Every day is opening night.

Contact:
Rick Miramontez / Jon Dimond / Jaron Caldwell
rick@oandmco.com / jon@oandmco.com / jaron@oandmco.com

New York, NY – MCC THEATER (Robert LuPone, Bernard Telsey, Artistic Directors; William Cantler, Associate Artistic Director; Blake West, Executive Director) will present a special evening of readings at The Drama Book Shop on May 10, 2011 in anticipation of their world premiere production of Michael Weller’s Side Effects, directed by David Auburn. Actors Judith Baicich, Francesca Faradany, Jennifer Mudge, Matthew Rauch, and Cotter Smith will read scenes from Weller’s three loosely-related plays on modern marriage: Do Not Disturb, MCC’s previously produced Fifty Words, and the upcoming Side Effects. Weller and Auburn will answer audience questions after the reading, and Weller will sign copies of his plays. The event will take place from 6:00 – 7:30 p.m. at The Drama Book Shop’s Arthur Seelen Theatre (250 W. 40th Street). Seating is limited and available on a first-come, first-served basis. For more information, visit www.dramabookshop.com.

MCC Theater’s 2008 hit Fifty Words (with acclaimed performances by Norbert Leo Butz and Elizabeth Marvel) culminated in one desperate phone call. Side Effects is the story of what happened on the other end of the line, expertly plotted by playwright Michael Weller, who is noted for Loose Ends and Moonchildren, a seminal work for the American stage. Pulitzer Prize and Tony Award-winning writer-director David Auburn (Proof, The New York Idea) will direct Joely Richardson (“Nip/Tuck,” “The Tudors”) and Cotter Smith (Kin, Next Fall) in this harrowing and unique journey.

Hugh and Lindy’s marriage seems picture-perfect, a beacon in their microcosmic Midwestern world of dinner parties and fundraisers. But, behind closed doors – doors they can barely keep shut – they’re falling apart, and Hugh’s rising political star is suddenly imperiled. Performances of this two-person play begin at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street, NYC) on June 2, 2011 with an official opening night set for Sunday, June 19, 2011.

MCC’s world premiere production of Sharr White’s The Other Place, directed by Tony Award winner Joe Mantello, has been extended through May 1, 2011. Tickets for The Other Place and Side Effects are available by visiting www.mcctheater.org or by contacting Ticket Central directly at www.ticketcentral.com or calling 212-279-4200.

MCC Theater is currently celebrating its 25th anniversary season as one of New York City's leading Off Broadway theater companies, committed to presenting New York and world premieres each season. When MCC Theater was founded in 1986, its mission was simple: to bring new theatrical voices to theater-going audiences. MCC Theater continues to accomplish this yearly through three programmatic areas: its mainstage works; its Playwrights’ Coalition, which actively seeks and develops new and emerging writers; and its Education & Outreach Programs, including the Youth Company, which allow more than 1,200 students yearly to experience theater, increase literacy and discover their own voices through the creation of original theater pieces. Notable MCC Theater highlights include: the 2008 Tony Award-nominated reasons to be pretty by Neil LaBute, last season’s The Pride, Fifty Words, the 2004 Tony-winning production of Bryony Lavery’s Frozen; Neil LaBute’s Fat Pig; Rebecca Gilman’s The Glory of Living; Marsha Norman’s Trudy Blue; Margaret Edson’s Pulitzer Prize-winning Wit; Tim Blake Nelson’s The Grey Zone and Alan Bowne’s Beirut. Over the years, the dedication to the work of new and emerging artists has earned MCC Theater a variety of awards.

For more information on MCC Theater, visit www.mcctheater.org. 

About the Author and Director

Michael Weller (Playwright) studied music composition at Brandeis University under Irving Fine, Harold Shapiro, and Martin Boykin, and earned his living as a jazz pianist before earning a graduate diploma in theater at the University of Manchester, England with the legendary Stephen Joseph. His best known work for stage: Moonchildren, Loose Ends, Spoils of War, and What the Night Is For, which played in the West End of London, starring Gillian Anderson and Roger Allam. His films include Hair and Ragtime (for Milos Forman) and Lost Angels (for Hugh Hudson) and a teleplay of his Broadway drama “Spoils of War,” starring Kate Nelligan. He also wrote and produced on the critically acclaimed series “Once & Again. He designed served as Supervising Mentor for the Mentor Project of the Cherry Lane Theatre, creating a development template that is now being used in various forms throughout America. Fifty Words (starring Elizabeth Marvel and Norbert Leo Butz) enjoyed a highly acclaimed run at the Lucille Lortel Theatre in the fall of 2008, directed by Austin Pendleton. Side Effects, the final play of his trilogy Loving, Longing, Leaving (to be published in June, 2011 by T.C.G. Publications) will open at the Lucille Lortel in May. The trilogy was just purchased by Showtime, and he will develop it into a series called “Trust, ETC.,” dealing with modern divorce. Doctor Zhivago, the stage musical for which he write the book (music by Lucy Simon, lyrics, Michael Korie & Amy Powers, directed by Des McAnuff) is currently playing in Australia and will open in London in 2011-2012. His new play, The Full Catastrophe (adopted from the novel by David Carkeet) will premiere in 2011 in New York City. His work has won an Academy Award nomination, an N.A.A.C.P. Outstanding Contribution Award, Critics Outer Circle Award, a Rockefeller Foundation Grant and a Kennedy Center Fund for New American Plays Award, and most recently (October 2009), he received a Helen Merrill Award and (November 2010) a Flora Roberts Award for his work. The Broken Watch Theatre Company honored him by naming their playhouse after him. He is President of the Foundation of the Writer’s Guild of America, east, and a counsel member of The Dramatists Guild of America, and on the faculty of the New School for Drama at the New School University.

David Auburn (Director). Recent directing credits include A Delicate Balance (Berkshire Theatre Festival), Zayd Dohrn's Sick (BTF), and work at The Juilliard School and Lincoln Center Director's Lab. Plays include Proof (MTC/Broadway), An Upset and Amateurs (EST Marathon) and The Journals of Mihail Sebastian (Keen Co.). Films include The Girl in the Park (writer/director).

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