Atlantic Presents McDonagh's THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, Previews Begin 12/9

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) and Druid will reteam in presenting Academy Award® winner and four-time Tony Award® nominee Martin McDonagh's play THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN, directed by Tony Award® winner Garry Hynes, following an acclaimed UK tour.

The celebrated cast of THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN transfers intact in bringing the production to New York and features Kerry Condon, Andrew Connolly, Laurence Kinlan, Dearbhla Molloy, Aaron Monaghan, Tony Award® winner Marie Mullen, Patricia O'Connell, David Pearse and John C. Vennema.

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN revives the unique relationship between Atlantic Theater Company, Academy Award® winner Martin McDonagh, Tony Award® winning director Garry Hynes and the acclaimed Druid ensemble.

This production marks the third collaboration between Atlantic and McDonagh following the company's critically acclaimed American premiere production of The Lieutenant Of Inishmore, which transferred to Broadway and received five 2006 Tony Award® nominations, including Best Play.

Atlantic and Druid previously collaborated on the world premiere of McDonagh's hit play The Beauty Queen of Leenane, which transferred to Broadway and won four 1998 Tony Awards®.

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN will begin previews Tuesday, December 9th, 2008; officially open Sunday, December 21st, 2008; and play a limited engagement through Sunday, February 1st, 2009 Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company at the Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street). Please not new opening night date.

Atlantic Artistic Director Neil Pepe said: "Atlantic has had a long and extraordinary collaboration with Martin McDonagh beginning with his American premiere in 1998. We are thrilled to be welcoming him back, along with the remarkable Garry Hynes and the Druid Theatre for this exciting revival"

Druid Artistic Director Garry Hynes remarked "I'm delighted to be embarking on this collaboration with Martin again following our very successful journey with The Leenane Trilogy. I am particularly proud to be working with such an excellent cast and creative team on this Irish-American co-production which will see us return to the Atlantic Theater Company where The Beauty Queen of Leenane had its U.S. premiere".

Set in 1934 on an island off the west coast of Ireland, Hollywood filmmaker Robert Flaherty arrives on the neighboring island of Inishmore to film his movie The Man of Aran and excitement ripples through the sleepy community of Inishmaan.  For orphaned Billy Claven, who has been relentlessly scorned by the island's inhabitants, the film represents an escape from the poverty of his existence. He vies for a part in the film, and to everyone's surprise, it is the cripple who gets his chance.

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN is the second play in McDonagh's Aran Island's trilogy and is infused with his trademark humour, rich with macabre cruelty and teeming with eccentric island characters from Billy's "Aunt Kate," known for talking to stones, and gossip monger "Johnnypateenmike," who attempts to get his elderly mother to drink herself to death.

Martin McDonagh's other theater credits include The Leenane Trilogy and The Pillowman, which received six 2005 Tony Award® nominations, including Best Play. His film credits include the short film Six Shooter for which he won an Academy Award® in 2006, and most recently the film In Bruges starring Colin Farrell and Ralph Fiennes, which he also directed.

Garry Hynes returns to Atlantic, where she directed The Beauty Queen of Leenane, prior to its Broadway transfer. In 1998, she earned the distinction of becoming the first woman to receive a Tony Award® for direction. She is the recipient of a 2002The Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Award for Best Director, and a 2005 Special Tribute Award for her contribution to Irish Theatre.

The design team for THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN will feature scenic and costume design by Francis O'Connor, lighting design by Davy Cunningham, sound design by John Leonard and original music composed by Colin Towns.

Atlantic's hit world premiere production of Beau Willimon's political drama Farragut North, directed by Tony Award® winner Doug Hughes is now playing a sold out limited engagement through Saturday, November 29th.

