Emmy Winner Merritt Wever, Peter Friedman & Frank Wood to Star in MCC's THE NETHER

MCC THEATER has announced initial casting for the New York premiere of Jennifer Haley's The Nether directed by Anne Kaufman. The cast will be led by "Nurse Jackie" Emmy Award winner Merritt Wever and New York theater veterans Peter Friedman & Tony Award winner Frank Wood. The Nether is scheduled for February 4 - March 15, 2015 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre (121 Christopher Street), with opening night set for February 24th. 3-Play Subscriptions to the remainder of the MCC Theater 2014/2015 Season, including the currently running Punk Rock and Robert Askins' Permission directed by Alex Timbers, can currently be purchased at www.mcctheater.org.

The Nether, winner of the Susan Smith Blackburn Prize, is a haunting thriller that will make you question when the fantastic becomes too real. There is a new immersive realm for the senses online, a virtual playground where those who plug in are coaxed into acting out their darkest fantasies - with no consequences in the "real" world. Or so it seems...until a young female detective begins an investigation to determine if there is a point at which thought or intention may actually constitute a crime within -- and outside of -- this new frontier.

Merritt Wever (Detective Morris) is best known for her Emmy Award winning performance as Nurse Zoey Barkow on the hit Showtime series "Nurse Jackie" for which she also received a SAG Award nomination for Outstanding Performance by an Ensemble in a Comedy Series. She currently appears in the critically-acclaimed motion picture Birdman and has also made memorable appearances on film in Michael Clayton and Into the Wild and on television in "The Good Wife," "The Wire," "New Girl" and Aaron Sorkin's "Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip," among others. On stage, she appeared in Signature Theatre Company's Off-Broadway production of Tony Kushner's The Illusion and SoHo Rep's Uncle Vanya, among many others.

Peter Friedman (Doyle) recently appeared in The Debate Society's Jacuzzi; Playwrights Horizons' Fly By Night; and Will Eno's The Open House. He has appeared in the New York productions of End Days, Annie Baker's Body Awareness and Circle Mirror Transformation, Amy Herzog's After the Revolution and The Great God Pan, the musical Ragtime, and The Heidi Chronicles, among many others. His film work includes The Savages, Safe, Breaking Upwards, Harvest, Single White Female, Love and Other Drugs, and Side Effects. He has puppeteered on TV's "The Muppet Show," and was a series regular on "Brooklyn Bridge."

Frank Wood (Sims/Papa) won the Tony Award and the Drama League Award for Sideman. He played "Roy Cohn" in the Signature Theatre Company's revival of Angels in America. On Broadway, he has appeared in Clybourne Park; August: Osage County; Born Yesterday; Hollywood Arms. His film credits include St. Vincent; Changeling; Taking of Pelham 1 2 3; Pollock; In America; Down to You; Royal Tennenbaums; The Missing Person. Television: "Newsroom"; "The Good Wife"; "Modern Family"; "Elementary"; "Flight of the Conchords"; "Grey's Anatomy"; "Sopranos"; "Law & Order: SVU", among others. Regional: Mark Taper Forum; Goodman Theatre; ACT; Long Wharf Theatre; Hartford Stage; Williamstown Theatre Fest.; Cincinnati Playhouse; Arena Stage.

Currently at MCC Theater: film and TV star Douglas Smith, Pico Alexander, Lilly Englert, Lortel Award winner Annie Funke, Five-time Obie winner David Greenspan, Colby Minifie, Will Pullen, Noah Robbins, and Sophie Shapiro star in the New York premiere of Punk Rock, a new play by Simon Stephens and directed by Trip Cullman. Punk Rock is now playing at the Lucille Lortel Theatre and will celebrate an official opening is set for November 17, 2014.

Photo Credit: Monica Simoes