Lawrence Gilliard Jr., Chris Bauer and More Head to David Mamet's THE PENITENT Off-Broadway

Atlantic Theater Company has announced casting for the world premiere play The Penitent, by Atlantic's Pulitzer Prize-winning co-founder David Mamet, directed by artistic director Neil Pepe.

The Penitent will feature Lawrence Gilliard Jr. ("The Walking Dead," The Machinist, "The Wire") and Atlantic Theater Company ensemble members Chris Bauer ("True Blood," Broadway's A Streetcar Named Desire, "The Wire"), Jordan Lage (Broadway's Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow, Race), and Rebecca Pidgeon (The Spanish Prisoner, "The Unit," Broadway's The Old Neighborhood).

A renowned psychiatrist (Bauer) is asked to testify on behalf of a young patient. When he refuses, his career, ethics and faith are thrown into question.

The Penitent will begin previews Monday, February 8, officially open Monday, February 27 and play a limited engagement through Sunday, March 19, 2017, Off-Broadway at Atlantic Theater Company's Linda Gross Theater (336 West 20th Street).

Lawrence Gilliard Jr. has been featured on television in the series "The Walking Dead" and "The Wire," in the films Straight Out of Brooklyn and The Machinist and Off-Broadway in Zooman and the Sign and Police Boys. Atlantic Theater Company ensemble member Chris Bauer returns to Atlantic where he has starred in What Rhymes with America, The Night Heron, Parlour Song and Mojo. He currently stars on the Starz series "Survivor's Remorse." Atlantic Theater Company ensemble member Jordan Lage has appeared on Broadway in the Tony Award-winning revival of Our Town, Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Inherit the Wind and the Mamet plays The Old Neighborhood, Glengarry Glen Ross, Speed-the-Plow and Race. Atlantic Theater Company ensemble member Rebecca Pidgeon has starred in the films The Spanish Prisoner, The Winslow Boy, State and Main, Heist, Red, Two Bit Waltz and was featured in The Divergent Series: Allegiant. She starred as Deeny in Mamet's The Old Neighborhood on Broadway and originated the role of Carol in Oleanna Off-Broadway.

Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright David Mamet returns to the company he co-founded with his latest world premiere play. Mamet was last represented on Atlantic's Stage 2 with an intimate revival of two of his haunting short plays The Shawl and Prairie du Chien and on Atlantic's mainstage with a double bill of one-act plays - the world premiere of School and the New York premiere of Keep Your Pantheon and the hit comedy Romance, both directed by Atlantic Artistic Director Neil Pepe. He was co-creator of the four season running hit CBS television series "The Unit."

Atlantic Theater Company Artistic Director Neil Pepe recently staged the world premieres of George Brant's Marie and Rosetta and Kenneth Lonergan's Hold on to Me Darling, the American premiere of Moira Buffini's Dying For It and the acclaimed world premiere production of John Guare's 3 Kinds of Exile at Atlantic, and the Broadway productions of the new musical Hands on a Hardbody, the hit revival of David Mamet's Speed-the-Plow and Mamet's A Life in the Theatre. Off-Broadway highlights include Jez Butterworth's Parlour Song, Mojo and The Night Heron; Ethan Coen's Happy Hour, Offices and Almost an Evening; Harold Pinter's Celebrationand The Room; and Adam Rapp's Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling.

