GRAND CONCOURSE Begins Previews Tomorrow at Playwrights Horizons

Previews begin tomorrow, Friday, October 17 at 7:30 PM for the Playwrights Horizons' world premiere production of GRAND CONCOURSE, a new play by playwright and two-time Obie Award-winning actress Heidi Schreck (author of There Are No More Big Secrets, Creature, Showtime's "Nurse Jackie"). Directed by Kip Fagan (The Revisionist, Asuncion), the play is the second production of the acclaimed theater company's 2014/2015 Season. It follows the critically-acclaimed Bootycandy, a new play written and directed by Robert O'Hara, which concludes its extended run this Sunday evening on the Mainstage.

Ms. Schreck is Playwrights Horizons' first Tow Foundation Playwright-in-Residence. She returns to the theater company as a writer, after having previously worked there as an award-winning original cast member of the hit production Circle Mirror Transformation by Annie Baker.

GRAND CONCOURSE has an opening night set for Wednesday, November 12 at 7PM. The limited engagement will play through Sunday evening, November 30, at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

The cast of GRAND CONCOURSE features Obie Award winner Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Mr. Burns and Far From Heaven at PH; In the Next Room...; Ruined), Ismenia Mendes (Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra at PH; The Wayside Motor Inn), Bobby Moreno (Drama Desk nomination for Year of the Rooster) and Tony Award nominee and Obie Award winner Lee Wilkof (Assassins and Glance of a Landscape at PH; Breakfast at Tiffany's and Kiss Me, Kate on Broadway; the original Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors).

Called to a life of religious service, Shelley (Ms. Bernstine) is the devoted manager of a Bronx soup kitchen, but lately her heart's not quite in it. Enter Emma (Ms. Mendes): an idealistic but confused young volunteer with mixed intentions, whose recklessness pushes Shelley to the breaking point. With keen humor and startling compassion, Heidi Schreck's play navigates the mystery of faith, the limits of forgiveness, and the pursuit of something resembling joy.

The production features scenic design by Rachel Hauck, costume design by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Matt Frey and sound design by Leah Gelpe. Production Stage Manager is Sunneva Stapleton.

The performance schedule for GRAND CONCOURSE is Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 & 7PM. There are special Monday evening performances at 7:30 PM on both November 10 and November 24. Single tickets ($60-75) may be purchased online via www.TicketCentral.com, by phone at (212) 279-4200 (Noon-8pm daily) and in person at the Ticket Central Box Office, 416 West 42nd Street (between Ninth & Tenth Avenues).

Through the ticketing program launched last season, FIRST ROW SUNDAYS, Playwrights Horizons makes available front row tickets for all Sunday evening performances. Tickets, $25 each, will be available for those age 30 years and younger and can be purchased in advance online via www.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). Tickets are limited to one per customer and are subject to availability. Purchased tickets for FIRST ROW SUNDAYS can be picked up one hour before curtain on the day of the performance, with proof of age required at the door.

Also reflecting Playwrights Horizons' ongoing commitment to making its productions more affordable to young audiences, the theater company will offer HOTtix, $25 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. Cash only.

FIRST ROW SUNDAYS and HOTtix are two 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 Financial and an Anonymous Individual Donor.

Special Post-Performance Discussions with members of the creative team will take place immediately after the following three performances: Wednesday evening, October 22 at 7:30 PM; Wednesday evening, October 29 at 7:30 PM; and Sunday matinee, November 2 at 2PM.

A special post-show panel discussion in connection with GRAND CONCOURSE will take place Saturday afternoon, November 15 at 4PM. Led by Ms. Schreck with a panel to be announced, the curated discussion will begin with the play and the ideas it raises, but could lead anywhere. The event will take place in the Mainstage Theater immediately following the matinee performance. The event is free, but reservations are required. To reserve a seat, visit the Playwrights Horizons events page at: www.PHnyc.org/shows/events or call the Playwrights Horizons offices at (212) 564-1235 x3154. Confirmation will be given on a first come first served basis. Those that RSVP online will be sent a confirmation email. The event will also be streamed live at www.PHnyc.org/shows/events/live-events.

For more information, visit www.PHnyc.org, or follow on Facebook: www.Facebook.com/PlaywrightsHorizons, Twitter: @PHnyc and Instagram: @PHnyc.

BIOS:

Heidi Schreck (Author) is a playwright and two-time Obie Award-winning actor. Her first play Creature was produced in New York by New Georges and Page 73 in a well-received production directed by Leigh Silverman; her second, There Are No More Big Secrets, directed by Kip Fagan, premiered at Rattlestick Playwrights Theatre, and was a New York Magazine and Time Out New York Critic's pick. Most recently, Long Wharf Theatre produced her dark recession-era comedy, The Consultant, also directed by Fagan. A former Page 73 Playwriting Fellow and Sundance artist, Heidi is currently working on commissions for South Coast Repertory Theatre, Manhattan Theatre Club/Sloan Foundation, and True Love Productions. Grand Concourse marks her return to Playwrights Horizons after appearing as an actor in Annie Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation (Theatre World Award) in 2010. She has also performed extensively at theaters such as The Public (Shakespeare in the Park), Manhattan Theatre Club, Two-Headed Calf, The Foundry, Clubbed Thumb, The Women's Project, The Roundabout, Williamstown, Berkeley Rep and Center Theatre Group. On television, Heidi has appeared on "The Good Wife," "Law & Order: SVU" and Showtime's "Nurse Jackie," where she has also worked as a writer. Heidi is Playwrights Horizons' first Tow Foundation Playwright in Residence.

