Playwrights Horizons' CLYBOURNE With Frank Wood and Annie Parisse Opens 2/21

Playwrights Horizons has announced complete casting for the World Premiere of CLYBOURNE PARK, a new play by Bruce Norris (The Pain and the Itch at Playwrights Horizons/PH 2006-2007 Season).

Directed by Pam MacKinnon (Peter and Jerry, The Four of Us, Occupant), the production has an Opening Night set for Sunday, February 21 at 7PM at the theater company's Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street). The limited engagement is currently scheduled to run through Sunday, March 7.

The cast will feature Tony Award winner Frank Wood (Side Man and August: Osage County on Broadway, The Wax at PH), Emmy Award nominee Annie Parisse (The Credeaux Canvas at PH, Becky Shaw at Second Stage, Prelude to a Kiss on Broadway, Assistant DA Alexandra Borgia on "Law & Order," Julia Lindsey Snyder on "As the World Turns"), Jeremy Shamos (100 Saints You Should Know and Miss Witherspoon at PH, Reckless and The Rivals on Broadway, Gutenberg! The Musical!), Crystal A. Dickinson (Ruined, Broke-ology), Brendan Griffin (world premiere of Itamar Moses's Back Back Back at The Old Globe), Damon Gupton (Inked Baby at PH) and Christina Kirk (God's Ear at The Vineyard, Suitcase and [sic] at Soho Rep).

CLYBOURNE PARK will be Mr. Norris' first play to have its World Premiere in New York. While Playwrights Horizons presented his first New York premiere with The Pain and the Itch in 2006, his previous five plays all had their World Premieres at Steppenwolf Theatre.

In 1959, a white family moves out. In 2009, a white family moves in. In the intervening years, change overtakes a neighborhood, along with attitudes, inhabitants and property values. Loosely inspired by Lorraine Hansberry's A Raisin in the Sun, this pitch-black comedy from Bruce Norris takes on the specter

of gentrification in one of America's most recognizable communities - leaving no stone unturned in the process. The production will feature scenic design by Dan Ostling, costume design by Ilona Somogyi, lighting design by Allen Lee Hughes and sound design by John Gromada. Production Stage Manager is Carol A. Clark.

Playwrights Horizons' production of CLYBOURNE PARK has received generous support from the Eleanor Naylor Dana Charitable Trust. Special thanks to the Tobin Theatre Arts Fund for supporting the set and costume designer fees for this production.

Playwrights Horizons' season productions are generously supported by The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Playwrights Horizons is supported in part by public funds from the National Endowment for the Arts, the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the New York State Assembly and the New York State Senate. In addition, Playwrights Horizons receives major support from Carnegie Corporation of New York, Charina Endowment Fund, Fan Fox and Leslie R. Samuels Foundation, the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, The Shubert Foundation and Time Warner Inc.

The performance schedule for CLYBOURNE PARK will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 & 7:30 PM. Tickets are $65 and will go on sale to the general public starting Wednesday, December 30. Tickets may be purchased online via TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily), or in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).

LIVEforFIVE, HOTtix and STUDENT RUSH are some of Playwrights Horizons' popular Arts Access initiatives, which allow the institution to reach out to those who may not be able to afford the cost of a full-price theater ticket. This program is supported, in part, by the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, McGraw-Hill Companies and the Elroy and Terry Krumholz Foundation.

LIVEforFIVE makes available $5 tickets for the first preview performance of each Playwrights Horizons production through a lottery via the company's website. The LIVEforFIVE lottery for CLYBOURNE PARK will be for tickets to the first preview on Friday, January 29 at 8PM. Details for the lottery are as follows: beginning Wednesday, January 20 at 10AM, theatergoers can enter the lottery by filling out an entry form at www.playwrightshorizons.org. Entries will be accepted until Monday, January 25 at 12 Noon. Winners of the lottery will be notified via email no later than 3PM on Monday, January 25 with instructions on how to book their $5 tickets. Unclaimed tickets will be offered via email starting at 12 Noon on Tuesday, January 26 on a first-come, first-served basis. One or two tickets may be purchased for $5 each. At least 50 tickets will be available for Mainstage shows via the lottery.

Reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to younger audiences, the theater company offers HOTtix, $20 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before showtime to patrons aged 30 and under. Proof of age required. One ticket per person, per purchase. STUDENT RUSH, $15 rush tickets, subject to availability, day of performance only, starting one hour before curtain to full-time graduate and undergraduate students. One ticket per person, per purchase. Valid student ID required.

Playwrights Horizons' 4th Annual 30&Under Party will take place following the Friday, February 5, evening performance of CLYBOURNE PARK. The party is a free event for Student and 30&Under FlexPass members and a guest. Additional $20 tickets will be available for purchase for patrons aged 30 or under. For more information, please call (212) 564-1235, ext. 3152.

