Feiffer, Kahn, McAndrew, Rauch, Dewitt & More Cast For MCC Theater's 2009-10 Season

MCC Theater (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) has announced casting for two productions of its 2009-10 season. The cast for the world premiere of Alexander Dinelaris' Still Life, directed by Will Frears, will include Halley Feiffer, Ian Kahn, Kelly McAndrew, Matthew Rauch and Frederick Weller. Later in the season, Beth Henley's Family Week, directed by Jonathan Demme, will star Rosemarie Dewitt and Sarah Jones. Additional casting for both productions and the rest of the 2009-10 season will be announced shortly.

In Still Life, photographer Carrie Ann inexplicably shuts down at the pinnacle of her career. Lost, and afraid to even pick up a camera, her sudden descent is interrupted by a whirlwind romance with Jeff, a trend analyst who becomes determined to help her move on, even while facing his own dark future. Two-time Drama Desk-nominated playwright Alexander Dinelaris (Red Dog Howls) is quickly being recognized as a stunning new voice in American theater. Film and theater director Will Frears (Omnium Gatherum) brings his discerning eye to this funny and heartbreaking play about a generation paralyzed by fear.

Performances will begin at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) on September 16 and continue through November 1, 2009. Opening night is set for Monday, October 5th at 7:00 p.m.

In Family Week, Claire checks into a recovery center in the desert, searching for a way to cope after the death of her son one year ago. When her mother, daughter and sister arrive to participate in "family week," long-dormant traumas collide with recent tragedies in surprisingly comical, shocking and deeply moving ways. United in this family struggle, the women rage and reach out in an effort to reconcile their love with the way things are. Making his theatrical debut, Academy Award-winning director Jonathan Demme (Silence of the Lambs) collaborates with Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright Beth Henley (Crimes of the Heart) on a new version of this bitterly funny play.

Performances will begin at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) on April 7 and continue through May 23, 2010. Opening night is set for Monday, April 26th at 7;00 p.m.

MCC Theater is one of New York City's leading Off Broadway theater companies, committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season. When MCC Theater was founded in 1986, its mission was simple: to bring new theatrical voices to theater-going audiences. MCC Theater continues to accomplish this yearly through presentation of its mainstage works; its Literary Program, which actively seeks and develops new and emerging writers and its Education & Outreach Program, allowing more than 1,200 students yearly to experience theater, increase literacy and discover their own voices in the arts. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the 2008 Tony Award-nominated reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute, last season's Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery's Frozen; Neil LaBute's Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman's The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman's Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson's Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson's The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne's Beirut. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.

For a complete production history, visit www.mcctheater.org.

Rosemarie Dewitt's film career includes playing the role of "Rachel" in Rachel Getting Married (dir. Jonathan Demme), as well as roles in How I Got Lost, Cinderella Man (dir. Ron Howard), The Great New Wonderful, Blackbird, and the upcoming Kenneth Lonergan film Margaret. Her television credits include "The United States of Tara", "Mad Men", "Standoff", "Love Monkey", and "Rescue Me". Recent Off-Broadway credits include John Patrick Shanley's Danny and the Deep Blue Sea at Second Stage and Craig Lucas' Small Tragedy at Playwrights Horizons.

Halley Feiffer Off-Broadway credits include Second Stage's productions of suburbia, Election Day, and Some Americans Abroad; None of the Above (Lion Theatre), Urgent Fury (Cherry Lane Theatre), and Feiffer's People (Blackhouse Productions). Regional credits include Third (Huntington Theatre Company), Knock, Knock! (Vineyard Playhouse) and Jules' Blues (NY Stage & Film). TV and film credits include "Law and Order," HBO's "Flight of the Conchords" and "The Wonderful Maladys," the Sundance-award winning films You Can Count on Me, Stephanie Daley, and Noah Baumbach's The Squid and the Whale, as well as his most recent film Margot at the Wedding; upcoming films include The Messenger, Fighting Fish, Twelve Thirty, and Jared Hess' Gentlemen Broncos. Halley's work as a playwright has been produced at the Cherry Lane Theatre (Young Playwrights' Festival XXII) and the Edinburgh Fringe Festival. BA: Wesleyan University.

Sarah Jones is a Tony Award® winning playwright and performer. Her multi-character solo show Bridge & Tunnel was originally produced Off-Broadway by Oscar-winner Meryl Streep, and went on to become a critically acclaimed, long running hit on Broadway. Educated at Bryn Mawr College and the United Nations International School, Sarah recently returned to her UN School roots by becoming a UNICEF Goodwill Ambassador with the title of first ever Official Spokesperson on Violence Against Children, traveling and performing for audiences from Indonesia to Ethiopia, the Middle East and Japan. Winner of the 2007 Brendan Gill Prize, Sarah has also received grants and commissions from The Ford Foundation, NYSCA, the W. K. Kellogg Foundation, and others, and theater honors including an Obie Award, a Helen Hayes Award, two Drama Desk nominations, and HBO's US Comedy Arts Festival's Best One Person Show Award, as well as an NYCLU Calloway Award in recognition of Sarah as the first artist in history to sue the Federal Communications Commission for censorship. The lawsuit resulted in reversal of the censorship ruling, which had targeted her hip-hop poem recording, "Your Revolution." A regular uncensored guest on public radio programs such as Fresh Air and Studio 360 with Kurt Andersen, Sarah has also made numerous TV appearances on programs including "Charlie Rose", "The Today Show", "CBS Sunday Morning", "Live with Regis and Kelly", "Now on PBS", and on "Sesame Street" as ‘Ms. Noodle' on "Elmo's World". Most recently, Sarah was invited by First Lady Michelle Obama to perform at The White House in celebration of Women's History Month. She is currently at work on a commission for Lincoln Center Theater and is developing a television project based on her characters.

