NEWS FROM COME BACK,LITTLE SHEBA

COME BACK LITTLE SHEBA’S
S. EPATHA MERKERSON
TO APPEAR ON ABC’S “THE VIEW”
TOMORROW, JANUARY 29

“S. Epatha Merkerson is a marvel
in a performance that stops the heart.”
- Ben Brantley, The New York Times

S. Epatha Merkerson, who recently opened to rave reviews in Manhattan Theatre Club’s production of COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA, will be a featured guest on ABC’s “The View” tomorrow, January 29. “The View” airs locally on WABC (Channel 7) at 11 AM. Check local listings for airings outside the tri-state area.

Merkerson will sit down with the hosts of “The View” including Whoopi Goldberg and Sherri Shepherd, both of whom attended the opening night of COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA.

Merkerson, an Emmyâ and Golden Globeâ winning actress and Tony Awardâ nominee, has been hailed by critics for her performance as Lola in William Inge’s COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA.

Michael Kuchwara of the Associated Press said, “Merkerson is JUST ABOUT PERFECT, radiating genuine warmth and generosity.”

Hilton Als of the The New Yorker called her performance, “REMARKABLE.”

Terry Teachout of The Wall Street Journal called Merkerson, “A STAGE ACTRESS OF THE FIRST RANK. She brings Lola's melancholy and yearning to life with such soft-spoken understatement that you feel as though you'd wandered through the back door of her house and sat down at her kitchen table for a chat.”

In COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA, Merkerson is joined by Drama Desk Award winner and Tony nominee Kevin Anderson (Death of a Salesman, Orphans). The cast of this new production also includes Joseph Adams (“Dirty Sexy Money”), Chad Hoeppner (Butley), Daniel Damon Joyce (Broadway debut), Lyle Kanouse (Big River), Zoe Kazan (The Prime of Miss Jean Brody), Brian J. Smith (The Fabulous Life of a Size Zero), Keith Randolph Smith (Jitney), Brenda Wehle (Talking Heads) and Matthew J. Williamson (“Will & Grace”).

Lola (Merkerson) is a faded beauty queen trapped in a lonely marriage to Doc (Anderson), a recovering alcoholic on the brink of relapse. When a pretty young woman becomes a boarder in their cluttered Midwest home, their lives are unsettled as unspoken passions rise to the surface. As the emptiness of their marriage is laid bare, can they find their way back to each other or will they be undone? This new look at William Inge’s great American story is an absorbing tale of lost hopes and unfulfilled promise, told with unflinching honesty and heartbreaking power.

The creative team for the production includes: James Noone (scenic design), Jennifer von Mayrhauser (costume design), Jane Cox (lighting design), Obadiah Eaves (sound design), Peter Golub (original music), J. David Brimmer (fight director), and David Caparelliotis (casting).
Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes as well as numerous other awards. Renowned MTC productions include LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

In 2003, MTC reopened Broadway’s landmark, long-neglected Biltmore Theatre, following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition, to the Biltmore, MTC’s operates two theatres at New York City Center, its Off-Broadway home since 1984.

During Meadow’s sabbatical this season, Daniel Sullivan, a close associate of MTC and director of several Manhattan Theatre Club productions (Rabbit Hole, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Proof, Psychopathia Sexualis), is serving as Acting Artistic Director. Sullivan will continue consulting with Meadow and MTC's artistic staff on the planning of the 2007-2008 season. Meadow will return to MTC for the 2008-2009 season and will consult on the planning of that season.

TICKET INFORMATION:
Tickets to COME BACK, LITTLE SHEBA are available by calling Telecharge.com at (212) 239-6200, (800) 432-7250 outside the NY metro area, online at Telecharge.com, and at the Biltmore Theatre box office (261 West 47th Street, between Broadway and 8th Avenue). For group ticket information, call (800) 432-7780. Tickets range in price from $46.50-96.50. Student rush tickets are available the day of the performance at the Biltmore Theatre box office for $26.50.

For information on how to subscribe please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
Tuesday – Saturday at 8 PM. Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2 PM.

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