Works by Weitz and Beane Join Second Stage 2009/2010 Season Lineup

A new play written and directed by Paul Weitz and the rain-check run of the latest Douglas Carter Beane play are set for the 2009-10 season at Off Broadway's Second Stage Theater according to a report in Variety.

Weitz will direct his own work this time around in a production scheduled to begin previews in summer 2010.

Prior to that, the new play by Beane (Xanadu, The Little Dog Laughed), "Mr. and Mrs. Fitch," will get a winter 2010 run directed by Scott Ellis. "Fitch", was originally set to bow in the summer but had to be delayed due to conflicts with Ellis' busy workload of projects. The new musical, "Vanities," starts previews on June 30th, filled the vacancy this season.

Already on the Second Stage program this season is the new play written and performed by Anna Deavere Smith, "Let Me Down Easy," a solo docu-theater piece about health care.

Currently celebrating its 30th Anniversary Season, Second Stage Theatre
recently concluded an extended critically-acclaimed production of Gina
Gionfriddo's Becky Shaw, directed by Peter Dubois. The season kicked off on
October 2 with the 20th Anniversary staging of Howard Korder's 1988
breakthrough play BOYS' LIFE, directed by Michael Greif and starring Jason
Biggs, Rhys Coiro, and Peter Scanavino.

Founded in 1979 under the leadership of Artistic Director Carole Rothman,
Second Stage Theatre produces a diverse range of premieres and new
interpretations of America's best contemporary theatre, including Tiny Alice
and Peter and Jerry by Edward Albee; The Good Times Are Killing Me by Lynda
Barry; The Little Dog Laughed by Douglas Carter Beane; Little Murders by
Jules Feiffer; The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee by William Finn
and Rachel Sheinkin; A Soldier's Play by Charles Fuller; Afterbirth: Kathy &
Mo's Greatest Hits by Mo Gaffney and Kathy Najimy; Painting Churches and
Coastal Disturbances by Tina Howe; Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants and On
the Stem by Ricky Jay; Living Out by Lisa Loomer; This Is Our Youth and The
Waverly Gallery by Kenneth Lonergan; Some Men by Terrence McNally; eurydice
by Sarah Ruhl; Saturday Night by Stephen Sondheim; Crowns by ReGina Taylor;
Uncommon Women and Others by Wendy Wasserstein; Spoils of War by Michael
Weller; Before It Hits Home, Jar the Floor and Birdie Blue by Cheryl L.
West; Jitney by August Wilson; Lemon Sky, Serenading Louie and Sympathetic
Magic by Lanford Wilson; and Metamorphoses and The Notebooks of Leonardo da
Vinci by Mary Zimmerman. The company's more than 125 citations include the
2007 Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play (Julie White, The Little Dog
Laughed), 2005 Tony Awards for Best Book of a Musical (Rachel Sheinkin,
...Spelling Bee) and Best Featured Actor in a Musical (Dan Fogler,
...Spelling Bee), 2002 Tony Award for Best Director of a Play (Mary
Zimmerman for Metamorphoses), the 2002 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding
Body of Work, 23 Obie Awards, four Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Clarence
Derwent Awards, nine Drama Desk Awards, five Theatre World Awards, 11
Lucille Lortel Awards, the Drama Critics Circle Award and 15 AUDELCO Awards.

In 1999, Second Stage Theatre opened its state-of-the-art, 296-seat theatre,
designed by renowned Dutch architect Rem Koolhaas. In 2002, Second Stage
launched "Second Stage Theatre Uptown" series to showcase the work of up and
coming artists at the McGinn/Cazale Theatre. The Theatre supports artists
through several programs that include residencies, fellowships and
commissions, and engages students and community members through education
and outreach programs.

Second Stage Theatre recently announced that it has acquired the right to
purchase the historic Helen Hayes Theatre, located at 240 W. 44th Street.
With this new home, Second Stage will be the only theater company on
Broadway dedicated exclusively to the development and presentation of
contemporary American theatrical productions. Second Stage will also become
one of only four non-profit theater companies that own and operate theaters
on Broadway. The company will continue to lease and operate their original
theaters on the city's Upper West Side and in Midtown Manhattan.

For subscription or ticket information, please call the
Second Stage Box Office at 212-246-4422 or visit the company's website,
www.2ST.com.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.