A special open captioned performance of CLYBOURNE PARK for theatergoers who are deaf and hard of hearing will be held on the Saturday, February 13 matinee at 2:30 PM. Funding for this program is provided, in part, by the Theodore H. Barth Foundation and the Theatre Development Fund's TAP Plus program in cooperation with the New York State Council on the Arts.

Tickets can be ordered online at www.playwrightshorizons.org or by calling Ticket Central at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily) via Relay Service (800) 421-1220.  Ticket orders are also accepted by fax via a printable order form may be found online at ww.playwrightshorizons.org/tickets.html

For subscription and ticket information to all Playwrights Horizons productions, call TICKET CENTRAL at (212) 279-4200, Noon to 8 pm daily, or purchase online at the Playwrights Horizons website at www.playwrightshorizons.org.

Bruce Norris (Playwright) is an actor and writer whose plays include The Infidel (2000), Purple Heart (2002), We All Went Down to Amsterdam (2003), The Pain and the Itch (2004) and The Unmentionables (2006) all of which had their premiere at Steppenwolf Theatre, Chicago. His newest play, titled A Parallelogram, will premiere there in 2010. The Pain and the Itch had its New York premiere at Playwrights Horizons in 2006. His work has also been produced at Lookingglass Theatre, Chicago (an adaptation of Joe Orton's Up Against It, 1994 and The Vanishing Twin, 1996), Philadelphia Theatre Company, Woolly Mammoth Theatre (DC), The Royal Court Theatre (London) and The Galway Festival (Galway, Ireland). He is the recipient of the Whiting Foundation Prize for Drama (2006) as well as two Joseph Jefferson Awards (Chicago) for Best New Work, and the Kesselring Prize, Honorable Mention, for 2006. As an actor he can be seen in the films A Civil Action and The Sixth Sense, among others. He lives in Brooklyn, New York.

Pam MacKinnon (Director) recently directed Edward Albee's A Delicate Balance (Arena Stage), the World Premiere of Richard Greenberg's new play Our Mother's Brief Affair (South Coast Repertory), Robert Penn Warren's All the King's Men (Intiman Theatre), Itamar Moses' The Four of Us (Manhattan Theatre Club, Old Globe), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's Good Boys and True (Steppenwolf), the New York debut of Edward Albee's Peter and Jerry (Second Stage, world premiere at Second Stage), Bruce Norris' The Unmentionables (Woolly Mammoth), and the World Premiere of John Fugelsang's All The Wrong Reasons (New York Theatre Workshop). Other credits include David Mamet's Romance and Edward Albee's The Play About the Baby (Goodman Theatre); Gina Gionfriddo's After Ashley (Philadelphia Theatre Company); Bach at Leipzig by Itamar Moses (NYTW); World Premiere productions of Alice the Magnet by Erin Courtney (Clubbed Thumb), Sheri Wilner's Father Joy (CATF and SPF) and Victor Lodato's 3F, 4F (Magic); Ann Marie Healy's Dearest Eugenia Haggis (CCTP); Yazmina Reza's LIFEx3 (Alley); Victor Lodato's Slay the Dragon (A.C.T.); Tina Howe's Water Music (EST); and the U.S. regional (Alley) and European (Vienna) premieres of Edward Albee's The Goat or, Who Is Sylvia?. She works frequently with Clubbed Thumb, Inc., where she is an Affiliated Artist, and at New York Stage and Film on new play development. Pam is an alumna of the Lincoln Center Director's Lab, the Women's Project Directors' Forum, the Drama League Fall Production Fellowship and is a member of SDC.

Frank Wood (Russ/Dan) won Tony and Drama League Awards for Side Man and also performed the show in the West End and in Australia. Other Broadway: August: Osage County, Hollywood Arms. He previously appeared at Playwrights Horizons in The Wax (2000). Other Off-Broadway: Spalding Gray: Stories Left to Tell, Spring Awakening. Film: Changeling, The Taking of Pelham 123, Dan in Real Life, Thirteen Days, Michael Clayton. Television: "Flight of the Conchords," "Medium," "The Sopranos," "Law & Order."

Annie Parisse (Betsy/Lindsey) is familiar to TV audiences as Assistant DA Alexandra Borgia on "Law & Order" and Julia Lindsey Snyder on "As the World Turns," for which she received a Daytime Emmy nomination. She previously appeared at Playwrights Horizons in The Credeaux Canvas (2001). Other New York Theater: Prelude to a Kiss (Broadway/Roundabout), Becky Shaw (Second Stage), Misalliance (Roundabout), The Internationalist (Vineyard), Monster (Classic Stage Company), The Crackwalker (Soho Rep/Walkerspace), The Wild Duck (NY Performance Works). Film: Definitely/ Maybe, Blackbird, Prime, Monster-in-Law, National Treasure, How to Lose a Guy in Ten Days. Other Television: "Law & Order," "Friends," "Third Watch," "Big Apple."

