Michael Morris (Slag Heap) directs the New York premiere of the work which debuted at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Aug. 2004. The Off-Broadway run is scheduled to open Aug. 18 for a run through Sept. 18.
Countryman (The Stendahl Syndrome at Primary Stages), Frechette (Valhalla, Flesh and Blood) and original WTF cast member Rodgers ("Oz") are added to the ensemble.
Terrence McNally's Dedication, as the scribe told Playbill.com, is "about a couple who live in upstate New York. On the weekends, they run, manage and produce a small children's theatre which does things like Puss in Boots and Alice and Wonderland. They are given an opportunity to take over an old abandoned, decaying theatre which was once on the vaudeville circuit. And these people become candidates." He added that the play is about "what price they're willing to pay to have their own theatre."
Seldes, last seen on the New York stage in Beckett/Albee, won a Tony Award for her turn in Albee's A Delicate Balance. Other Broadway credits include Equus, Ivanov, 45 Seconds From Broadway, Father's Day, Deathtrap, Ring Round the Moon and Dinner at Eight — Tony-nominated for the latter four.
The design team for Dedication or The Stuff of Dreams features Narelle Sissons (scenic), Jeff Croiter (lighting) and Lindsay Jones (sound). Seldes played the role of Annabelle Willard, the wealthy and eccentric theater owner opposite Rodgers as Edward, her driver, in a cast that also included Boyd Gaines, Debra Monk, Kellie Overbey, Darren Pettie and Larry Pine. Scott Ellis directed the debut staging. No further casting for the Off-Broadway run has been announced.
The new season at Primary Stages will then continue (Jan. 24-March 5, 2006) with the east coast premiere of Charles Grodin's The Right Kind of People, directed by Chris Smith — artistic director of San Francisco's Magic Theatre, where the work debuted Nov. 2004. The work, based on actor-writer Grodin's real-life service on a co op board, follows the fashionable Fifth Avenue committee on their decisions motivated (or not) by race, gender, and social status.
A third play, to be announced, will debut March 21, 2006 and play through April 30, 2006 for the company. Primary Stages is also offering subscribers a package that will include its originally commissioned Peggy Guggenheim-focused solo work, Woman Before a Glass by Lanie Robertson, starring Mercedes Ruehl.
Tickets and subscriptions to Primary Stages' shows at the 59E59 Theaters, at 59 East 59th Street, can be purchased by calling (212) 279-4200 or at the box office. For more information, visit www.primarystages.com.
