Michael Braun et al. Star in Second Stage Theatre's THE BAD GUYS, Opening Tonight, 6/4

Second Stage Theatre (Carole Rothman, Artistic Director) kicks off the 10th anniversary of its Uptown Series with the world premiere of The Bad Guys, written by Alena Smith and directed by Hal Brooks. The Bad Guys will feature Michael Braun (War Horse), Roe Hartrampf (Unnatural Acts), James McMenamin (Suicide, Incorporated), Tobias Segal (The Miracle Worker) and Raviv Ullman (Russian Transport). Opening night is tonight, June 4th.

The Bad Guys is presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. Tickets are $50 and can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Theatre Box Office at 212-246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com.

Five childhood buddies reunite on a late summer afternoon for some beer, grilling and weed, but deep within their friendship lurk ghosts that rock the patio beneath them. Bitingly comic and ruthlessly recognizable, this is the story of a generation at war with itself over what it means to "man up."

The Bad Guys features scenic design by Jason Simms, costume design by Jessica Pabst, lighting design by Seth Reiser, and sound design by Ryan Rummery.

Created as a program to help develop and provide exposure for the voices of a new generation of theatre artists, the Second Stage Theatre Uptown Series (Christopher Burney, Associate ArtisticDirector and Curator) seeks to develop the skills of emerging playwrights, to provide early-career artists with the support of a major artistic institution, and to create new plays for the American Theatre. Each show has a limited rehearsal period, as well as a streamlined budget.

The series has helped launch and advance the careers of several up-and-coming playwrights, including Rajiv Joseph (Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo), Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Good Boys and True, HBO's "Big Love"), Adam Bock (A Small Fire, The Drunken City), and Brooke Berman (Hunting and Gathering).

Alena Smith (Playwright) Alena Smith's plays have been seen/developed at The Public Theater, Playwrights Horizons, Joe's Pub, the Summer Play Festival, A.R.T. Institute, the Ohio Theatre, P.S. 122, Chashama, the Foundry, and the Yale Cabaret. Outside of the U.S., her work has been seen at the Southwark Playhouse in London, and at Theater Bielefeld in Bielefeld, Germany. She was a member of the Public's 2009 Emerging Writers Group, and was a 2008-09 Artist Fellow in Playwriting with the New York Foundation for the Arts (NYFA). MFA, Yale School of Drama; ASCAP Cole Porter Prize in Playwriting.

Hal Brooks (Director) Recent: Colin Quinn's Long Story Short, directed by Jerry Seinfeld (Creative Consultant); The Whale (Denver Center), Tigers Be Still (Dallas Theater Center). Clybourne Park, Juilliard; Urge for Going (The Public Theater); The Bald Soprano (Pearl Theatre); (Humana Festival), Back Back Back (Dallas Theater Center), Lady (Asolo Rep), the premiere of Lee Blessing's Lonesome Hollow (Contemporary American Theater Festival), and Steve Martin's Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Two River Theater Company). Hal is the Artistic Director of the Cape Cod Theatre Project and the Associate Artistic Director of the Ojal Playwrights Conference. He is a proud member of the Lincoln center Theatre Directors' Lab and SSDC.

Michael Braun (Fink) most recently appeared in War Horse on Broadway (Lincoln Center). His off-Broadway credits include The Bridge Project: The Winter's Tale, The Cherry Orchard (BAM, Old Vic, World Tour); Future Me (SPF), Billy Witch (Studio 42), Hamlet (DTNY), The Education of Harry Lynch (Director's Company), Woman Killer (HERE). Regional: The Front Page, On The Razzle, The Indian Wants the Bronx, Haroun and the Sea of Stories, The Liddy Plays, and Bloody Mary (all at the Williamstown Theater Festival), The Breach (Seattle Rep), Lulu and All's Well That Ends Well (Yale Rep). Film: Incoming, Dare, Igby Goes Down. TV: "The Good Wife," "Nurse Jackie," "Law & Order," "Awkward Situations for Men." MFA: Yale School of Drama (Williams Prize for Acting). He is a member of The Actor's Center Company and is the recipient of Princess Grace Award.

