Leigh Silverman directs the family drama (as the playwright calls it) that began previews March 27 at MTC's Stage at New York City Center.
White plays the mom of a teenager, Kenny (played by Tobias Segal), who, according to MTC, "did something that has his mother and everyone around him worried. He wishes he could just make it through the rest of his senior year unnoticed, but that's going to be hard since he has to publicly apologize to his entire high school. At home, his family is struggling with second marriages, surprise visits, school dances and forgotten dry cleaning."
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The cast also includes Aya Cash as Lauren Barrett, Will Rogers (100 Saints You Should Know) as Charlie and Joel Van Liew as Mr. Goldberger/Stevens, Jenni Barber (25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee) as Kate, Arija Bareikis (The Last Night of Ballyhoo) as Caroline, Brian Hutchison (Proof) as Daniel Warren.
Segal appeared in Off-Broadway's Doris to Darlene. White won a Best Actress Tony Award for The Little Dog Laughed, and appeared in Off-Broadway's Fiction, Spike Heels, Barbra's Wedding, Dinner With Friends and Lucky Stiff, among other productions. Her TV credits include "Six Feet Under," "Grace Under Fire," "Law & Order: SVU," "Cavemen" and more. The From Up Here creative team includes Allen Moyer (scenic design), Mattie Ullrich (costume design), Pat Collins (lighting design), Jill BC DuBoff (sound design) and Tom Kitt (original music).
Playwright Flahive is a graduate of NYU's Tisch School of the Arts Department of Dramatic Writing. Her plays have been produced, workshopped or read at NYU, Williamstown Theater Festival, Naked Angels and Ars Nova. She also volunteers with The 52nd Street Project, an organization that pairs inner-city kids with professional theatre artists to create original theatre.
The limited run plays to June 8.
This production is presented in association with Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, artistic director; Jon Steingart and Jenny Wiener, executive producers), where the play was developed through the Out Loud play-reading series and in-house workshops.
Ars Nova "develops and produces eclectic theatre, comedy and music to feed today's popular culture" and "strives to create daring collaborations, meld disciplines and give voice to a new generation of artists." Past productions include Dixie's Tupperware Party, At Least It's Pink, 25 Questions for a Jewish Mother, Holy Cross Sucks and The Wau Wau Sisters. For more information, visit www.arsnovanyc.com.
City Center Stage I is located at 131 West 55th Street. Tickets are available by calling (212) 581-1212, by logging on to NYCityCenter.org or by visiting the New York City Center box office.
For information about MTC, which produces both on Broadway and off, visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.
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Itamar Moses' The Four of Us is currently playing across the MTC City Center lobby at Stage I. At MTC's Broadway home, the Biltmore Theatre, a production of Caryl Churchill's Top Girls began previews April 15.
