Alok Tewari, Lisa Banes, and More Cast in MTC's Latest INDIA PALE ALE and THE NICETIES

MTC announces casting for the first two 2018-2019 New York City Center productions: India Pale Ale, the world premiere by Jaclyn Backhaus, and The Niceties, the New York premiere by Eleanor Burgess, in association with Huntington Theatre Company and McCarter Theatre Center.

Beginning today, single tickets for The Niceties are available online only at https://www.nycitycenter.org/pdps/the-niceties. Beginning Tuesday, September 4 at noon, tickets for India Pale Ale, The Niceties, The Cake and Long Lost can be purchased online, by phone, and at the City Center box office. The final Off-Broadway production of the season, Continuity, will go on sale in April 2019.

Support for Long Lost is provided by the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation. Continuity was commissioned by MTC with support from the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as part of the MTC/Sloan Initiative. Continuity is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award. Additional support provided by the Frederic R. Coudert Foundation.

MTC AT NEW YORK City Center - STAGE I

India Pale Ale
World Premiere by Jaclyn Backhaus
Directed by Will Davis
Previews Begin: Tuesday, October 2, 2018
Opening Night: Tuesday, October 23, 2018

India Pale Ale will star Purva Bedi (MTC's East is East), Angel Desai (An Ordinary Muslim), Sophia Mahmud ("The Blacklist"), Nate Miller (MTC's Ripcord), Shazi Raja ("High Maintenance"), Nik Sadhnani (The Invisible Hand), Lipica Shah (Bunty Berman Presents... ), Sathya Sridharan (An Ordinary Muslim) and Alok Tewari (The Band's Visit). Previews begin October 2 ahead of an October 23 opening at New York City Center - Stage I.

The design team includes Neil Patel (Scenic Design), Arnulfo Maldonado (Costume Design), Ben Stanton (Lighting Design), Elisheba Ittoop (Sound Design), Dave Bova (Hair & Makeup Design) and Will Davis (Choreography).

In a small Wisconsin town, a tight-knit Punjabi community gathers to celebrate the wedding of a traditional family's only son, just as their strong-willed daughter announces her plans to move away and open a bar. As they come together for feasts filled with singing and dancing, one generation's cherished customs clash with another's modern-day aspirations, and ghosts and pirates from the family's past linger in everyone's thoughts - until one sudden event changes everything. This poignant and smartly funny new play about legacy, life and longing comes from the fresh voice of Jaclyn Backhaus, who again teams up with her Men on Boats director, Will Davis.

Support for India Pale Ale is provided by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

THE STUDIO AT STAGE II - HAROLD AND MIMI STEINBERG NEW PLAY SERIES AT NEW YORK City Center

The Niceties
New York Premiere by Eleanor Burgess
Directed by Kimberly Senior
In Association with Huntington Theatre Company and McCarter Theatre Center
Previews Begin: Friday, October 12, 2018
Opening Night: Thursday, October 25, 2018

The Niceties will star Lisa Banes (Present Laughter) and Jordan Boatman (Hulu's "The Path"). Previews begin October 12 ahead of an October 25 opening at The Studio at Stage II - Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series at New York City Center.

The design team includes Cameron Anderson (Scenic Design), Kara Harmon (Costume Design), D.M. Wood (Lighting Design), and Elisheba Ittoop (Sound Design).

The Niceties was originally presented as part of MTC's Ted Snowdon Reading Series in 2017. This production will debut at the Huntington Theatre Company in Boston, MA from August 31 - September 30, 2018 prior to arriving at Manhattan Theatre Club; it will then play McCarter Theatre Center in Princeton, NJ from January 11 - February 10, 2019.

At an elite East Coast university, an ambitious young black student and her esteemed white professor meet to discuss a paper the college junior is writing about the American Revolution. They're both liberal. They're both women. They're both brilliant. But very quickly, discussions of grammar and Google turn to race and reputation, and before they know it, they're in dangerous territory neither of them had foreseen - and facing stunning implications that can't be undone. Written with powerful truth and humor by Eleanor Burgess, this deeply resonant work is directed by Kimberly Senior (Disgraced). The Washington Post hails it as "a barnstormer of a play," adding that it's "one of the best plays I've seen about who gets to tell the story of America, and how."

In order to ensure that tickets to The Niceties are affordable to the widest and most diverse audiences possible, MTC will price all tickets during the show's initial five-week run at $35.

Photo Credit: Jennifer Broski

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