Andrew Keenan-Bolger, Carolyn McCormick & More to Star in The Flea's FAMILY FURNITURE; Previews to Begin 11/12

The Flea Theater will present the limited Off-Broadway engagement of FAMILY FURNITURE by A.R. Gurney. It is directed by Tony Award nominee Thomas Kail (In The Heights) starring Carolyn McCormick (Law & Order), Peter Scolari (Girls, Newhart, Bosom Buddies), and Andrew Keenan-Bolger (Newsies) with newcomers Ismenia Mendes and Molly Nordin. Previews begin November 12 at The Flea with opening slated for Sunday, November 24.

Jim Simpson, Artistic Director of The Flea says "In FAMILY FURNITURE, Gurney returns to home territory, writing about the manners and morals of the white Anglo-Saxon Protestant upper class with the warmth, humor and insight that have spanned his career."

FAMILY FURNITURE is a coming of age tale about a family and one certain summer when everything shifts. Gurney gives us Buffalo, gin and tonics, tennis doubles with the Baldwins, vichyssoise and so much more in this heartfelt tale about parents and children.

The design team includes Rachel Hauck (sets), Betsy Adams (lights), and Claudia Brown (costumes) and Jill BC DuBoff (sound).

A.R. Gurney has been writing plays for over fifty years. Among them are: The Grand Manner, Scenes from American Life, The Dining Room, The Middle Ages, The Cocktail Hour, Love Letters, Sylvia, Far East, Ancestral Voices, Big Bill Indian Blood, Crazy Mary, Buffalo Gal, and Black Tie. At The Flea he has premiered Heresy, Office Hours, Post Mortem, Screenplay, Mrs. Farnsworth, A Light Lunch and O Jerusalem. He has also written three novels, a few television scripts, several unproduced movies, and the librettos of two operas. Gurney is a member of the Theatre Hall of Fame and the American Academy of Arts and Letters. He has honorary degrees from Williams College and Buffalo State University, and taught literature at M.I.T. for many years.

Thomas Kail was nominated for a 2008 Tony Award for his direction of In the Heights. Off B'way: In the Heights (Callaway Award, Drama Desk nom., Outer Critics nom.) New York City Center: The Wiz. Lincoln Center Theater: Broke-ology (Mitzi Newhouse - Fall 2009). Williamstown: Broke-ology (World Premiere). Co-creator and director of the hip-hop improv group Freestyle Love Supreme. Artistic director and co-founder of Back House Productions. Recipient of the 2008 Martin E. Segal Award from Lincoln Center. Graduate of Wesleyan University, CT.

Carolyn McCormick Broadway: Equus, Private Lives, The Dinner Party. Off Broadway: Ten Chimneys (Pecadillo Theatre), Black Tie (Primary Stages), Celebration (Atlantic), Privilege (Second Stage), Biography (Pearl), EVE-olution (Cherry Lane), Dinner with Friends (Variety Arts), Ancestral Voices (Lincoln Center). Film: You Know My Name, Loverboy, A Simple Twist of Fate, Enemy Mine, Nights at Rodanthe, Company Retreat, Whatever Works, Downtown Express, The Shells, That Thing With the Cat. TV: Dr. Olivet on Law & Order, series regular on Spenser for Hire and Cracker. Blue Bloods, Body of Proof, Cold Case, Judging Amy, The Practice, Homicide, Star Trek, LA Law.?A narrator of myriad audio books and Ken Burns documentaries. BFA Williams College, MFA American Conservatory Theatre.?More info at www.CarolynMcCormick.com

Peter Scolari TV: Emmy Award winner for Newhart, also Bosom Buddies, Honey, I Shrunk the Kids, The West Wing, ER, Family Ties, King of Queens, The Nanny, Reba, From the Earth to the Moon (HBO), Stop the World, I Want to Get Off (Showtime), recurring role as Lena Dunham's father on HBO's series Girls. Film: The Polar Express, That Thing You Do, Camp Nowhere, A Plumm Summer. Broadway/NY: Magic/Bird, Hairspray, Sly Fox, Out of this World and Ziegfeld Follies of 1937 (City Center Encores!). World premieres of Daniel Sullivan's Inspecting Carol and Ken Ludwig's Fox on the Fairway. Winner, Berkshire Theatre Festival Best Actor Award for The Foreigner.

Andrew Keenan-Bolger Broadway: Crutchie in Newsies (Outer Critics Circle nominee), Roberston Ay in Mary Poppins, Seussical, Beauty and The Beast, A Christmas Carol. 1st Nat'l Tours: Spelling Bee, The Grinch, Mary Poppins, Ragtime. TV/Film: Billy in the upcoming untitled Hugh Grant/Marisa Tomei film; Alex in the upcoming HBO series, Looking; Corey in the upcoming film So Funny, The Naked Brothers Band, Marci X, One Life to Live. B.F.A. from the University of Michigan. Co-creator of the webseries Submissions Only (www.submissionsonly.com). As a filmmaker his work has been profiled in The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, Entertainment Weekly and New York Magazine. He is currently writing a children's book series with collaborator Kate Wetherhead for the Penguin Group.

The Flea Theater, under Artistic Director Jim Simpson and Producing Director Carol Ostrow, is one of New York's leading off-off-Broadway companies. Winner of a Special Drama Desk Award for outstanding achievement, Obie Awards and an Otto for political theater, The Flea has presented over 100 plays and numerous dance and live music performances since its inception in 1996. Past productions include the world premieres by Steven Banks, Thomas Bradshaw, Bathsheba Doran, Will Eno, Karen Finley, Amy Freed, Sean Graney, A.R. Gurney, Hamish Linklater, Enrique Gutiérrez Ortiz Monasterio, Itamar Moses, Anne Nelson, Qui Nguyen, Adam Rapp, Jonathan Reynolds, Roger Rosenblatt, Elizabeth Swados, and Mac Wellman. Recent successes include Drama Desk nominated She Kills Monsters, These Seven Sicknesses and Restoration Comedy.

FAMILY FURNITURE runs November 12 - December 22, Tuesday - Saturday at 7pm, Saturday - Sunday at 3pm. The Flea is located at 41 White Street between Broadway and Church, three blocks south of Canal, close to the A/C/E, N/R/Q/W, 6, J/M/Z and 1 subway lines. Tickets $15 - $70 with lowest priced tickets available on a first-come, first-served basis. Pay-What-You-Can Tuesdays at the door. Tickets can be purchased by calling 212-352-3101 or online at www.theflea.org.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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