Megan Mullally and Patton Oswalt Will Have Lips Together, Teeth Apart on Broadway

By Kenneth Jones
22 Dec 2009

Megan Mullally
Megan Mullally

Roundabout Theatre Company's new Broadway production of Terrence McNally's Lips Together, Teeth Apart will star Megan Mullally as Chloe and Patton Oswalt as Sam, under the direction of Joe Mantello, starting April 9, 2010, at the American Airlines Theatre.

Opening night will be April 29. The limited engagement will play to June 20.

Lips Together, Teeth Apart, an Off-Broadway hit from 1991, "takes place on the elegant deck of a beach house on Fire Island. A brother and sister and their respective spouses attempt to celebrate the Fourth of July with a gnawing uncertainty that makes their affluent habits and petty prejudices sizzle in the summer sun. In this unforgettable comedy, Terrence McNally does for the beach house what Chekhov did for the Russian country estate."

Additional casting will be announced.

The design team includes John Lee Beatty (sets), Tom Broecker (costumes), Paul Gallo (lights) and Darron West (sound).

Mullally, a stage, screen and concert performer, is best known for her two-time Emmy and four-time SAG Award-winning role as Karen Walker on the hit NBC series "Will & Grace." She appeared in Broadway's How to Succeed… and Grease! revivals and in Young Frankenstein. She is also currently in development on Karen: The Musical, based on her TV character from "Will & Grace."

Oswalt is an actor and standup comedian who made his dramatic debut in the independent film "Big Fan." His film credits also include "The Informant" and "Observe and Report." His most high-profile film featured his voice work: He was Remy, the rat, in Pixar Animation's Oscar-winning hit, "Ratatouille."

Terrence McNally and Tony Award winner Joe Mantello (Take Me Out) most recently collaborated at Roundabout Theatre Company on the comedy The Ritz at Studio 54

McNally has won four Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! (as well as the New York Drama Critics' Circle Award for Best American Play and the Outer Critics Circle and Drama Desk Awards for Best Play) and Master Class and his musical books for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. Recent Broadway credits include the revivals of his plays The Ritz (Roundabout Theatre Company) and Frankie And Johnny In The Clair De Lune and Deuce with Angela Lansbury and Marian Seldes and Chita Rivera: A Dancer's Life.

This season, the Kennedy Center will produce three of his plays under the title Terrence McNally's Nights At The Opera: Master Class, The Lisbon Traviata and the world premiere of Golden Age.

His other plays include A Perfect Ganesh, It's Only A Play, Corpus Christi, Dedication or The Stuff Of Dreams, Some Men, Unusual Acts of Devotion, The Stendhal Syndrome, the musicals Catch Me If You Can, The Rink and The Visit, among others.

Lips Together, Teeth Apart will play Tuesday through Saturday evening at 8 PM with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM.

Tickets go on sale in January 2010 at Roundabout Ticket Services at (212) 719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the American Airlines Box Office (227 West 42nd Street). Ticket prices range from $66.50 to $116.50.