Cecily Strong, David Zayas, and More Will Lead BROOKLYN LAUNDRY at Manhattan Theatre Club

Casting has been announced for Manhattan Theatre Club’s world premiere of Brooklyn Laundry, written and directed by Pulitzer Prize winner John Patrick Shanley (Doubt, Outside Mullingar, Prodigal Son).

The cast of Brooklyn Laundry will include Florencia Lozano (“One Life to Live”), Cecily Strong (“SNL”), Andrea Syglowski (Pass Over) and David Zayas (The Cost of Living, “Dexter”).

Preview performances begin Tuesday, February 6 and opening night is Wednesday, February 28 at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). 

John Patrick Shanley, the Pulitzer Prize- and Tony-winning author of Doubt and the Oscar®-winning writer of Moonstruck, returns to MTC with this world premiere of a new play. Sometimes big things start from little things; in this case, a bag of laundry. Shanley’s latest is about three sisters and a guy who runs a laundry in Brooklyn, and the sometimes savage tricks life plays on them. Tragic and funny by turns, this story will remind you what is important in life... and the sorrow and joy of fully embracing adulthood. 

The 2022-23 season marked Lynne Meadow’s 50th Anniversary as Artistic Director of Manhattan Theatre Club. Meadow was joined in summer 2023 by Chris Jennings, MTC’s new Executive Director. MTC’s mission, which Meadow created in 1972 and has implemented over five decades of award-winning theatrical productions, is to develop and present new work in a dynamic, supportive environment; to identify and collaborate with the most promising new as well as seasoned, accomplished artists; and to produce a diverse repertoire of innovative, entertaining, and thought-provoking plays and musicals by American and international playwrights. Since 1989, MTC Education, which uses the power of live theatre and playwriting to awaken minds, ignite imaginations, open hearts, and change lives, has also been an important corollary to MTC’s work, reaching thousands of students and educators worldwide each season.

Since its beginnings on East 73rd Street in New York City, MTC has grown from a small off-off-Broadway Showcase Theatre into one of the country’s most prestigious and award-winning producing companies, creating over 600 world, American, New York and Broadway premieres. MTC productions have earned 7 Pulitzer Prizes, 28 Tony Awards, 50 Drama Desk Awards and 49 Obie Awards amongst many other honors. MTC has homes on Broadway at its Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and Off-Broadway at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). MTC is an anti-racist organization that respects and honors all voices, and upholds the values of community and equity. For more information, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com. 

BIOGRAPHIES

Florencia Lozano (Trish) co-wrote and starred in Life After You (Best Feature and Best Actress at Nice International Film Festival, Best Actress in Houston). Credits: Here After, Crybaby Bridge, The Ministers. 'Claudia Messina' in “Narcos”,  'Tea Delgado' in “One Life to Live,” “Bull,” “Gossip Girl,” “Blue Bloods,” “Ugly Betty,” “Law & Order SVU & CI,” “The Mysteries of Laura,” “Madam Secretary,” “Kevin Can Wait, “The Blacklist” and “Enemy Within.” Wet Brain and Placebo (Playwrights Horizons), Shuttle, Spindle, Needle (Clubbed Thumb), Rinse Repeat (@ Signature), Devil of Choice (LAByrinth), Red Dog Howls (NYTW), And She Would Stand Like This (Movement Theatre Co), Winners (EST), Macbeth (Shakespeare in the Park), Privilege (Second Stage), Last Easter (MCC), Where's My Money? (MTC/LAB), Dirty Story (LAB). Florencia is one of the original members of the LAByrinth Theatre Company and currently serves as LAB's Literary Manager. EST member. Her play: underneathmybed, was produced at the Rattlestick Playwrights' Theatre and won HOLA's (Hispanic Organization of Latino Actors) Best New Play Award in 2010.  Florencia got a full scholarship to attend NYU's Graduate Acting Program, where she received her MFA. Her BA is from Brown University where she studied Comparative Literature. She is also a performance artist. Her latest offering was an immersive event: Fun with Panic Attacks at INTAR