The Penitent will feature scenic design by Tim Mackabee, costume design by Laura Bauer, lighting design by Don Holder and casting by Telsey + Company.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Lawrence Gilliard JR. (The Attorney) has appeared in many films since his breakout performance in the independent film Straight Out of Brooklyn. Since then, Gilliard has appeared in such versatile films as Martin Scorsese's Gangs of New York, The Machinist opposite Christian Bale and The Water Boy opposite Adam Sandler. Lawrence is most recognized for his series regular roles on the AMC hit drama "The Walking Dead" and HBO's critically acclaimed series "The Wire." He also starred on A&E's "The Beast" and appeared on many hit shows including: "CSI: NY," "Law & Order," "Numb3rs," "FridayNight Lights," "Southland," "Army Wives," "Longmire," "Graceland," "Elementary" and "The Good Wife." His stage work includes Zooman and the Sign at Second Stage, Police Boys at Playwrights Horizons and Life During Wartime at Nuyorican Poets Café and regional productions of Top Dog/Underdog at Seattle Repertory Theatre and The Mark Taper Forum in Los Angeles. He has studied at the prestigious Juilliard School, The Stella Adler Conservatory, The American Academy of Dramatic Arts, The Acting Studio and The Baltimore School for the Arts. He can next be seen as a series regular on HBO's highly anticipated David Simon series "The Deuce" opposite James Franco and Maggie Gyllenhaal.

Chris Bauer (Charles) starred as Detective Andy Bellefleur in HBO's hit series "True Blood." He is also well known from the HBO series "The Wire" in his acclaimed role as union boss "Frank Sobotka," and will be seen in David Simon's upcoming HBO series "The Deuce." He currently stars on "Survivor's Remorse" on the Starz network, and was recently seen in the award winning FX limited series "The People vs. OJ Simpson." Recent feature film appearances include Clint Eastwood's Sully and Money Monster, directed by Jodie Foster. His previous work with David Mamet includes the West Coast premiere of Racewith Center Theater Group in Los Angeles and Romance at Bay Street Theater. Bauer returns to Atlantic following starring in Melissa James Gibson's What Rhymes with America and Jez Butterworth's hit plays The Night Heron, Parlour Song and Mojo. He made his Broadway debut in A Streetcar Named Desire, for which he was nominated for an Outer Critics Circle Award. For HBO Films, Bauer appeared in 61*, directed by Billy Crystal, as well as The Notorious Bettie Page and Bernard and Doris. On television, he was a series regular on NBC's "Third Watch," "Smith" on CBS, and ESPN's "Tilt" and has appeared in films from many of Hollywood's biggest directors such as Clint Eastwood, Woody Allen, John Woo, Steve Buscemi, Robert Redford and Joel Schumacher, among others.

Jordan Lage (Richard) is a founding ensemble member of Atlantic Theater Company. He has performed in numerous productions of David Mamet's plays on Broadway, Off-Broadway, and regionally, among them The Blue Hour, Revenge of the Space Pandas, American Buffalo, The Woods, Edmond, Mamet's adaptation of Three Sisters, The Water Engine, Home, In a Linguistics Class, Keep Your Pantheon and Ghost Stories (Prairie du Chien). On Broadway, he has appeared in the Tony Award-winning revival of Our Town, Gore Vidal's The Best Man, Inherit the Wind and the Mamet plays The Old Neighborhood, Glengarry Glen Ross (2005), Speed-the-Plow and Race. He shared a Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Ensemble for his work in the 2005 Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross. Jordan has worked extensively in film, working with acclaimed directors such as Oliver Stone, Sydney Pollack, Barry Levinson, Ridley Scott, Philip Noyce, Jonathan Glazer, Michael Ritchie and David Mamet. Television credits include a recurring role on "Law & Order," "All My Children," "Oz," "Damages," "Boardwalk Empire" and most recently "Madam Secretary" and "The Path." He is on faculty at the Atlantic Theater Acting School.

