as well as The Heidi Chronicles, Harvey, andIrena's Vow. Off-Broadway she was seen in Bad Jews (Lucille Lortel Award, Outer Critics Circle and Drama League nominations); Circle Mirror Transformation (Drama Desk and OBIE Award, Lucille Lortel nomination); Bachelorette (Lucille Lortel nomination, Clarence Derwent Award); and Lips Together, Teeth Apart, among others. Her films include Clint Eastwood's Sully, Michael Mann's Blackhat, Judd Apatow's Five Year Engagement, Concussion, and Take Care. On television she plays Neri Feldman on "Orange is the New Black," and has appeared on "The Good Wife," "Black Box," "Royal Pains," and "Difficult People." She stars in the upcoming "People of Earth," produced by Conan O'Brien and Greg Daniels, which premieres Oct 31 on TBS.

Christina Bennett Lind (Maud Lilly) was last seen at the A.R.T. as Marion in The Heart of Robin Hood. Her other recent credits include Judy in William Mastrosimone's Ride the Tiger (Long Wharf Theatre), Amiri Baraka's Dutchman (Cherry Lane Theatre), pool (no water) (One Year Lease Theatre Company), Twelfth Night (The Mechanicals Theatre Group, directed by Emmy-Nominee Finn Wittrock), Wait Until Dark (John W. Engeman Theatre), Lascivious Something (Cherry Lane Theatre), Mary's Wedding (Hudson Stage Company), The Runner Stumbles(TACT), Widows (Zagorohoria, Greece), and Metamorphoses (Capital Repertory Theatre). Film and television roles include Sharon on Season 3 of "House of Cards" (opposite Michael Kelly), Tallulah Bankhead in "Amazon's Z: The Beginning of Everything" (opposite Christina Ricci), Ariel in Calico Skies (opposite Tom Sizemore), Bianca Montgomery on ABC's "All My Children," as well as "Blue Bloods" (100th Episode), "Forever" (ABC), and "Person of Interest" (NBC). She has recently produced Occupy, Texas (DIFF Official Selection 2016) starring Austin Pendleton (TriBeCa Film Festival Official Selection 2016) with her company, The Neboya Collective, as well as directed/wrote/acted in and produced Fireworkers, (NaFF 2016 World Premiere).

Kristine Nielsen's (Mrs. Sucksby) Broadway credits include You Can't Take It With You, Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike (Tony nomination, Outer Critics Circle Award), Bloody, Bloody Andrew Jackson, Spring Awakening, The Greenbird, Jackie, The Iceman Cometh. Off Broadway includes Hir, Why Torture Is Wrong And The People Who Love Them, How I Spent Last Summer, Omnium Gatherum, Our Leading Lady, Betty's Summer Vacation (Obie Award). Regional work at Williamstown, Guthrie, McCarter, Old Globe, Long Wharf, Yale Rep, The Alley and "Dolly Levi" in The Matchmaker at The Goodman Theatre. Film and TV includes: Theresa Rebeck's Trouble, Happyish, Elementary, Morning Glory, The Savages, Small Time Crooks, Political Animals, NBC's Sound of Music Live!, and most recently, Amazon's Zelda. She is a graduate of Northwestern and the Yale School of Drama.

T Ryder Smith (Christopher Lilly) appeared in the American premiere of War Horse at Lincoln Center, and in the 2009 Broadway revival of Equus. Other New York credits include A.R.T. Institute alum Katori Hall's Our Lady of Kibeho, Sarah Ruhl's Passion Play and Dead Man's Cell Phone, and he shared a 2007 Drama Desk award for Outstanding Ensemble Cast for the 3-actor, 30-role play Lebensraum by Israel Horowitz. He appeared nationwide in plays by Richard Foreman, David Greenspan, Anne Washburn, Charles L Mee, and Doug Wright, among others. Television credits include "The Good Wife," "The Blacklist," "Elementary," "Damages," "Blue Bloods," and "White Collar."

