Second Stage Uptown Opens Lucy Teitler's ENGAGEMENTS Tonight

Second Stage Theatre 2016 Uptown Series' production of ENGAGEMENTS officially opens for an extended run tonight, August 4th.

Written by Lucy Teitler and directed by Kimberly Senior, ENGAGEMENTS features Jennifer Kim, Omar Maskati, Ana Nogueira, Michael Stahl-David, and BROOKE WEISMAN.

ENGAGEMENTS is presented at Second Stage Theatre's uptown home, the McGinn/Cazale Theatre on Broadway at 76th Street. Single tickets for ENGAGEMENTS can be purchased by calling the Second Stage Theatre Box Office at 212-246-4422 or online at www.2ST.com.

It's summer in New England and every weekend is someone else's engagement party. The wildflowers, specialty cocktails, and artisanal appetizers are totally Instagram-worthy, but the people are not quite so perfect. One night, Lauren takes it into her own hands to make sure that her best friend doesn't marry an inadequate suitor - a drunken mistake that incites a cascade of calamities, threatening to expose all of Lauren's secrets. Engagements is a dark comedy about ugly feelings in an age of beautiful self-images.

This production of ENGAGEMENTS features scenic design by Wilson Chin, costumes by Beth Goldenberg, lighting design by Jen Schriever, and sound design by Ryan Rumery.

CAST:

Jennifer Kim (Allison) attended NYU's Tisch School of the Arts at the Stella Adler Studio as well as London's Royal Academy of Dramatic Arts. Film credits include: The Bourne Legacy, First Winter, We Need to Talk About Kevin, Confessions of a Shopaholic, The Unity of All Things, Wild Canaries, Intimate Semaphores, Obvious Child, Female Pervert, Lace Crater, and Newly Single. Television credits include recurring guest star roles on Amazon's "Mozart in the Jungle" and TBS' "Search Party," and recurring roles on NBC's "The Blacklist," as well as roles on "Rescue Me," "The Good Wife," "666 Park Ave," "You're Whole," and "Elementary." Most recently, Jen made her off-Broadway debut in Branden Jacobs-Jenkins comedy-drama 'Gloria' at the Vineyard Theatre.

Omar Maskati (Ryan). Off-Broadway: Indian Ink (Roundabout), Disgraced (Lincoln Center). Regional:Modern Terrorism (CATF). Television: recurring roles on "Better Call Saul" (AMC/ "Omar") and "Tyrant" (FX/"Marwan"), and "The Good Wife," "Believe," "Blue Bloods." Film: The Privates. Proud alumni of University of Pennsylvania Mask & Wig Club.

Ana Nogueira (Lauren). Off-Broadway: Mala Hierba (Second Stage Uptown), I'm Pretty F*cked Up (Clubbed Thumb), Knives and Other Sharp Objects (The Public/LAByrinth). National tours: In The Heights. Television credits include "The Vampire Diaries," "Blue Bloods," and "The Michael J. Fox Show." Ana is also a playwright whose work has been developed at Ensemble Studio Theatre, The Hangar, Barrington Stage Company and Colt Coeur. She is an alumni of the playwriting group Youngblood at EST and holds a BFA in theater from The Boston Conservatory.

Michael Stahl-David (Mark) recently wrapped shooting on Terry George's film, The Promise, and Rob Reiner's upcoming bio-pic, LBJ, starring as Bobby Kennedy opposite Woody Harrelson. He also recently appeared in the independent film, In Your Eyes, produced by Joss Whedon, starring opposite Zoe Kazan. Stahl-David is best known for his starring role in Matt Reeves' and JJ Abrams' worldwide hit, Cloverfield. Television: "Show Me A Hero," "The Black Donnellys," "My Generation," "The Good Wife," "New Girl," "Person Of Interest," and "Law & Order: Criminal Intent." Theatre: Lost in Yonkers (Joseph Jefferson Award),Commons Of Pensacola (opposite Sarah Jessica Parker and Blythe Danner, MTC), The Overwhelming(Roundabout), and Buzzer (The Public).

BROOKE WEISMAN (Catherine) is thrilled to be making her Off-Broadway debut! Favorite credits include Fly Guy and Other Stories, The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee, and Moby Dick. A proud graduate of Northwestern University.

CREATIVE TEAM:

Lucy Teitler (Playwright) is a staff writer for the award-winning USA series "Mr. Robot." Additionally, she is a playwright whose most recent production of Engagements was hailed by The Boston Globe as "icy-hot... splendid... the portrait of a fascinatingly complex woman... whip-smart." Her work has been produced in New York at the Ensemble Studio Theatre, where she was a member of the Obie-winning group Youngblood. She is a contributing writer at "VICE Magazine." Her prose has also been published in the "New York Observer," "New York Magazine," "Trop" and "(S)zine."

