Davidson, Martinez and Mosley Cast in MTC's 'Back Back Back'

Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) is pleased to announce full casting for its upcoming production of Itamar Moses' Back Back Back, the stirring new drama set in baseball's steroid era.

Directed by Daniel Aukin (former artistic director of Soho Rep, director of Everything Will Be Different, [sic]), the production will star Jeremy Davidson ("Army Wives," Cat on a Hot Tin Roof at The Kennedy Center), James Martinez (U.S. Drag, "Numb3rs"), and Michael Mosley (HBO's "Generation Kill," NBC's "Kidnapped").

Back Back Back will begin previews at MTC at New York City Center – Stage II (131 West 55th Street) on Thursday, October 30. The limited engagement will open Tuesday, November 18.

Does greatness always come with a price? Can only someone with nothing to lose tell the whole truth? From Itamar Moses, the acclaimed writer of last season's MTC Stage II hit The Four of Us and Bach at Leipzig, comes a stirring new drama about America's favorite pastime. Back Back Back follows the turbulent careers of three very different teammates (Davidson, Martinez, and Mosley) in baseball's steroid era whose clubhouse secrets bring them under federal scrutiny. This timely new play reveals a riveting portrait of pressure, paranoia and payback in professional sports.

The creative team for Back Back Back will include David Zinn (scenic and costume design), David Weiner (lighting design), and Ryan Rumery & Daniel Baker (sound design).

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. Renowned MTC productions include Top Girls; From Up Here; Come Back, Little Sheba; The Receptionist; LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin'.

This season, MTC's Broadway stage was renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The landmarked theatre has been the institution's home on Broadway since 2003 and was rehabilitated by MTC following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition, MTC operates two theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street), its Off-Broadway home since 1984.

For more information including schedule and ticket purchase please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

BIOGRAPHIES

Itamar Moses (Playwright) is the author of the full-length plays Outrage, Bach at Leipzig, Celebrity Row, The Four of Us, Yellowjackets, Back Back Back, and Completeness, and various short plays and one-acts. His work has appeared Off-Broadway, at regional theatres across the country and in Canada, and has been published by Faber & Faber, Heinemann Press and Vintage. He has received new play commissions from the McCarter Theatre, Playwrights Horizons, Berkeley Repertory Theatre, The Wilma Theater, South Coast Rep., and MTC. Itamar holds an M.F.A. in Dramatic Writing from NYU and has taught playwriting at Yale and NYU. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild, MCC Playwrights Coalition and Naked Angels Writers Group and is a New York Theatre Workshop Usual Suspect. Born in Berkeley, CA, he now lives in Brooklyn.

Daniel Aukin (Director) most recently directed A View from the Bridge at Arena Stage. He directed a workshop Rachel Axler's new play Smudge at the Eugene O'Neill Conference this summer. Other recent credits include Melissa James Gibson's Current Nobody at Woolly Mammoth and Elmer Rice's The Adding Machine at La Jolla Playhouse. As Artistic Director of Soho Rep Daniel directed Mark Schultz's critically acclaimed Everything Will Be Different (world premiere), Melissa James Gibson's [sic] (world premiere, OBIE award for direction), Quincy Long's The Year of the Baby (world premiere), Mac Wellman's Cats-Paw (world premiere), María Irene Fornés' Molly's Dream (world premiere), and Melissa James Gibson's Suitcase (also at La Jolla Playhouse). For other theatres: Alexandra Cunningham's No. 11 (Blue and White), Melissa James Gibson's Brooklyn Bridge at The Children's Theatre of Minneapolis and Mat Smart's The Hopper Collection at the Huntington Theatre. He is also developing a musical adaptation of the Jonathan Lethem novel The Fortress of Solitude with Michael Friedman (composer/lyricist) and Itamar Moses (book). During his tenure at Soho Rep, he strengthened the company's commitment to developing iconoclastic new plays. He commissioned over fifty new plays though the Writer/Director Lab and produced sixteen-full-length productions (including new plays by Adam Bock, The Flying Machine, Young Jean Lee, and Richard Maxwell). Accolades for this body of work include eight OBIE awards, four Drama Desk Nominations, two Kesselring Prizes, and one Oppenheimer Award.

 Jeremy Davidson (Kent) will be returning to Manhattan Theatre Club after appearing in director Mike Ockrent's production of La Terrasse. He appeared on Broadway in Epic Proportions under the direction of Jerry Zaks. Other theatre credits include 'Brick' in Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (The Kennedy Center), Going Native (Long Wharf), and Desire Under the Elms (Berkshire Theatre Festival). His TV credits include the recurring roles of 'Chase Moran' in Lifetime's hit series "Army Wives" and 'Grant Sorenson' on the WB's cult hit "Roswell." Other TV: "Cold Case," "Boston Legal," "The Practice," "JAG," "Crossing Jordan," and "Strangers with Candy." His film credits include Little Chenier, Deprivation, and Skeletons in the Closet.

James Martinez (Raul) returns to the New York stage having appeared in U.S. Drag at the Beckett Theatre. Other recent theatre includes Sonia Flew (LA Theatre Works); Breakfast, Lunch, and Dinner (Hartford Stage); 'Lysander' in director Tina Landau's production of A Midsummer Night's Dream (McCarter, Paper Mill); and Off-Broadway in The Asphalt Kiss. His TV credits include: "Numb3rs," "The Young and the Restless," "Hack," and "Third Watch." Film credits: B-Girl, I Believe in America, and Brother to Brother.

Michael Mosley (Adam) grew up in Iowa and moved to New York in 2001 to attend the prestigious American Academy of Dramatic Arts. He was a member of their third year Acting Company, and upon graduating, started his professional career, performing at such theatres as the Soho Playhouse, Cherry Lane Theatre, and The Public Theatre. He's appeared on numerous television shows, which include "Generation Kill," "The Wire," "The Education of Max Bickford," "Third Watch," "Law & Order," "Hack," "Guiding Light," "Conviction," and "Kidnapped." He's starred in many independent films as well. He appears in 27 Dresses (with Katherine Heigl), The Accidental Husband, and stars in producer Spike Lee's You're Nobody Till Somebody Kills You, as well as the recently completed The Proposal (with Sandra Bullock).

Photo of Itmar Moses by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.

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