Rebecca Pidgeon (Kath) has starred in the films The Spanish Prisoner, The Winslow Boy, State and Main, Heist, Red, Two Bit Waltz and most recently was featured in The Divergent Series: Allegiant. Her television credits include HBO's "Phil Spector" and CBS's "Jesse Stone: Sea Change." She had recurring roles on the CBS hit series "The Unit," F/X's "The Shield" and played a regular role on ABC's "In Justice." She starred in BBC's "Uncle Vanya" and in Samuel Beckett's "Catastrophe" opposite Sir John Gielgud and Channel 4's "Harold Pinter." Pidgeon played Deeny in The Old Neighborhood on Broadway and Claire in Boston Marriage at The Geffen Playhouse. She originated the role of Carol in Oleanna Off-Broadway, which had its world premiere at The Orpheum Theatre. As a member of The Royal National Theatre in London, she starred in Speed-the-Plow and The Changeling. Most recently she starred in Sex with Strangers at The Geffen Playhouse and in The Anarchist at Theatre Asylum in Los Angeles as well as at The Sheen Center in New York. She is an ensemble member of Atlantic Theater Company and a graduate of the Royal Academy of Dramatic Art in London. In addition to her career as an actress, Pidgeon is a singer/songwriter whose album Slingshot was nominated for a Grammy Award. Her latest album is Bad Poetry.

Atlantic Theater Company (Neil Pepe, Artistic Director; Jeffory Lawson, Managing Director) is the award-winning Off-Broadway theater that produces great plays simply and truthfully utilizing an artistic ensemble. Atlantic believes that the story of a play and the intent of its playwright are at the core of the creative process. The plays in the Atlantic repertory, from both new and established playwrights, are boldly interpreted by today's finest theater artists and resonate with contemporary audiences. Celebrating over 30 years of theater, Atlantic has produced more than 150 plays including Tony Award-winning productions of Spring Awakening (Steven Sater, Duncan Sheik) and The Beauty Queen of Leenane (Martin McDonagh); Pulitzer Prize recipient Between Riverside and Crazy (Stephen Adly Guirgis); New York Drama Critics' Circle winner for Best New Play The Night Alive (Conor McPherson); world premieres of Marie and Rosetta (George Brant); Hold on to Me Darling (Kenneth Lonergan); Guards at the Taj (Rajiv Joseph); Skeleton Crew (Dominique Morisseau); I'm Gonna Pray for You So Hard (Halley Feiffer); Posterity (Doug Wright); Found (Hunter Bell, Eli Bolin, Lee Overtree); Almost an Evening, Offices, Happy Hour and Women or Nothing (Ethan Coen); What Rhymes With America (Melissa James Gibson); 3 Kinds of Exile (John Guare); Storefront Church (John Patrick Shanley); Body Awareness (Annie Baker); revivals of Cloud Nine (Caryl Churchill) and Brecht and Weill's musical The Threepenny Opera directed by Martha Clarke; acclaimed productions of Bluebird and Harper Regan (Simon Stephens); Our New Girl (Nancy Harris); The Loneliness of the Long Distance Runner (Alan Sillitoe, adapted by Roy Williams); The Lieutenant of Inishmore and The Cripple of Inishmaan (Martin McDonagh); Pulitzer Prize finalist The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow, The Jammer, and These Paper Bullets! (Rolin Jones); The Purple Lights of Joppa Illinois and Dreams of Flying Dreams of Falling (Adam Rapp); Through a Glass Darkly (Ingmar Bergman, adapted by Jenny Worton); Farragut North (Beau Willimon); Chimichangas and Zoloft (Fernanda Coppel); Blue/Orange (Joe Penhall); Port Authority and Dublin Carol (Conor McPherson); Writer's Block (Woody Allen); American Buffalo, Romance, and Edmond (David Mamet); The Cider House Rules, Part I (adapted by Peter Parnell); Good Television (Rod McLachlan); Celebration & The Room, The Collection & A Kind of Alaska and The Hothouse (Harold Pinter); Dying for It and Gabriel (Moira Buffini); Oohrah! (Bekah Brunstetter); Mojo, Parlour Song, and The Night Heron (Jez Butterworth); Boys' Life and The Lights (Howard Korder); Distant Fires (Kevin Heelan); The Lying Lesson and Missing Persons (Craig Lucas). Atlantic has garnered 12 Tony Awards, 19 Lucille Lortel Awards, 21 Obie Awards, 7 Drama Desk Awards, 6 Outer Critics Circle Awards, 3 Drama League Awards, 3 New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards and the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

To post a comment, you must register and login.