Roe Hartrampf (Whit). Theatre credits include Unnatural Acts at Classic Stage and Golden Age at the Kennedy Center/PA theater, directed by Walter Bobbie and Austin Pendleton, respectively. Film/TV credits include Romeo Vs. Juliet, "Pan Am," "Blue Bloods," "Person of Interest,"and "Golden Boy." BFA New York University.

James McMenamin (Noah). New York: The Bad Guys, Suicide, Incorporated, Middletown, Our Town, BFE, Armed and Naked, Mag-7. Regional: Our Town, At Home At the Zoo, Prayer for my Enemy, Love's Labor Lost, The Sisters Rosenweig, BFE. Film/Television: The Word, I Just Want My Pants Back, Law & Order, Guiding Light, A Night in the Hill.

Tobias Segel (Jesse). Broadway: The Miracle Worker. Off-Broadway/Regional: Bluebird, The Winter's Tale, Cherry Orchard, Little Doc, Doris to Darlene, After Ashley (Ovation Award), Equus (Barrymore Award), From Up Here (Drama Desk Award Nomination). Film/Television: Body of Proof, Martha Marcy May Marlene, Men in Black 3, Rocky Balboa, Law & Order.

Raviv Ullman (Paul). Theater: Russian Transport (New Group), Dead End (Ahmanson, LA), King & I (National Tour), A Rosen By Any Other Name (Connecticut Critics Circle nom). Raviv played lead characters on both television series "Phil of the Future" and "Rita Rocks", as well as guest spots on "House," "Cold Case," "Law & Order SVU/CI," "Criminal Minds: SB," "The Middleman," and others. He has also been seen in several indie films, MOW's, and pilots.

The series premiered in 2002 with three new American plays: …in the absence of spring…, written and directed by Joe Calarco; The Notebook, written by Wendy Kesselman and directed by Evan Yionoulis; and Hunt Holman's Spanish Girl, directed by Erica Schmidt. Second Stage Theatre Uptown was on hiatus in 2003 due to theatre repairs. The 2004 season saw the New York premiere of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's The Mystery Plays, as well as Brooke Berman's The Triple Happiness, starring Ally Sheedy. In 2005, the series presented the New York premiere of the critically acclaimed comedy Swimming in the Shallows, written by Adam Bock and starring Logan Marshall-Green, as well as the world premiere of Dan O'Brien's The Dear Boy. The 2006 series featured two world premiere comedies: Getting Home, written by Anton Dudley and directed by David Schweizer, and Rajiv Joseph's All This Intimacy, directed by Giovanna Sardelli. The 2007 series featured Marisa Wegrzyn's The Butcher of Baraboo, directed by Judith Ivey, and Joshua Tobiessen's Election Day, directed by Jeremy Dobrish. The 2008 series featured Carly Mensch's Len, Asleep in Vinyl, directed by Jackson Gay, and Rajiv Joseph's Animals Out of Paper, directed by Giovanna Sardelli. The 2009 series presented two world premiere plays: Zakiyyah Alexander's 10 Things To Do Before I Die, directed by Jackson Gay, and Lila Rose Kaplan's Wildflower, directed by Giovanna Sardelli. The 2010 season's series featured the New York premiere of Michael Golamco's Year Zero, directed by Will Frears and the New York premiere production of Leslye Headland's critically acclaimed hit comedy Bachelorette, directed by Trip Cullman.

Last season's series featured the New York premiere of Michael Golamco's Year Zero, directed by Will Frears and the New York premiere production of Leslye Headland's critically acclaimed hit comedy Bachelorette, directed by Trip Cullman.

Last season's series featured two world premiere comedies: Michael Mitnick's Sex Lives of Our Parents, directed by Davis McCallum and Anna Kerrigan's The Talls, directed by Carolyn Cantor.

The Bad Guys will be performed at the McGinn/Cazale Theater (Broadway & 76th Street, 3rd floor) from Tuesday, May 22 – June 17 on the following schedule: Tuesday – Sunday at 7:30pm,Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00pm, and Sunday at 3pm.

Tickets can be purchased at the Second Stage Theatre Box Office (305 West 43rd Street) or by calling (212) 246-4422. Advance tickets are not available at the McGinn/Cazale Theater. Single tickets are $50; advance youth tickets (age 30 and under) are $20; and student rush tickets are $10 (available 30 minutes prior to curtain). A 2-play subscription is available for $60.

For more information, visit www.2ST.com.