Maloney to Replace Murray in 'To Be or Not to Be'

It has just been announced that Peter Maloney will replace Brian Murray as 'Dowasz' in the cast of TO BE OR NOT TO BE. Mr. Murray's departure was amicable and by mutual agreement.

Peter Maloney (Dowasz) was most recently seen in the Atlantic's production of Almost An Evening. Other Off-Broadway credits include: Trumpery, The Voysey Inheritance, 10 x 20 (Leavings), The Room, The Cherry Orchard, Hobson's Choice, The Water Engine, Mr. Happiness, The Duck Variations, Down the Shore and The Dadshuttle. Broadway: Dinner at Eight, Arcadia, Carousel, Six Degrees of Separation, Abe Lincoln in Illinois, Our Town (Lincoln Center Theater), Judgment at Nuremberg, Stanley, Poor Murderer, Hughie. For four years he was a member of Joseph Chaikin's Open Theater, appearing here and in Europe in The Serpent, Terminal and Endgame in which he played Clov to Mr. Chaikin's Hamm. Film: 47 films, including K-Pax, Boiler Room, Requiem for a Dream, The Crucible, Washington Square. Television: Fans of "Rescue Me" will recognize him as "Uncle Red." Writer: his latest play Leash, (part of his Abu Ghraib Triptych), was just published by Applause Books in the collection Best American Short Plays of 2003-2004. He has also been published by Samuel French, Inc., Broadway Play Publishing, Faber and Faber, The Kenyon Review. Member: The Actors Studio, Ensemble Studio Theatre. Mr. Maloney is a Fox Foundation Fellow.

TO BE OR NOT TO BE will be the first production of Manhattan Theatre Club's 2008-2009 season. The limited engagement will begin previews at the soon to be renamed Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) on Thursday, September 11 and will open on Thursday, October 2. As previously announced, the Biltmore Theatre will be renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on Thursday, September 4.

At the Polski Theatre in 1939 Warsaw, Josef (Craig Bierko) and Maria Tura (Jan Maxwell) are about to open yet another smash with their theatrical troupe. As the German invasion gets underway, the theatre is closed by the censors, forcing the troupe to face desperate times. But when a handsome young bomber pilot enlists their help to catch a spy, what is a group of actors to do? This hilarious black comedy is an ingenious commentary on the World War II era and an inspired tribute to the timeless joys of the theatre.

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, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. Renowned MTC productions include Top Girls; From Up Here; Come Back, Little Sheba; The Receptionist; LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; Kimberly Akimbo; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; 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, soon to be renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition, MTC operates two theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street), 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), has been serving as Acting Artistic Director. Meadow will resume her full duties as artistic director in September and is consulting on the planning of the 2008-2009 season.

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