Gurney's The Grand Manner, with Gaines, Burton, Steggert and Wehle, Arrives Off-Broadway | Playbill

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News Gurney's The Grand Manner, with Gaines, Burton, Steggert and Wehle, Arrives Off-Broadway The world premiere of The Grand Manner, playwright A.R. Gurney's semi-autobiographical look at his own youth and an encounter with stage actress Katharine Cornell, begins previews June 2 at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater.
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Kate Burton with (inset:) Bobby Steggert, Boyd Gaines and Brenda Wehle Photo by Joan Marcus, Aubrey Reuben (insets)

Mark Lamos directs the engagement for Lincoln Center Theater, which will officially open June 27. The limited engagement will run through Aug. 1.

The cast features Tony Award nominee Bobby Steggert (Yank!, Ragtime) as Gurney's younger self, with three-time Tony nominee Kate Burton (Hedda Gabler, The Constant Wife) as Cornell. Four-time Tony Award winner Boyd Gaines (Gypsy, Journey's End) portrays Cornell's husband, director Guthrie McClintic, and Brenda Wehle (Pygmalian, Stuff Happens) is Gert Macy, Cornell's general manager.

Here's how LCT bills the work: "In 1948 playwright A.R. Gurney, then a young boarding school student, traveled to New York where he attended a performance of Shakespeare’s Antony and Cleopatra, going backstage afterwards to meet the production’s star, the great stage actress Katharine Cornell, who was dubbed 'The First Lady of the American Stage' by the legendary critic Alexander Woollcott. A mix of remembrance and imagination, The Grand Manner is a love letter to this fabled actress and a heartfelt look back at the glorious heyday of the Broadway theater."

The production has set design by John Arnone, costume design by Ann Hould-Ward, lighting design by Russell H. Champa and original music and sound design by John Gromada.

A.R. Gurney is the author of Love Letters, The Dining Room, Sylvia, The Cocktail Hour, Ancestral Voices, Big Bill, Indian Blood, Children and Crazy Mary. His plays have earned him Lucille Lortel, Drama Desk and Rockefeller awards. Director Mark Lamos previously collaborated with Gurney on his 2004 play Big Bill, which also played LCT's Newhouse. He has also staged the LCT productions of Cymbeline, Seascape, Measure for Measure and The Rivals. Lamos has directed the Broadway productions of Our Country's Good, The Gershwins' Fascinating Rhythm and The Deep Blue Sea.

For further information visit LCT.

 
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