Martin McDonagh (Playwright). The Cripple of Inishmaan marrks Martin's third play with Atlantic and fourth with Druid. Plays: The Pillowman (BroadwayNational Theatre, London, 2003); The Lieutenant of Inishmore (The Royal Shakespeare Company, 2001; Atlantic Theater Company 2006; Lyceum Theatre, Broadway 2006); The Lonesome West (Druid/Royal Court Theatre co-production, 1997); A Skull in Connemara (Druid/Royal Court Theatre co-production, 1997); The Cripple of Inishmaan (National Theatre, London, 1997); The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Druid/Royal Court Theatre co-production,1996, Atlantic Theater Company 1998); The Banshees of Inisheer; The Retard is Out in the Cold; Dead Day at Coney, A Behanding In Spokane. Film: In Bruges (Blueprint Pictures, Film4, Focus Features, Scion Films; 2008); Six Shooter (Missing in Action Films, Funny Farm Films, Fantastic Films, Film4; 2004); Barney Nenagh's Shotgun Circus; Suicide on Sixth Street; Seven Psychopaths.

Garry Hynes (Director) last worked at Atlantic with The Beauty Queen of Leenane, and became the first woman to win a Tony Award® for best direction of a play when the production transferred to Broadway. .founded Druid in 1975 and has worked as its Artistic Director from 1975 to 1991, and from 1995 to date. From 1991 to 1994 she was Ar tistic Director of The Abbey Theatre, Dublin. Druid: Productions include: My Brilliant Divorce (Galway and Irish tour); Long Day's Journey into Night (Galway and Dublin Theatre Festival); Leaves (Galway and Royal Court Theatre, London); The Playboy of the Western World (Tokyo International Arts Festival); Empress of India (Galway and Dublin Theatre Festival); The Year of the Hiker (Galway, Dublin and National Tour); DruidSynge (Galway Arts Festival, Dublin, Edinburgh International Festival and Inis Meáin 2005; Minneapolis and Lincoln Center Festival New York 2006); Sharon's Grave, Sive, On Raftery's Hill, The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Leenane Trilogy (Royal Court co-productions); Lovers' Meeting; Conversations on a Homecoming; Bailegangaire; The Shaugh raun; The Wood of the Whispering. Other theatre: Productions include: The Weir, Crestfall (Gate Theatre, Dublin); Juno  (Encores New York City Center); Transla tions (McCarter/Manhattan Theater Club, New York); Mr Peters' Connections (Sig nature Theatre, New York); Crimes of the Heart (Second Stage, New York); My Brilliant Divorce (West End); 16 Wounded (Broadway); A Streetcar Named De sire (Kennedy Center, Washington); King of the Castle, The Plough and the Stars, The Power of Darkness, Famine, A Whistle in the Dark, Portia Coughlan (The Abbey Theatre).Awards: Honorary Doctor ates from the University of Dublin (2004), the National University of Ireland (1998) and the National Council for Education Awards (1988), and a Tony Award for Direction for The Beauty Queen of Leenane (1998). She is a recipient of many other theatre awards, including The Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Award for Best Director and a Special Tribute Award for her con tribution to Irish Theatre (2005).

Kerry Condon (Slippy Helen) returns to Atlantic where she appeared in The Lieutenant of Inishmore (also RSC), The Cripple of Inishmaan marks Kerry's debut with Druid. Theatre: After the End (Bush Theatre London), Hamlet (RSC); The Lonesome West (Everyman, Liverpool). Film & Television: The Last Station (Dir. Michael Hoffman); Anatomy of Hope (Dir. J.J. Abrams); Rome (HBO); Unleashed (Dir. Louis Leterrier); Intermission (Dir. John Crowley); The Halo Effect (Dir. Lance Daly); Ned Kelly (Dir. Gregor Jordan); How Harry Became a Tree (Dir. Goran Paskaljevic); Rat (Dir. Steve Barron); Ballykissangel (BBC); Angela's Ashes (Dir. Alan Parker).Kerry played the role of Ophelia in Hamlet for the Royal Shakespeare Company when she was just 19 years old, making her the youngest actress ever to play that role for the RSC.

