Neil LaBute will be the first to appear Nov. 3 from 6-7:30 PM. The Tony Award-nominated playwright will debut The Break of Noon at MCC, in a co-production with the Geffen Playhouse, beginning Oct. 28. According to MCC notes, "David Duchovny ('Californication,' 'The X-Files') stars as John Smith, a man who, amidst the chaos and horror of the worst office shooting in American history, sees the face of God. His modern-day revelation creates a maelstrom of disbelief among everyone he knows. A newcomer to faith, John urgently searches for a modern response to the age-old question: at what cost salvation?"
LaBute, a Tony nominee for Reasons to Be Pretty, has also written The Shape of Things, The Mercy Seat, In a Dark Dark House, Fat Pig and Some Girl(s). The Break of Noon, directed by Jo Bonney (Some Girl(s), Fat Pig), will officially open Nov. 22 and run through Dec. 12.
Sharr White is set to take part in the reading series in March 2011. White will make his New York stage bow with The Other Place beginning March 10, 2011, officially opening March 28 and running through April 24. The thriller will star Laurie Metcalf (Brighton Beach Memoirs, November, "Roseanne") and be directed by Joe Mantello (Other Desert Cities, Assassins, Wicked).
"Just as Juliana Smithton’s research leads to a potential breakthrough in Alzheimer treatment drugs, her life takes a disorienting turn," according to press notes for The Other Place. "During a lecture to colleagues at an exclusive beach resort, she glimpses an enigmatic young woman in a yellow bikini amidst the crowd of business suits. One step at a time, a mystery unravels as contradictory evidence, blurred truth and fragmented memories collide in a cottage on the windswept shores of Cape Cod."
Michael Weller is set to be the final participant in the reading series in May 2011. Weller, whose works include Loose Ends, Moonchildren and Fifty Words, which premiered at MCC in 2008, will return with Side Effects beginning May 12, 2011, with an official opening on May 31 and a run set through June 26. Side Effects examines what happened on the other end of a phone call that occurred at a climactic point in Fifty Words. "Hugh and Lindy's marriage seems picture-perfect, a beacon in their microcosmic Midwestern world of dinner parties and fundraisers. Behind closed doors they’re falling apart - doors they can barely keep shut. Lindy’s grappling with bipolar swings, their teenage sons are acting out, and Hugh’s rising political star is suddenly imperiled."
The Drama Book Shop is located at 250 West 40th Street. Admission is free and seating is first-come, first- served. A live web simulcast will be set up for the book-shop area in the event of overflow. For more information, visit dramabookshop.com.