Kimberly Senior (Director). New York: Disgraced (Broadway, American Theater Company and LCT3/Lincoln Center Theater), The Who & The What (LCT3). Chicago: Hedda Gabler, The Letters (Writers Theatre); 4000 Miles, The Whipping Man (Northlight Theatre); Want, The North Plan (Steppenwolf); After the Revolution and others (Next); Old Times and others (Strawdog), My Name Is Asher Lev and others (TimeLine Theatre), among others. Regional: The Who & The What (La Jolla Playhouse), Little Gem (City Theatre), A Few Good Men and others (Peninsula Players). 2013 finalist: SDCF Joe A. Callaway Award, Zelda Fichandler Award and TCG Alan Schneider Award. Artistic associate: TimeLine Theatre and Writers Theatre.

Created as a program to help develop and provide exposure for the voices of a new generation of theatre artists, Second Stage Theatre UPTOWN (Christopher Burney, Curator & Associate Artistic Director), 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. Lead funding for Second Stage Uptown Series is provided by the Time Warner Foundation.

The series was among the first established by a prominent Off-Broadway institution to help nurture and advance the careers of young up and coming playwrights. Since its founding in 2002 the Uptown Series has showcased the works of several established playwrights including Rajiv Joseph (Gruesome Playground Injuries and Bengal Tiger at the Baghdad Zoo, "Nurse Jackie"), Leslye Headland (Bachelorette), Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Good Boys and True, HBO's "Big Love" and "Looking," "Glee"), Adam Bock (A Small Fire, The Drunken City), and Brooke Berman (Hunting and Gathering); actors Gavin Creel, Ari Graynor, Marin Hinkle, Halley Feiffer, Rosemarie Dewitt, Lorenzo Pisoni, Tracie Thoms and Tracee Chimo, among many others; and directors Davis McCallum, Trip Cullman, Carolyn Cantor, Evan Cabnet and Jackson Gay.

The series premiered in 2002 with three new American plays: ...in the absence of spring..., written and directed by Joe Calarco; The Notebook, 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, 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, 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. The 2011 season 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 2012 season brought The Bad Guys by Alena Smith and Warrior Class by Kennth Lin to Uptown. The 2013 series brought the world premiere of The Tutors by Erica Lipez as well as the off-Broadway transfer, Murder for Two by Joe Kinosian and Kellen Blair. The 2014 series featured Bess Wohl's American Hero, directed by Leigh Silverman, and Tanya Saracho's Mala Hierba, directed by Jerry Ruiz. The 2015 series featured two world premiere productions: Emily Schwend's The Other Thing, directed by Lucie Tiberghien, and King Liz by Fernanda Coppel, directed by Lisa Peterson.

Under the artistic direction of co-founder Carole Rothman, Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new interpretations of America's best Contemporary Theatre, including 2010 Pulitzer Prize winner Next to Normal by Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey; 2012 Pulitzer Prize winner Water By The Spoonfulby Quiara Alegria Hudes; The Last Five Years by Jason Robert Brown; Dogfight by Benj Pasek, Justin Paul and Peter Duchan; By The Way, Meet Vera Stark by Lynn Nottage; Trust and Lonely, I'm Not by Paul Weitz; The Elaborate Entrance of Chad Deity by Kristoffer Diaz; Everyday Rapture by Dick Scanlan and Sherie Rene Scott;Let Me Down Easy by Anna Deavere Smith; Becky Shaw by Gina Gionfriddo; Eurydice by Sarah Ruhl; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Metamorphoses by Mary Zimmerman; The 25th AnnualPutnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn and Rachel Sheinkin; Jitney by August Wilson; Jar the Floor by Cheryl L. West; Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Crowns by ReGina Taylor; SaturdayNight by Stephen Sondheim; Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; This Is Our Youth by Kenneth Lonergan; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants by Ricky Jay; Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Little Murders by Jules Feiffer; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda Barry; and Tiny Alice by Edward Albee.

The company's more than 130 citations include the 2009 Tony Awards for Best Lead Actress in a Musical (Alice Ripley, Next to Normal) and Best Score (Tom Kitt and Brian Yorkey, Next to Normal); the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog Laughed); the 2005 Tony Award for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin, ...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler, ...Spelling Bee); the 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary Zimmerman for Metamorphoses); the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, 27 Obie Awards, seven Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence Derwent Awards, 12 Drama Desk Awards, nine Theatre World Awards, 17 Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award, and 23 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre at 43rd Street, designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. The Theatre supports artists through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and commissions, and engages students and community members through education and outreach programs. For subscriptions, tickets and more information, visit www.2ST.com.

In 2015 Second Stage Theatre purchased the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street. With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theatre company on Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of contemporary American theatrical productions. The company will continue to lease and operate their original theatres on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan. Second Stage Theatre has enlisted David Rockwell and The Rockwell Group to make renovations and updates to the 103 year old landmark building. They will begin renovations on the theatre in 2016 and plans for its first Broadway production to be staged in the Hayes during the 2017-18 season.

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