Andrew Connolly (Babby Bobby) returns to Atlantic following appearing in The Lieutenant of Inishmore for the company as well as the Broadway transfer. The Cripple of Inishmaan marks his debut with Druid. Theatre: Poor Beast In The Rain, Made In China, The Lower Depts, Pilgrims, Drowning, Wasters, Studs, War, The Silver Tassie, Nightshade. Film & Television: On Broadway, Vendetta, Guiltrip, Murder She Wrote, Shergar, Joyriders, The Courier, Shameless, Patriot Games, Lost, E.R, Bramwell, The Truth About Clare, Rebel Heart, Runway One, Circle Of Deceit, Making The Cut, Taggart, The Bill. Awards: Andrew received the Best Actor Award at the Amien Film Festival for his role in Guiltrip. Andrew has written and directed the award winning series of short films for the internet called The Fun Loving Criminals - www.peeledzero.com/flc.

Laurence Kinlan (Bartley). The Cripple of Inishmaan marks Laurence's debut with Atlantic and Druid. Other Theatre: The Playboy of the Western World (Roddy Doyle and Bisi Adigun adaptation), On Such As We, A Month in the Country, Saved (Abbey and Peacock Theatres); Poor Beast in the Rain (Gate, Dublin). Film & Television: Soft Sand Blue Sea; Angela's Ashes (Dir. Alan Parker); Saltwater (Dir. Conor McPherson); Everlasting Piece (Dir Barry Levinson); Last Days in Dublin; Veronica Guerin (Dir. Joel Schumacher); The Halo Effect (Dir. Lance Daly); Intermission (Dir. John Crowley); Boy Eats Girl (Dir. Stephen Bradley); Breakfast on Pluto (Dir. Neil Jordan); Small Engine Repair (Dir. Niall Heery); My Boy Jack (Dir. Brian Kirk); Ned Kelly (Dir. Gregor Jordan); On the Nose (Dir. David Caffrey); Country (Dir. Kevin Liddy); The Bill (Dir. Pip Broughton); On Home Ground (RTÉ).

Dearbhla Molloy (Eileen) The Cripple of Inishmaan marks Dearbhla's debut with Atlantic and Druid. Theatre: In Celebration, Juno and the Paycock (Donmar); Arcadia, Hamlet, As You Like It, Much Ado about Nothing, (West End); The Cripple of Inishmaan, Hinterland, On the Ledge (National Theatre, London); The Hostage, Shadow of a Gunman, The Love-Girl and the Innocent (RSC); Doubt (Tricycle); Saturday Sunday Monday, Summerfolk (Chichester); All my Sons (Liverpool); The Life of the World to Come (Almeida); Macbeth (Bristol Old Vic); Dancing at Lughnasa, Aristocrats, The Way to Keep Him, Time Was, The Misanthrope, Translations, The Death of Humpty Dumpty, Ivanov, Living Quarters, Mrs Warrren's Profession, Richard's Cork Leg, A Life (Abbey Theatre); Phaedre, Uncle Vanya, The Philanthropist, Come on Over (Gate, Dublin); The Plough and the Stars (Gaiety); Dancing at Lughnasa, Juno and the Paycock, A Touch of the Poet (Broadway). Film & Television: The Damned United, Tara Road, No Reservations, Blackwater Lightship, Bloom, This is the Sea, Frankie Starlight, Run of the Country, Loaded, Taffin, Summer Lightning, Educating Rita, A Touch of Frost, New Tricks, Heartbeat, Midsomer Murders, Foyle's War, Waking the Dead, Proof, Fergus Wedding, Home for Christmas, Romeo and Juliet, GBH, The Fragile Heart, 55 Degrees North. Awards: Dearbhla has received numerous awards including a Drama Desk Award; Theatre World Special Award; London Critics Award; Irish Theatre Award; US Audi Award. She also received nominations from the Tony Awards; Royal Television Society; IFTA; and Grammy Awards.

