Kristine Nielsen, Lois Smith & More Tapped for Playwrights Horizons' Upcoming Productions

Playwrights Horizons has announced additional casting for its upcoming 2015/2016 Season. The announcement features complete casting for the second and third shows of the season: HIR, the New York premiere of a new play by Obie Award-winning theater artist Taylor Mac (A 24-Decade History of Popular Music, The Lily's Revenge, The Walk Across America for Mother Earth, The Be(a)st of Taylor Mac, The Young Ladies Of), directed by theater director and performance artist Niegel Smith (Fela!, the company Willing Participant); and initial casting for the 2015 Pulitzer Prize finalist MARJORIE PRIME, the New York premiere of a new play by Jordan Harrison (Maple and Vine, Doris to Darlene at PH; Amazons and Their Men; Kid-Simple; "Orange is the New Black"), directed by Obie Award winner Anne Kauffman (Detroit, Maple and Vine, Your Mother's Copy of the Kama Sutra at PH; Belleville; This Wide Night; The Thugs).

The cast of HIR will feature Tony Award nominee and two-time Obie Award winner Kristine Nielsen (Crazy Mary, Miss Witherspoon, Betty's Summer Vacation at PH; Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike; You Can't Take It With You; Why Torture Is Wrong...; Dog Opera; "Political Animals"), Daniel Oreskes (The Miracle Worker, Billy Elliott, The Revisionist), Tom Phelan (Cole on "The Fosters") and Cameron Scoggins (Pocatello, The Big Meal at PH; Lovers).

The production will begin previews Friday, October 16 with an Opening Night set for Sunday, November 8. The limited engagement will play through Sunday evening, November 29 at Playwrights Horizons' Peter Jay Sharp Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

Somewhere in the suburbs, Isaac (Mr. Scoggins) has returned from the wars to help take care of his ailing father (Mr. Oreskes), only to discover a household in revolt. The insurgent: his mom (Ms. Nielsen). Liberated from an oppressive marriage, with Isaac's newly out transgender brother (Mr. Phelan) as her ally, she's on a crusade to dismantle the patriarchy. But in Taylor Mac's sly, subversive comedy, annihilating the past doesn't always free you from it.

The performance schedule for HIR will be Tuesdays through Fridays at 7:30 PM, Saturdays at 2 & 7:30 PM and Sundays at 2 & 7PM. Single tickets will go on sale to the general public starting the week of September 14. As of that week, single tickets 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).

HIR had its world premiere at Magic Theatre (San Francisco, CA) in February 2014.

The cast of MARJORIE PRIME will feature Noah Bean (One Arm, The Rise and Fall of Annie Hall, "12 Monkeys," "Nikita," "Damages"), two-time Obie Award winner Lisa Emery (Marvin's Room at PH, Casa Valentina, The Women, Iron, Curtains, The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin), Stephen Root (All My Sons, Office Space, "NewsRadio," "King of the Hill," "True Blood," "24," "Boardwalk Empire") and two-time Tony Award nominee Lois Smith (After the Revolution, 100 Saints You Should Know at PH; Buried Child; The Grapes of Wrath; the current John; "True Blood").

The production will begin previews Friday, November 20 with an Opening Night set for Monday, December 14. The limited engagement will play through Sunday evening, January 3 at Playwrights Horizons' Mainstage Theater (416 West 42nd Street).

It's the age of artificial intelligence, and 86-year-old Marjorie (Ms. Smith) - a jumble of disparate, fading memories - has a handsome new companion (Mr. Bean) who's programmed to feed the story of her life back to her. What would we remember, and what would we forget, if given the chance? In this richly spare, wondrous new play, Jordan Harrison explores the mysteries of human identity and the limits - if any - of what technology can replace.

The performance schedule for MARJORIE PRIME will be Tuesdays and Wednesdays at 7PM, Thursdays and Fridays at 8PM, Saturdays at 2:30 PM & 8PM and Sundays at 2:30 PM & 7:30 PM. Single tickets, $75-95, will go on sale to the general public starting the week of October 19. As of that week, single tickets 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).

MARJORIE PRIME was commissioned by Playwrights Horizons in association with Theater Masters and its Visionary Playwright Award, and with additional funds provided by the Harold and Mimi Steinberg Commissioning Program. Its world premiere was produced by Center Theatre Group at The Mark Taper Forum (Los Angeles, CA) in September 2014.

Photo by Walter McBride

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