Casting Complete for Messina's A ROOM OF MY OWN with Cantone & Macchio

Abingdon Theatre Company continues its 2015-2016 Season with the world premiere of A ROOM OF MY OWN, written and directed by Charles Messina. A limited Off-Broadway engagement is set to begin previews February 13 in the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street). Opening night is set for Thursday, February 25, with performances through March 13.

As previously announced, the production features Tony Award nominee Mario Cantone (Sex and the City, Laugh Whore, Steve) and Ralph Macchio (Dancing with the Stars, The Karate Kid, My Cousin Vinny).

Completing the cast are newcomer Nico Bustamante as ten-year old Carl, Kendra Jain (New Year's Eve) as Jeannie Morelli, Johnny Tammaro (Tony n' Tina's Wedding) as Peter Morelli, Joli Tribuzio (Tony n' Tina's Wedding) as Dotty Morelli, and Liza Vann (The Road to Damascus) as Aunt Jean.

In A ROOM OF MY OWN, playwright and director Charles Messina recounts growing up with his eccentric Italian-American family in Greenwich Village. Ralph Macchio is Carl Morelli, a writer who reminisces about his adolescence and childhood dreams of the world outside his crowded downtown tenement. Wishing for his own room-and an Atari-Little Carl shares the tiny studio in a five-flight crumbling walk-up apartment with his unemployed father Peter, older sister Jeannie, and strong-willed mother Dotty. Other relatives include Carl's flamboyant uncle Jackie, portrayed by Mario Cantone, and estranged aunt Jean. Messina's new Off-Broadway comedy takes a hilarious and heartfelt look at New York City in the late 1970s.

A ROOM OF MY OWN deals with adult themes and contains strong language and is not recommended for ages under 13.

The production includes set design by Brian Dudkiewicz; costume design by Catherine Siracusa; lighting design by Mike Megliola; sound design by Ian Wehrle; and casting by Lori Malkin. Production Stage Manager is Deidre Works.

Charles Messina's playwriting credits include An Honest Woman, The Wanderer, Actor Found Dead, and Homeland. As a director, his most notable stage work includes the critically acclaimed Off-Broadway plays Cirque Jacqueline, Andrea Reese's play about Jacqueline Kennedy Onassis; and Mercury: The Afterlife and Times of a Rock God, a one-man show about Queen's frontman Freddie Mercury, portrayed by Khalid Conclaves, and later, Amir Darvish. Other directing credits include Richard Vetere's Rockaway Boulevard and Be My Love: The Mario Lanza Story; Art Metrano's Accidental Comedy; and Andrew Goffman's long-running comedy The Accidental Pervert, now in its eighth year Off-Broadway. Messina's screenplays include 'Twas the Night Before a Brooklyn Christmas (co-written with Vincent Gogliormella). He is the author of several one-act plays, including Klepto, Merging, and Fugazy. A ROOM OF MY OWN was presented last season as part of Abingdon's reading series, with Cantone, Jain, Macchio, Tammaro and Tribuzio. Messina's other readings at Abingdon include his latest full-length play, Calm the Light, and collections of one-act plays, Fairies, 3 >From the Neighborhood, and Moonlight in Greenwich Village. Messina was born and raised in Greenwich Village and that is still where his heart resides.

Now in its 23rd Season, Abingdon Theatre Company is dedicated to developing and producing new American plays by emerging and established playwrights. Under the artistic direction of Tony Speciale, who joined Abingdon in October 2015, the company provides a safe home where playwrights, directors and actors can collaborate within a supportive and nurturing environment. Abingdon searches for stories about the human experience that reflect our social, political, historical and cultural diversity. To date, the company has collaborated with more than 200 playwrights, produced 85 New York and world-premiere plays, presented more than 700 readings, staged 175 ten-minute plays, and commissioned 6 one-act plays. Notable artists who have worked with Abingdon Theatre Company include Carl Andress, Bryan Batt, Robert Brustein, Maxwell Caulfield, Dick Cavett, John Epperson, Jane Greenwood, Roberta Maxwell, Iddo Netanyahu, Nancy Opel, Austin Pendleton, Sam Pinkleton, Marcia Rodd and Mark Waldrop. Abingdon's 2014 production of Brian Richard Mori's Hellman v. McCarthy, directed by founding artistic director Jan Buttram, was filmed and presented by WNET as part of its inaugural Theatre Close-Up series.

A ROOM OF MY OWN runs February 13-March 13 in the June Havoc Theatre (312 West 36th Street, 1st floor, between 8th and 9th Avenues): Tuesdays at 7pm, Wednesdays-Fridays at 8pm, Saturdays at 3pm and 8pm, Sundays at 2pm; with the following exceptions: no 3pm on Feb. 13, no 2pm on March 6; additional performances 3pm on March 2 and 7pm on March 6; no performances Feb. 26 and March 5. Opening on February 25 is at 7pm. Tickets are $65 and are available at www.abingdontheatre.org or call 212-352-3101.

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