Aaron Monaghan (Billy/Aaron) trained at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin, and at the British American Drama Academy, Oxford. Druid: Empress of India; The Year of the Hiker; The Walworth Farce; DruidSynge (Galway, Dublin, Edinburgh International Festival and Inis Meáin, 2005; Minneapolis and Lincoln Center Festival New York 2006); The Playboy of the Western World (Tokyo 2007, Perth, Australia tour 2005). Other Theatre: Romeo in Romeo & Juliet, Drama at Inish, The Shaughraun (Irish Times Theatre Award Nomination), She Stoops to Conquer (Irish Times Theatre Award Nomination), The Burial at Thebes, I Do Not Like Thee, Dr. Fell, The Wolf of Winter, Finders Keepers (Abbey Theatre); Roberto Zucco in Roberto Zucco (Bedrock Theatre);  Alone It Stands (Lane Productions - Irish, UK and Malaysian tours); The Tinkers Curse (Livin' Dred); Pubu (Articulate Anatomy); Hades (UpState Theatre). Film: Little Foxes (Samson Films); The Tudors (CBC); Ella Enchanted (Miramax Films); LSD:73 (Campbell Ryan); Deep Breaths (Stockyard Pictures);The Last Furlong (Great Western/RTÉ); Hide and Seek (RTÉ); Speed Dating (2000AD films).

Marie Mullen (Kate) returns to Atlantic where she appeared in The Beauty Queen of Leenane prior to receiving a Tony Award for her performance following the production's Broadway transfer. Druid: Long Day's Journey into Night (Galway, Dublin Theatre Festival); The Year of the Hiker, DruidSynge (Galway, Dublin, Edinburgh International Festival and Inis Meáin 2005; Minneapolis and Lincoln Center Festival, New York 2006), Bailegangaire. Theatre: King Lear, The Man of Mode (RSC); The Power of Darkness, Famine, Big Maggie, The Cavalcaders (Abbey and Peacock Theatres); Crestfall (The Gate Theatre). Film & Television: Dancing at Lughnasa, When Brendan Met Trudy, Hide and Seek (RTÉ and Accomplice Films), Pure Mule (Eden Films). Awards: Marie has received the Harvey's Irish Theatre Award for Best Supporting Actress, Best actress in The Irish Times/ESB Irish Theatre Awards 2004.

Patricia O'Connell (Mammy O'Dougal) is a member of the WorkShop Theater Company and the Irish Repertory Theatre Company. The Cripple of Inishmaan marks Patricia's debut with Druid. Theatre: Roger is Dead (George Street Theatre); Waiting in the Wings, Whose Life is it Anyway?, Summer Brave, Break a Leg, The O'Neill Plays (Broadway); Gaslight; She Stoops to Conquer; Bailegangaire (Irish Repertory Theatre); Misalliance, Come Back Little Sheba (Roundabout); The Man Who Came to Dinner, Coastal Disturbances (Circle in the Square); Who Killed Richard Cory (Circle Rep); Long Island South (T.A.C.T); Night Bloomers (Lincoln Center's Director's Lab); Eleemosynary (Spoleto Festival); Suddenly Last Summer (American Masters Festival); The Cripple of Inishmaan (Wilma Theater, Philadelphia); Under Milkwood, Tartuffe, Middle Ages, A Perfect Ganesh, The Cherry Orchard, A Doll's House, Long Day's Journey into the Night, Major Barbara, Miss Liberty (York Theater), and a season at the San Diego Shakespeare Festival. Film & Television: Passed Away, Joe's Apartment, A Very Serious Person (Dir. Charles Busch), One Life to Live, Law & Order: Criminal Intent.

David Pearse (JohnnyPateenMike) studied drama at the Samuel Beckett Centre, Trinity College Dublin.Druid: The Playboy of the Western of World (Galway, Mayo and Kerry, 2004).Other Theatre: Woyzeck (Corcadorca); The Hunt For Red Willie, At Swim Two Birds, Lolita, Henry IV (Part One), School for Scandal, The Importance of Being Earnest, Observe the Sons of Ulster Marching Towards the Somme (Abbey and Peacock Theatres); Talking to Terrorists (Calypso); A Midsummer Nights Dream (Barabbas); Mud, Five, Carshow, The Seagull (Corn Exchange); Eccentricities of a Nightingale, The Misanthrope (Gate); Julius Caesar, The Revenger's Tragedy, Measure For Measure, The Spanish Tragedy, Coriolanus, The White Devil (Loose Canon Theatre Company); Diarmuid and Gráinne, Studs (Passion Machine); Galileo (Rough Magic); Trad (Galway Arts Festival; Dublin Theatre Festival; Adelaide Festival; Bush Theatre, London), The Shaughraun (Albery Theatre, London). Film & Television: Little White Lie; Zonad; Man On The Run; Running to Stand Still; Six Shooter; Laws of Attraction; Bachelor's Walk; Spin the Bottle; Rebel Heart;  An Everlasting Piece; Bloody Sunday.

