Shakespeare Theatre Welcomes Michael Urie's BUYER & CELLAR, Now thru 6/29

The Shakespeare Theatre Company is proud to present Buyer & Cellar as a part of its STC Presentation Series. Written by Jonathan Tolins and directed by Stephen Brackett, Buyer & Cellar will launch its North American tour in Chicago in May before coming to D.C. Buyer & Cellar had its world premiere in April 2013 at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, where it received rave reviews and played a sold-out, extended run before transferring to the Barrow Street Theatre where it opened June 24, 2013. Buyer & Cellar stars Michael Urie (Ugly Betty) as a struggling (and recently fired) L.A. actor named Alex More, who finds himself taking an odd job working in the Malibu basement of a Hollywood mega-star (and though her name is not mentioned, there are numerous similarities to Barbara Streisand). When the A-lister makes a rare appearance one day, the comedy launches into an outrageous look at fame and the price that accompanies it. Buyer & Cellar will run from today, June 20-29, 2014, at STC's Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW).

Michael Urie received a 2013 Drama Desk Award for Outstanding Solo Performance, and Buyer & Cellar was heralded as "a seriously funny and remarkably sustained slice of absurdist whimsy" by The New York Times. The critically acclaimed hit comedy swept the Best of 2013 Theater lists including The New York Times, Associated Press, The Hollywood Reporter, New York Post, New York Daily News, NPR, Newsday, The Huffington Post, AM New York, The New York Observer, The Advocate, The Daily Beast, Entertainment Weekly, NBC New York, Playbill, Towleroad, Gay City News and Time Out New York.

Broadway leading man Christopher J. Hanke (How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying) will replace Urie and begin performances as Alex More in Buyer & Cellar on Tuesday, March 18, 2014 at the Barrow Street Theatre (27 Barrow Street) in New York City.

To purchase tickets or to learn more, patrons can call the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org.

Michael Urie (Star) originated the role of Alex More in Buyer & Cellar at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. In the role, Urie received the Drama Desk Award, Clarence Derwent Award and nominations for the Drama League and Outer Critics Circle awards. New York theatre credits include How to Succeed in Business Without Really Trying (Broadway), The Cherry Orchard (Classic Stage Company), Angels in America (Signature), The Temperamentals (Barrow Group Studio Theater-Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk and Theatre World awards, Drama League nomination), The Revenger's Tragedy (Red Bull) and Another Vermeer (HB Playwrights). Regionally, Urie has worked for The Old Globe, Vineyard Playhouse, South Coast Rep, Seattle Rep, Folger Theater, Barrington Stage, Hyde Park (Austin) and The Blank (L.A.). Urie's film credits include He's Way More Famous Than You (also directed), Thank You for Judging (co-Director/Executive Producer), Beverly Hills Chihuahua, WTC View, Jeremy Fink and the Meaning of Life, The Decoy Bride, Petunia, The Hyperglot (Director), Grantham & Rose (Executive Producer) and the upcoming Such Good People. His television credits include Hot in Cleveland, Partners and Marc St. James on Ugly Betty. Urie was trained at the Juilliard School where he was a recipient of the John Houseman prize for excellence in classical theater and the Laura Pels Award for a career in theater.

Stephen Brackett's (Director) credits include Jonathan Tolins' Buyer & Cellar (Rattlestick), Dan Fishback's The Material World (Dixon Place), Micheline Auger's American River (Lesser America), Bekah Brunstetter's Nothing is the End of the World (Except for the End of the World) (Waterfall), Chad Beckim's After (Partial Comfort), Brunstetter's Be a Good Little Widow (Ars Nova), The Tenant (Woodshed Collective), David Mixner's From the Front Porch (Dixon Place), Nick Jones and Rachel Shukert's The Sporting Life (Studio 42), Rick Viede's Whore (Summer Play Festival) and Bixby Elliot's PN1923.45 LS01 Volume 2 (Culture Project). Regional credits include The Trouble With Doug at TheatreWorks and Kilroy Was Here and A STyx Rock Opera at Williamstown Theatre Festival. Brackett is a company member of Lesser America and Partial Comfort and an alumnus of the Soho Rep Lab.

