GRIMM's Silas Weir Mitchell and Local Favorite Dana Green to Lead CONSTELLATIONS at The Armory

Silas Weir Mitchell and Dana Green star in Constellations - playwright Nick Payne's exploration of love in the multiverse - opening at The Armory on May 19, with preview performances beginning May 13, and regular performances running through June 11.

Portland Center Stage at The Armory's Artistic Director Chris Coleman will direct this multifaceted love story. Silas Weir Mitchell, who starred as the beloved Blutbad Monroe in NBC's six-season series Grimm, will play the beekeeper Roland. Dana Green, who was last seen at The Armory in Great Expectations and was also featured on Grimm as the Wesen Mabel Kurlon in season four, will play Roland's love interest, the physicist Marianne.

"In Nick Payne's gem of a story, what seems at first a random series of viewpoints eventually reveals a structure as elegant and musical as the universe itself," said director Chris Coleman. "I'm thrilled to explore the world of this play with Silas Weir Mitchell and Dana Green, two artists who have captivated audiences at The Armory in the past and are perfectly suited for digging into the complexities of Payne's brilliant script."

This spellbinding, romantic journey begins with a simple encounter between a man and a woman. But what happens next defies the boundaries of the world we think we know delving into the infinite possibilities of their relationship and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny. Imagine: What if everything you've ever done exists along with everything you've never done? The script was initially inspired by a PBS documentary, The Fabric of the Cosmos, which explored quantum physics and the theory of the multiverse.

Constellations had its world premiere in London at The Royal Court Theatre in 2012. The Telegraph praised the script as "playful, intelligent and bursting with ideas, but also achieves a powerful undertow of emotion. ... The writing is as funny and humane as it is intellectually rigorous." Later the same year, the play was transferred to the West End's Duke of York Theatre and the script won the London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best New Play, with Nick Payne becoming the youngest playwright to receive the award. Constellations also received an Olivier Award nomination for Best New Play. It debuted on Broadway in 2014 at Manhattan Theatre Club to rave reviews. The New York Times called it a "supremely articulate play" and queried: "Who knew that higher physics could be so sexy, so accessible - and so emotionally devastating?"

Tickets are on sale now and prices start at $25. Tickets may be purchased at www.pcs.org, 503.445.3700, or in-person from the box office (128 NW Eleventh Avenue, Portland, OR). Rush tickets are $20. Students and patrons who are 30 or younger can purchase $30 tickets in premium seating areas. $5 tickets are available for Oregon Trail Card holders through the Arts for All program. General performance times are Tuesday through Sunday evenings at 7:30 p.m. (excluding May 28, June 6 and 11); Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 p.m. (excluding May 13, 14, 20 and June 3); and Thursday matinees at noon (excluding May 18). Constellations is recommended for ages 16 and up, and contains some mature content and explicit language. More information at www.pcs.org/constellations.

ABOUT THE ARTISTS:

Silas Weir Mitchell (Roland) returns to The Armory after making his debut in 2015 as Walker Janeway/Ned Janeway in Three Days of Rain. Prior to playing Monroe on NBC's Grimm, Mitchell was best known for his recurring role as Charles "Haywire" Patoshik on FOX's Prison Break and the role of Donny Jones in NBC's My Name Is Earl. His other television credits include NYPD Blue, The X-Files, ER, Cold Case, The Mentalist, 24, Law & Order: SVU, The Closer, all the CSI's, Burn Notice, Dexter, Monk, Six Feet Under, The Shield and Portlandia. His film credits include The Patriot, Inferno, Rat Race and The Whole Ten Yards.

Dana Green (Marianne) was last seen at The Armory as Miss Havisham/Mrs. Joe in Great Expectations, Emilia in Othello and Hippolyta/Titania in A Midsummer Night's Dream. Her other Portland credits include db (Coho Productions); Gidion's Knot and The Realistic Joneses (Third Rail Repertory Theatre); and Dead Man's Cell Phone (Profile Theatre). Her regional theater credits include four seasons with Stratford Shakespeare Festival, The Old Globe, South Coast Repertory, Yale Repertory Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theatre and California Shakespeare Theatre. Her television credits include Grimm, Early Edition and The Librarians.

British playwright Nick Payne's plays include If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet (Bush Theatre and Roundabout Theatre Company), Wanderlust (Royal Court Theatre), Sophocles' Electra (Gate Theatre), One Day When We Were Young (Paines Plough/Sheffield Theatres and Shoreditch Town Hall), Lay Down Your Cross (Hampstead Theatre) and The Same Deep Water as Me (Donmar Warehouse). Nick is the recipient of the 2009 George Devine Award for Most Promising Playwright and the 2012 Harold Pinter Playwright's Award.

The Armory's Artistic Director Chris Coleman (who most recently directed and adapted Astoria: Part One at The Armory) will direct Constellations, with scenic designs by Jason Sherwood (recent credits include the Off-Broadway debut of The View UpStairs); costume designs by Eva Steingrueber-Fagan (a cutter/draper in The Armory's costume shop who is making her company design debut); lighting designs by William C. Kirkham (most recently The Oregon Trail and Little Shop of Horrors at The Armory); sound design by Casi Pacilio (The Armory's resident sound designer); stage manager Kelsey Daye Lutz and production assistant Kristen Mun.

Portland Center Stage at The Armory is the largest theater company in Portland and among the top 20 regional theaters in the country. Established in 1988 as a branch of the Oregon Shakespeare Festival, the company became independent in 1994 and has been under the leadership of Artistic Director Chris Coleman since 2000. Around 150,000 visitors attend The Armory annually to enjoy a mix of classical, contemporary and world premiere productions, along with a variety of high quality education and community programs. 11 productions are offered each season, in addition to roughly 400 community events created - in partnership with 170+ local organizations and individuals - to serve the diverse populations in the city. As part of its dedication to new play development, the company has produced 23 world premieres and presents an annual new works festival, JAW: A Playwrights Festival. Home to two theaters, The Armory was the first building on the National Register of Historic Places, and the first performing arts venue, to achieve a LEED Platinum rating.

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