John C. Vennema (Doctor McSharry) played Tom in the Off-Broadway and Broadway premieres of The Ride Down Mt. Morgan by Arthur Miller.  He has also been seen on Broadway in The Royal Family, Otherwise Engaged, The Elephant Man, and Racing Demon, directed by Richard Eyre, in which he played Gilbert Heffernan, Bishop of Kingston. Originally from Houston, Texas, John graduated from Princeton and trained at LAMDA.  Recent Off-Broadway roles include Sir Reginald Hall in Prisoner of the Crown at Irish Rep, John Hillcrist in The Skin Game at the Mint, Craig Hutto in Right Kind Of People at Primary Stages, Hugo in Good Morning, Bill for Keen, and Gavin Ryng-Mayne in HOUSE and GARDEN at the Manhattan Theatre Club.  He was also seen in The Illusion, directed by David Esbjornson, Mountain, After-Play, Later Life, In Celebration, Joined at the Head, Light Up the Sky, A Quarrel of Sparrows, and Statements After an Arrest Under the Immorality Act.  He played Brutus in Julius Caesar, Ford in Merry Wives of Windsor, and Warwick in Saint Joan at The Guthrie in Minneapolis. At Baltimore's Center Stage, he was Sir Robert Chiltern in An Ideal Husband.  On film John has had principal roles in Love Comes Lately, The Producers, Marci X (on the set of which he was lucky enough to meet his wife, Alexandra Neil), The Cat's Meow, City Hall, Subway Stories, Sabrina, Die Hard with a Vengeance, Kiss of Death, Basketball Diaries, and Separate But Equal.  On television, he has been seen on "Spin City," "Law & Order" (all three shows), "Dellaventura," "The High Life," and "Empire of Reason." 

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is the award winning Off-Broadway theater dedicated to producing great plays simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble. Atlantic believes that the story of the play and the intent of the playwright are at the core of the creative process. Atlantic's acclaimed world premiere production of its first musical Spring Awakening, with music by Duncan Sheik, book and lyrics by Steven Sater and direction by Michael Mayer, won 8 Tony Awards®, including Best Musical. In 2006, Atlantic was awarded the Lucille Lortel Prize for Outstanding Body of Work.

Atlantic produced five world premiere productions last season: Academy Award® winning film maker Ethan Coen's comedy Almost an Evening, directed by Neil Pepe and featuring Academy Award® winner F. Murray Abraham and Mark Linn-Baker; Peter Parnell's Trumpery, directed by David Esbjornson and featuring Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award® winner Michael Cristofer and Tony Award® nominee Manoel Felciano; Lucy Thurber's Scarcity, directed by Jackson Gay and featuring Emmy Award® winner Kristen Johnston, Jesse Eisenberg and Michael T. Weiss, Jez Butterworth's Parlour Song, directed by Neil Pepe and featuring Chris Bauer, Jonathan Cake and Emily Mortimer and Annie Baker's Body Awareness, directed by Karen Kohlhaas and featuring Academy Award® nominee JoBeth Williams, Peter Friedman and Mary McCann.

The critically acclaimed New York premiere production of Oliver Award® winning and Tony Award® nominated playwright Conor McPherson's play Port Authority, directed by Henry Wishcamper and featuring Tony Award® nominee Brian d'Arcy James (Sweet Smell of Success), Tony Award® winner John Gallagher, Jr. (Spring Awakening) and Tony Award® winner Jim Norton (The Seafarer) concluded an extended engagement in June.

During the 2006-2007 season, founder David Mamet's smash hit adaptation of The Voysey Inheritance, directed by David Warren and starring Michael Stuhlbarg and Fritz Weaver, was extended an unprecedented three times, the first time in Atlantic's history. The world premiere production of Atlantic's second musical 10 Million Miles, featuring music and lyrics by Grammy Award® nominated singer/songwriter Patty Griffin, a book by Keith Bunin and direction by Tony Award® winner Michael Mayer also played an extended limited engagement.