Jeremy Shamos (Karl/Steve) has previously appeared at Playwrights Horizons in 100 Saints You Should Know (2007) and Miss Witherspoon (2005). Broadway: The Rivals (Lincoln Center), Reckless (MTC). Other Off-Broadway: Gutenberg! The Musical! (New York Musical Theatre Festival), Observe the Sons of Ulster... (Lincoln Center); Engaged (Theatre for a New Audience), The Complete Works of William Shakespeare (Abridged) (Century Center), Hamlet and Cymbeline (NYSF/Public), Race and The Alchemist (Classic Stage Company), Stranger (Vineyard Theatre), Corpus Christi (MTC). Film/Television: The Great New Wonderful, Trust the Man, "Hack."

Crystal A. Dickinson (Francine/Lea). Off-Broadway: Broke-ology (Lincoln Center), Ruined (Manhattan Theatre Club), The First Breeze of Summer (Signature), Sun Down Names and Night-Gone Things (Negro Ensemble Company). Regional: Baltimore, CenterStage, The Alliance, 7 Stages, Georgia Shakespeare, Illinois Shakespeare, Synchronicity, Theatre-in- the-Square. Television: "Tyler Perry's House of Payne."

Brendan Griffin (Jim/Tom/Kenneth) appeared in the World Premiere of Itamar Moses's Back Back Back at The Old Globe, where he's also appeared in Cyrano de Bergerac (as Christian) and Coriolanus. Film and Television credits include The Nanny Diaries, "The Good Wife," "Generation Kill," "Taking Chance," "Guiding Light," "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," "Conviction," "One Life to Live" and "Law & Order: SVU."

Damon Gupton (Albert/Kevin) appeared last season at Playwrights Horizons as Greer in Inked Baby. Other Off-Broadway: The Story (The Public), True History and Real Adventures (Vineyard) and Treason (Perry Street). Regional work includes the title role in Othello at Heart of America Shakespeare. Damon is also an award-winning conductor who has conducted orchestras across the country. Film and Television credits include Twelve, Before the Devil Knows You're Dead, Unfaithful, Charles Foster on the NBC series "Deadline," "Law & Order" and "Third Watch."

Christina Kirk (Bev/Kathy). Broadway: Well. Other New York Theater credits include Oh, the Humanity and other exclamations (The Flea Theater), God's Ear (The Vineyard, New Georges), Lunch (P.S. 122), Suitcase (Soho Rep, La Jolla Playhouse), [sic] (Soho Rep) and Stage Door (Here). Film and Television credits include Taking Woodstock, Melinda and Melinda, Bug, Final, Safe Men, "Law & Order: SVU," "Law & Order: Trial by Jury" and "Stella." She is a founding associate artist of The Civilians and an affiliate artist of Clubbed Thumb.

Playwrights Horizons, under the leadership of Artistic Director Tim Sanford and Managing Director Leslie Marcus, is a writer's theater dedicated to the support and development of contemporary American Playwrights, composers and lyricists, and to the production of their new work. In its 39 years, Playwrights Horizons has presented the work of more than 375 writers and has received numerous awards and honors, most recently being honored with a special 2008 Drama Desk Award for "ongoing support to generations of theater artists and undiminished commitment to producing new work." Notable productions include four Pulitzer Prize winners: Doug Wright's I Am My Own Wife (2004 Tony Award, Best Play), Wendy Wasserstein's The Heidi Chronicles (1989 Tony Award, Best Play), Alfred Uhry's Driving Miss Daisy and Stephen Sondheim and James Lapine's Sunday in the Park with George, as well as Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation, Melissa James Gibson's This, Doug Wright, Scott Frankel and Michael Korie's Grey Gardens (three 2007 Tony Awards), Craig Lucas's Prayer For My Enemy and Small Tragedy (2004 Obie Award, Best American Play), Adam Rapp's Kindness, Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins, Sarah Ruhl's Dead Man's Cell Phone, Bruce Norris's The Pain and the Itch, Lynn Nottage's Fabulation (2005 Obie Award for Playwriting), Kenneth Lonergan's Lobby Hero, David Greenspan's She Stoops to Comedy (2003 Obie Award), Kirsten Childs's The Bubbly Black Girl Sheds Her Chameleon Skin (2000 Obie Award), Richard Nelson and Shaun Davey's James Joyce's The Dead, William Finn's March of the Falsettos and Falsettoland, Christopher Durang's Betty's Summer Vacation and Sister Mary Ignatius Explains It All For You, Richard Nelson's Goodnight Children Everywhere and Franny's Way, Lynn Ahrens and Stephen Flaherty's Once on This Island, Jon Robin Baitz's The Substance of Fire, Scott McPherson's Marvin's Room, A.R. Gurney's Later Life, Adam Guettel and Tina Landau's Floyd Collins and Jeanine Tesori and Brian Crawley's Violet.

 

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