Kip Fagan (Director) most recently directed the world premieres of Heidi Schreck's The Consultant at Long Wharf Theatre and the new musical Bull Durham at the Alliance Theatre in Atlanta. At the Rattlestick Theatre in NYC: The Revisionist with Vanessa Redgrave and Asuncion, both plays written by and starring Jesse Eisenberg; There Are No More Big Secrets by Heidi Schreck; How to Make Friends and Then Kill Them by Halley Feiffer; That Pretty Pretty by Sheila Callaghan. Other NYC Credits: Jack's Precious Moment by Samuel D. Hunter, Reborning by Zayd Dohrn, Cipher by Cory Hinkel, Recess and Roadkill Confidential by Sheila Callaghan, The Young Left by Greg Keller, Nelson by Sam Marks and the premiere of Christopher Durang's Not a Creature Was Stirring. Regional credits: A Permanent Image by Samuel D. Hunter, Caravan Man, a musical by Tommy Smith and Gabriel Kahane (Williamstown); Venus in Fur (George Street Playhouse and Philadelphia Theater Company); Maple and Vine (City Theatre, Pittsburgh); Circle Mirror Transformation (Marin Theatre Co); Small Tragedy (Playwrights Center, MN, world premiere); The Waverly Gallery (Empty Space Theatre); Neighborhood 3: Requisition of Doom and Michael Von Siebenburg Melts Through the Floorboards (Humana); many plays with Printer's Devil Theatre in Seattle, which he co-founded. Kip was a 2003-2004 NEA/TCG directing fellow and the 2007 Bill Foeller directing fellow at The Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Quincy Tyler Bernstine (Shelley). Playwrights Horizons: Mr. Burns, Far From Heaven. Broadway: In the Next Room, or the vibrator play. Other Off-Broadway: Ruined (Obie Award); Neva (Lortel nomination); We Are Proud to Present a Presentation...; Born Bad; Love, Loss and What I Wore; Dreams of Flying, Dreams of Falling; Family Week; The Misanthrope. Regional: Far From Heaven (Williamstown), Intimate Apparel (Alliance). Film: Rachel Getting Married.

Ismenia Mendes (Emma). Playwrights Horizons: Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra. She was most recently seen in The Wayside Motor Inn (Signature) and Much Ado About Nothing (NYSF). Other credits include Family Furniture (Flea Theater), Baby Screams Miracle (Clubbed Thumb) and Henry V (Two River Theater). Favorite roles include Lorna in Golden Boy, Snug the Joiner in A Midsummer Night's Dream and Jackie Coryton in Hay Fever. Training: Juilliard.

Bobby Moreno (Oscar). Playwrights Horizons debut. New York: Year of the Rooster (Drama Desk nomination), Hand to God, Invasion!, Red-Handed Otter, Okay, Luther, Phoebe in Winter, I.E. - in Other Words. Regional: Leveling Up (Cincinnati Playhouse, Best Featured Actor nomination), Goldor $ Mythyka (New Georges), Cyrano (The Folger), Re-entry (CenterStage). TV: "The Good Wife," "Kings."

Lee Wilkof (Frog). Playwrights Horizons: Assassins (Drama Desk nomination), Glance of a Landscape. Broadway: Kiss Me, Kate (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Breakfast at Tiffany's, The Odd Couple, Democracy, The Boys from Syracuse. Other Off-Broadway: The Present Tense (Obie Award, Drama Desk nomination), Little Me (Encores!), The Underpants, Chaucer in Rome, The Front Page, June Moon, original Seymour in Little Shop of Horrors.

Playwrights Horizons 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. Under the leadership of artistic director Tim Sanford and managing director Leslie Marcus, the theater company continues to encourage the new work of veteran writers while nurturing an emerging generation of theater artists. In its 44 years, Playwrights Horizons has presented the work of more than 400 writers and has received numerous awards and honors, including a special 2008 Drama Desk Award for "ongoing support to generations of theater artists and undiminished commitment to producing new work." Notable productions include six Pulitzer Prize winners - Annie Baker's The Flick (2013 Obie Award, 2013 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize), Bruce Norris's Clybourne Park (2012 Tony Award, Best Play), 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 Ms. Baker's Circle Mirror Transformation (three 2010 Obie Awards including Best New American Play); Anne Washburn's Mr. Burns, a post-electric play, Lisa D'Amour's Detroit (2013 Obie Award, Best New American Play); Samuel D. Hunter's The Whale (2013 Lortel Award, Best Play); Kirsten Greenidge's Milk Like Sugar (2012 Obie Award); Sarah Ruhl's Stage Kiss and Dead Man's Cell Phone; Gina Gionfriddo's Rapture, Blister, Burn; Dan LeFranc's The Big Meal; Amy Herzog's The Great God Pan and After the Revolution; Bathsheba Doran's Kin; Adam Bock's A Small Fire; Edward Albee's Me, Myself & I; Melissa James Gibson's This (2010 Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist); 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; 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 (2000 Tony Award, Best Book); Stephen Sondheim and John Weidman's Assassins; 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; 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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