Since it's inception in 1985, Atlantic has produced more than 120 plays including the Tony Award® winning production of The Beauty Queen of Leenane, the world premieres of Woody Allen's A Second Hand Memory and Writer's Block, the acclaimed world premiere of David Mamet's Romance, Jez Butterworth's Mojo, Tom Donaghy's Minutes From The Blue Route, Edwin Sanchez' Trafficking in Broken Hearts and the American premieres of Blue/Orange, Dublin Carol and The Night Heron, the New York premieres of The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow and The Cider House Rules, the revivals of American Buffalo, Edmond, The Hothouse and Hobson's Choice.  Atlantic maintains an ensemble of acclaimed actors, writers and directors including David Mamet (playwright and director) and William H. Macy (Academy Award® nominee for Fargo), who founded Atlantic over twenty years ago in 1985.

 

Druid Theatre Company (Garry Hynes, Artistic Director, Tim Smith, General manager) Druid was founded in Galway in 1975 by graduates of NUI Galway, Mick Lally, Marie Mullen and Garry Hynes marking the establishment of the first professional theatre company in Ireland to be based outside Dublin.  Since then Druid has toured extensively in Ireland and recent international touring includes visits to Berkeley, London, Los Angeles, Edinburgh, Sydney, Perth, Washington, D.C., New York and Tokyo. The company has had two artistic directors: Garry Hynes (1975-91 and 1995 to date) and Maeliosa Stafford (1991-94).  Druid presents groundbreaking work from its base in Galway and aims to create electrifying theatre experiences for every person, in every place and every time they perform.  In 1996 Druid premièred Martin McDonagh's debut work The Beauty Queen of Leenane, in a co-production with the Royal Court Theatre.  It opened in Galway and subsequently played in London, Sydney, Dublin, and on Broadway, where the production won four Tony Awards including Best Director for Garry Hynes, the first woman to win the award.  In 1997 it formed part of The Leenane Trilogy.  More recent productions in 2008 and 2007 include The Cripple of Inishmaan by Martin McDonagh, The New Electric Ballroom by Enda Walsh (Edinburgh Fringe First Winner 2008), The Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh (Edinburgh Fringe First Winner 2007) and Long Day's Journey into Night by Eugene O'Neill.  Other acclaimed Druid productions include three works by John B. Keane, Sive (2002), Sharon's Grave (2003) and The Year of the Hiker (2006). DruidSynge, the company's critically ac claimed production of all six of John Millington Synge's plays on the same day, premièred at the Galway Arts Festival in 2005 and has since toured to Dublin, Edinburgh, Inis Meáin, Minne apolis and New York. DruidSynge has been de scribed by Charles Isherwood of The New York Times as "the highlight not just of my theatre going year but of my theatre going life."  In October 2008 Druid presented a double-bill of The Playboy of the Western World and The Shadow of the Glen by J.M. Synge on a coast-to-coast tour of the USA. Through its new writing programme, Druid has premièred Leaves by Lucy Caldwell (2007), Empress of India by Stuart Carolan (2006) and The Walworth Farce by Enda Walsh (2006) and consistently commissions, develops, and produces new plays by a wide range of emerging and established writers both from Ireland and abroad.

THE CRIPPLE OF INISHMAAN will play Tuesday through Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm and Sundays at 2:00 and 7:00 p.m.

Atlantic Theater Company AT THE LINDA GROSS THEATER is located at 336 West 20th Street (between 8th and 9th Avenues). Tickets are $65.00 and available by calling Ticket Central at 212-279-4200 (ticketcentral.com). Purchase an "All -In-One Membership" and see every main stage and Atlantic Stage 2 production for $169.50 (+$8 service charge). For membership information, wheelchair seating, and/or group sales for both theaters call 212-691-5919, extension 1092.

For more information visit www.atlantictheater.org

Photo Credit: RD / Leon / Retna Digital