Ian Kahn Regional: Baltimore CenterStage: Arsenic and Old Lace (Mortimer Brewster); Media Theater: My Fair Lady (Higgins); Alley Theater: Long Days Journey Into Night (Jaime); Wilma: Arcadia (Septimus); Hartford Stage: Ghosts (Oswald); Shakespeare Theatre of NJ: King John (the Bastard); McCarter Theater: The Tempest (Caliban); Cape Playhouse: The Beard of Avon (Will Shakspere); Arena Stage: The Importance of Being Earnest (Algernon Moncrieff); Round House: A Prayer for Owen Meany (John Wheelwright); Ford's Theater: Leading Ladies (Leo Clark); St. Louis Rep: The Glass Menagerie (Tom). Is very grateful to be working here at MCC. Film-The Box (Vick Brenner) opening October 2009; Day Zero (James); Brooklyn Lobster (Justin Wallace). TV-"The Unusuals" (Davis Nixon); "Reinventing the Wheelers" (Peter Hudgins); "Law & Order: Criminal Intent" (Ken Harris); "Dawson's Creek" (Danny Brecker); "Bull" (Marty Decker); "Sex and the City" (Ben).

Kelly McAndrew is thrilled to be a part of Still Life. Broadway: Cat on a Hot Tin Roof (with Ned Beatty and Jason Patric). Off-Broadway: The cataract (The Women's Project), Book of Days (Signature Theatre). Other New York Theatre: Greedy (Clubbed Thumb), Topsy Turvey Mouse (Cherry Lane Mentor Project), Trout Stanley (Culture Project) Lyric is Waiting (kef productions). Regional: Holiday (The Olney Theatre; Helen Hayes nomination Best Actress), Dusty and the Big Bad World (World Premiere, Denver Center Theatre), Brendan (World Premiere, Huntington Theatre), These Shining Lives (World Premiere, Baltimore Centre Stage) and plays at The Old Globe, The Alley, Arena Stage, George Street Playhouse, St. Louis Rep, Cincinnati Playhouse, Shakespeare Theatre of New Jersey, Shakespeare on the Sound. TV: "Law & Order", "Law & Order: SVU", "Gossip Girl". Film: Everybody's Fine (with Robert DeNiro), Superheroes, New Guy, Out of the Darkness. For KVV.

Matthew Rauch Broadway: Prelude to a Kiss. Off-Broadway: Edward the Second (Red Bull), 1001 (Page 73), Expats (New Group), The Prime of Miss Jean Brodie (New Group), In the Matter of J. Robert Oppenheimer (Keen Company), The Revenger's Tragedy (Red Bull), Hurlyburly (New Group), Book of Days (Signature). Theatre: plays at the El Portal in Los Angeles, Westport Country Playhouse, Williamstown, Long Wharf, Arena Stage, The Shakespeare Theatre, Repertory Theatre of St. Louis, Cincinnati Playhouse, Hartford Stage, American Repertory Theatre, and many others. TV: "Without a Trace", "Criminal Intent", "Jonny Zero", "Navy NCIS", "Leap of Faith", "The DA", "Law and Order", "Metropolis" (pilot). Film: Order of Redemption, No Reservations, Invitation to a Suicide, Frankenfish, Future Imperfect, Balkanization. Graduate of both the ART Institute at Harvard and Princeton University.

Frederick Weller is Marshall Mann in the USA Network original series "In Plain Sight", which premieres Sunday, June 1 at 10/9c. Weller has made many television appearances, including a principal role on the ABC police drama "Missing Persons;" the lead role in the Emmy®-nominated ABC miniseries "The Beach Boys" and a principal role in the CBS miniseries "Aftershock," opposite Jennifer Garner. He has spent most of his time for the past several years, however, working in theater and independent films. He received an Ensemble Drama Desk Award for his work in the Tony® Award-winning Broadway revival of Glengarry GLen Ross, starring Alan Alda; a Lucille Lortel Award nomination for the Off-Broadway production of Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things; a Drama Desk Award nomination for his appearance as Shane Mungitt in the Tony Award-winning play Take Me Out; another Drama Desk Award nomination for his work in Terrence McNally's Drama Desk-nominated play Some Men; and an Ensemble Obie Award for the Off-Broadway production of Curtains. He has originated roles for many of America's greatest living playwrights, including Edward Albee, Terrence McNally, Richard Greenberg and Neil LaBute. Weller has played opposite such actors as Meryl Streep, Kevin Klein, Alan Alda and Stockard Channing. Five of the six Broadway productions in which he has appeared have won or been nominated for Tony Awards, and seven of his nine Off-Broadway shows have received nominations at the Obie, Drama Desk or Lucille Lortel Awards. Weller has also played lead roles in many successful independent films, including Neil LaBute's The Shape of Things (with Paul Rudd and Rachel Weisz), James Tobak's When Will I Be Loved (opposite Neve Campbell) and The Business of Strangers (with Stockard Channing and Julia Stiles).

 

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