Cecily Strong (Fran) is an actress and author best known for her work as a cast member on “Saturday Night Live” from 2012-22. On “SNL,” Strong received back-to-back Emmy Award nominations in 2020-21 for Outstanding Supporting Actress in a Comedy Series, and a Critics Choice Award nomination. She entertained viewers with her standout “Weekend Update” character Cathy Anne, Michael Che’s wacky chain-smoking neighbor who offers her opinions on current events. Her recurring character Gemma, a British “singer” with various boyfriends, also quickly became a fan favorite. She earned rave reviews for her notable Judge Jeanine Pirro, Sen. Dianne Feinstein and Melania Trump impressions. Strong co-hosted “Weekend Update” alongside both Seth Meyers and Colin Jost. Strong recently starred in the second season of Apple TV+’s hit musical series, “Schmigadoon!,” on which she also serves as a producer. Her memoir, This Will All Be Over Soon, was released in 2021. That same year she made her New York stage debut at the Shed in The Search for Signs of Intelligent Life in the Universe, and returned to star in the production at the Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles in 2022. She also co-stars in the upcoming animated feature Garfield.

 In Chicago, Strong improvised regularly at the iO Theater and served as an understudy for the Second City Main Stage and E.T.C. shows. She performed as a member of the Second City national touring company and has also appeared at the Chicago SketchFest, Chicago Just for Laughs, the New York Sketch Fest and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. Strong has appeared in the films The Female Brain and Paul Feig’s reboot of Ghostbusters, as well as Melissa McCarthy’s The Boss, The Bronze and The Meddler. Additionally, Strong emceed the 2015 White House Correspondents’ Dinner. Strong was raised in Oak Park, Ill., and has a B.F.A. in theater from the California Institute of the Arts.

Andrea Syglowski (Susie) was last seen in DIG at Primary Stages written and directed by Theresa Rebeck. Some of her credits include: Broadway: Pass Over, Off-Broadway: Halfway Bitches Go Straight to Heaven by Stephen Adly Guirgis, (Atlantic), queens by Martyna Majok (Lincoln Center). Regional: Lost in Yonkers (Hartford Stage), Venus in Fur (IRNE, Elliott Norton Award), A Doll’s House (Huntington), Dear Elizabeth, Dig (Dorset Theatre Festival), Cry It Out (Humana), Of Good Stock (South Coast Rep), Film/TV: “Blue Bloods,” “New Amsterdam,” “The Good Wife,” “HTGAWM,” “Elementary,” “Evil,” and “And Just Like That.”  Andrea was the recipient of the Robin Williams Scholarship and is a graduate of The Juilliard School.

David Zayas (Owen) is best known for his role as Angel Batista on the award-winning series “Dexter”(Showtime). Selected television work includes “Shut Eye” (HULU), “Gotham” (Fox), “Bloodline” (Netflix), “Blue Bloods” (CBS), “FBI” (CBS), “Pose” (F/X), and “Next” (Fox). He has appeared in the films The Interpreter, 16 Blocks, Michael Clayton, The Expendables, Ride, Tallulah, Annie, Body Cam, and R#J. David began his acting career with LAByrinth Theater Company in 1992. Productions include In Arabia We’d All Be Kings, Jesus Hopped the A Train, and Our Lady of 121st Street, all written by Stephen Adly Guirgis and directed by Philip Seymour Hoffman. On Broadway, he appeared in the Pulitzer-Prize winning Anna in the Tropics by Nilo Cruz and directed by Emily Mann. In 2022, he starred in the Manhattan Theatre Club’s Cost of Living, for which he was nominated for a Tony.

John Patrick Shanley (Playwright and Director) is from The Bronx. His plays include Prodigal Son, Outside Mullingar (Tony nomination), Danny and the Deep Blue Sea, Savage in Limbo, Italian-American Reconciliation, Welcome to the Moon, Four Dogs and a Bone, Dirty Story, Defiance, and Beggars in the House of Plenty. His theatrical work is performed extensively across the United States and around the world. For his play, Doubt, he received both the Tony Award and the Pulitzer Prize. In the arena of screenwriting, he has ten films to his credit, most recently Wild Mountain Thyme, with Emily Blunt, Jamie Dornan, and Christopher Walken. His film of Doubt, with Meryl Streep, Philip Seymour Hoffman, Amy Adams, and Viola Davis, which he also directed, was nominated for five Academy Awards, including Best Adapted Screenplay. Other films include Five Corners (Special Jury Prize, Barcelona Film Festival), Alive, Joe Versus the Volcano (which he also directed), and Live From Baghdad for HBO (Emmy nomination). For his script of Moonstruck he received both the Writers Guild of America Award and an Academy Award for best original screenplay. In 2009, The Writers Guild of America awarded Mr. Shanley the Lifetime Achievement In Writing.