Performances of the four-person play began April 9 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre toward a previously-scheduled April 26 opening. The show will now open May 4 and continue through May 23.
"Jonathan and Beth have been collaborating on Family Week for quite some time now," stated co-artistic director Bernard Telsey. "MCC prides itself on being a laboratory for the development of plays and for artists to explore and experiment with new ideas. We are more than happy to give this production the necessary time for our creative team to continue working on this wonderful play."
Kathleen Chalfant and Rosemarie DeWitt star in the play about a family in crisis. Quincy Tyler Bernstine and Sami Gayle are also featured.
"A year after the death of her son, Claire checks into a recovery center in the desert, searching for a way to cope," according to MCC Theater. "When her mother, daughter and sister arrive to participate in 'family week,' long-dormant traumas collide with recent tragedies in surprisingly comical, shocking and deeply moving ways. United in this family struggle, the women rage and reach out in an effort to reconcile their love with the way things are."
Chalfant has appeared on Broadway in Angels in America, Racing Demon, Dance With Me and Off-Broadway in Wit, Dead Man's Cell Phone, Nine Armenians, Henry V, The Vagina Monologues, Endgame and more. She has also appeared in the films "Duplicity," "Kinsey," "The Laramie Project," "Bob Roberts," and on television's "Rescue Me" and "The Guardian." DeWitt — known for her screen work in "Rachel Getting Married," "The United States of Tara," and "Mad Men" — has appeared Off-Broadway in Danny and the Deep Blue Sea and Small Tragedy.
Bernstine recently appeared in In the Next Room or the vibrator play on Broadway and has also been seen on stage in Ruined, (I am) Nobody's Lunch, Gone Missing and A Small, Melodramatic Story. Gayle appeared on Broadway in Gypsy (as Baby June) and Dr. Seuss' How the Grinch Stole Christmas! The Musical (Annie Who) as well as Off-Broadway's Oohrah!
The design team for Family Week features Derek McLane (scenic), Mimi O’Donnell (costumes), Kenneth Posner (lighting) with Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound). The production also features original music by recording artist Dan Bern.
Demme makes his theatrical debut directing the work by Pulitzer Prize winner Henley (Crimes of the Heart). (In Transit's Sarah Jones was previously mentioned to appear in the work, but had to withdraw from the production due a scheduling conflict.)
Tickets to Family Week at the Lucille Lortel Theatre, 121 Christopher Street, are available by calling (212) 279-4200 or at www.mcctheater.org.
