Mantello's string of Broadway successes includes Assassins, The Odd Couple, Glengarry Glen Ross, Three Days of Rain and Wicked. This marks Mantello's first directing job Off-Broadway since 2002 and the fifth production that he has directed at Manhattan Theatre Club. His previous directing credits at MTC include Love! Valour! Compassion! (1994), which subsequently transferred to Broadway and earned Mantello his first Tony Award nomination for direction; Blue Window (1996); Mizlansky/Zilinsky or Schmucks (1998); and Corpus Christi (1998).

Blackbird is billed as a "powerful, volatile" play that "begins when Una shows up unexpectedly at the office of Ray, forcing Ray to come to terms with the effects of their relationship. Una pulls Ray into an encounter that is gripping, surprising and utterly unforgettable."

Performances begin March 15, 2007, toward and opening of April 10, 2007.

Casting for Blackbird will be announced at a later date.

For more information about the not-for-profit Manhattan Theatre Club, which operates theatres Off-Broadway (at City Center) and on (at the Biltmore Theatre), visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.