About the Creative Team:

A four-time Emmy and WGA Award nominee, Alexa Junge grew up in Los Angeles and attended Barnard College where she wrote TheVarsity Show with David Rakoff and Jeanine Tesori, and wrote for "Friends" from 1994 to 1999. Nominated for two Emmy Awards and twoWriters Guild of America Awards, Junge also won the National AOL Poll for writing the "All Time Favorite "Friends" Episode" for "The One Where Everybody Finds Out." Junge went on to write for "Once and Again," "Sex and the City," "West Wing" (she was nominated for two Emmys and two WGA Awards) as well as "Big Love" and the BBC comedy "Clone." Junge also wrote lyrics for Disney's Mulan 2, screenplay and lyrics for Disney's Lilo & Stitch 2. A frequent contributor to National Public Radio's This American Life, Junge performed live for their 2008 "What I Learned From Television" tour. She served as Executive Producer and showrunner for the first season of Showtime's series "The United States of Tara" and worked on "Tilda" for HBO and was the executive producer on "Best Friends Forever" for NBC.

Bill Rauch recently directed All the Way at the A.R.T., as well as on Broadway. He is the Artistic Director of Oregon Shakespeare Festival. Having spent eleven seasons as director, he has directed three world premieres - Mr. Schenkkan's All the Way and By the Waters of Babylon, and Bill Cain's Equivocation - and thirteen other plays including Medea/Macbeth/Cinderella, Measure for Measure, The Pirates of Penzance, Hamlet, The Merchant of Venice, The Music Man, Romeo and Juliet, The Two Gentlemen of Verona, The Comedy of Errors, Hedda Gabler, and Handler. Among his initiatives at OSF, Mr. Rauch committed to commissioning up to 37 new plays to dramatize moments of change in American history. American Revolutions: the U.S. History Cycle is now in its fourth year of productions. Mr. Rauch is also cofounder of Cornerstone Theater Company, where he directed more than 40 productions and served as its artistic director from 1986 to 2006. He has directed a number of world premieres, including The Clean House at Yale Repertory Theatre; Living Out and For Here or To Go? at the Mark Taper Forum; and My Wandering Boy and The Further Adventures of Hedda Gabler at South Coast Repertory. He also directed the New York premiere of The Clean House at the Lincoln Center. Work elsewhere includes productions at South Coast Repertory, Guthrie Theater, Arena Stage, Long Wharf Theatre, Pasadena Playhouse, Great Lakes Theater Festival and En Garde Arts. He is the recipient of numerous awards, and is a graduate of Harvard College.

ABOUT THE A.R.T.:

The American Repertory Theater (A.R.T.) at Harvard University is a leading force in the American theater, producing groundbreaking work in Cambridge and beyond. The A.R.T. was founded in 1980 by Robert Brustein, who served as Artistic Director until 2002, when he was succeeded by RoBert Woodruff. Diane Paulus began her tenure as Artistic Director in 2008. Under the leadership of Paulus and Executive Director Diane Quinn, the A.R.T. seeks to expand the boundaries of theater by programming events that immerse audiences in transformative theatrical experiences.

Throughout its history, the A.R.T. has been honored with many distinguished awards, including the Tony Award for Best New Play for All the Way (2014); consecutive Tony Awards for Best Revival of a Musical for Pippin (2013) and The Gershwins' Porgy and Bess (2012), both of which Paulus directed; a Pulitzer Prize; a Jujamcyn Prize for outstanding contribution to the development of creative talent; the Tony Award for Best Regional Theater; and numerous Elliot Norton and IRNE Awards.

The A.R.T. collaborates with artists around the world to develop and create work in new ways. It is currently engaged in a number of multi-year projects, including a new collaboration with Harvard's Center for the Environment that will result in the development of new work over several years. Under Paulus's leadership, the A.R.T.'s club theater, OBERON, has been an incubator for local and emerging artists and has attracted national attention for its innovative programming and business models.

As the professional theater on the campus of Harvard University, the A.R.T. catalyzes discourse, interdisciplinary collaboration, and creative exchange among a wide range of academic departments, institutions, students, and faculty members, acting as a conduit between its community of artists and the university. A.R.T. plays a central role in Harvard's newly launched undergraduate Theater, Dance, and Media concentration, teaching courses in directing, dramatic literature, acting, voice, design, and dramaturgy. The A.R.T. Institute for Advanced Theater Training, run in partnership with the Moscow Art Theatre School and the Harvard Extension School, offers graduate training in acting, dramaturgy, and voice.

Dedicated to making great theater accessible, the A.R.T. actively engages more than 5,000 community members and local students annually in project-based partnerships, workshops, conversations with artists, and other enrichment activities both at the theater and across the Greater Boston area.

Through all of these initiatives, the A.R.T. is dedicated to producing world-class performances in which the audience is central to the theatrical experience.

For further information, visit americanrepertorytheater.org