Jonathan Tolins (Playwright) is the author of Buyer & Cellar, which was named Best Unique Theatrical Experience by the Off-Broadway Alliance when it premiered at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater. Other plays include The Twilight of the Golds (Broadway, Booth Theatre), If Memory Serves (Promenade), The Last Sunday in June (Rattlestick, Century Center) and Secrets of the Trade (Primary Stages). A collection of his plays has been published by Grove/Atlantic. His film work includes The Twilight of the Golds and Martian Child. For television, he was a writer for Queer as Folk, The Academy Awards, The Tony Awards and Partners. He was the author of Pushkin 200: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall, acted as script consultant on Walking with Dinosaurs: The Arena Spectacular, and co-wrote The Divine Millennium Tour and The Showgirl Must Go On for Bette Midler. He has written articles for Opera News, Opera Monthly, TheaterWeek, Time magazine and The Huffington Post, and is a panelist on the Metropolitan Opera Radio Quiz. He lives in Fairfield, Connecticut with his husband, the writer and director Robert Cary, and their children, Selina and Henry. He is a member of the Dramatists Guild and the Writers Guild of America.

ABOUT THE SHAKESPEARE THEATRE COMPANY: Recipient of the 2012 Regional Theatre Tony Award, the Shakespeare Theatre Company (STC) has become one of the nation's leading theatre companies. Today, STC is synonymous with artistic excellence and making classical theatre more accessible.

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Michael Kahn and Managing Director Chris Jennings, STC's innovative approach to Shakespeare and other classic playwrights has earned it the reputation as the nation's premier classical theatre company. By focusing on works with profound themes, complex characters and poetic language written by Shakespeare, his contemporaries and the playwrights he influenced, the Company's artistic mission is unique among theatre companies: to present theatre of scope and size in an imaginative, skillful and accessible American style that honors the playwrights' language and intentions while viewing their work through a 21st-century lens.

A leader in arts education, STC has a stable of initiatives that teach and excite learners of all ages, from school programs and acting classes to discussion series as well as accessible programs like the annual Free For All, one of STC's most beloved annual traditions, allowing audiences to experience Shakespeare at no charge.

Located in our nation's capital, STC performs in two theatres, the Lansburgh Theatre and Sidney Harman Hall in downtown Washington, D.C., creating a dynamic, cultural hub of activity that showcases STC as well as outstanding local performing arts groups and nationally renowned organizations. STC moved into the 451-seat Lansburgh Theatre in March 1992, after six years in residency in the Folger Library's Elizabethan theatre. At that time the Penn Quarter neighborhood was not considered desirable by many; since then, STC has helped drive its revitalization. The 774-seat Sidney Harman Hall opened in October 2007.

All performances run in Sidney Harman Hall (610 F Street NW). Times: Tuesdays, Wednesdays and Sundays at 7:30 p.m., Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8 p.m., Saturdays and Sundays at 2 p.m. Tickets: ­$25-$75. Premium seating is available for all performances. Special discounts are available for military, students, seniors and patrons aged 35 and under. Contact the box office at 202.547.1122 or visit ShakespeareTheatre.org for more information.

PARKING: Paid parking is available at the PMI parking garage on D Street, between Eighth and Ninth streets, and the Colonial Parking Garage in the Lansburgh building (at 450 7th Street NW between D and E streets).

METRO: Gallery Pl-Chinatown station on the Red/Green/Yellow lines: Use the Arena/7th Street exit. Sidney Harman Hall is visible one block to your left. Judiciary Square station on the Red line: use the F Street exit to the National Building Museum, turn left and walk 1.5 blocks along F Street to 6th Street.

Pictured: Michael Urie. Photo Credit: Walter McBride.

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