Michael Ian Black Joins CELEBRITY AUTOBIOGRAPHY, 12/29-30

Comedian Michael Ian Black has joined the cast of Celebrity Autobiography, created by Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel, playing at Long Wharf Theatre.

The show will take place Dec. 29-30 at 7 and 9:30 p.m. on the Mainstage. Tickets are $40.

He joins Roger Bart, Rachel Dratch, Eugene Pack, Joe Pantoliano, Dayle Reyfel, and Karen Ziemba.

Black, a writer and actor, began his career with The State, a sketch comedy troupe he co-founded at New York University in 1988, which went on to have a successful run on MTV. He then co-created the Comedy Central television series "Viva Variety," a fake European variety show. From there, he appeared on several television shows before landing the role of Phil Stubbs, the quirky bowling alley manager on NBC's "Ed," which ran for almost four seasons. His next project was "Stella," a television show he co-created with Michael Showalter and David Wain, which ran on Comedy Central. Michael has appeared in several films and is a popular contributor to VH1's "I Love the..." series. In 2005, he wrote and his directed his first film, Wedding Daze, which starred Jason Biggs and Isla Fisher. His screenplay Run Fat Boy Run, starring Simon Pegg and Thandie Newton came out in 2007. Michael is also a stand-up comedian, who regularly tours the country. His first album of stand-up comedy "I Am a Wonderful Man," was released in 2007, and his first book of humorous essays, "My Custom Van (and 50 Other Mind-Blowing Essays That Will Blow Your Mind All Over Face)" came out in 2008. His first children's book, "Chicken Cheeks" was released in January, 2009. His latest project is "Michael and Michael Have Issues," a comedy series premiering in July 2009 on Comedy Central.

Celebrity Autobiography, created and developed by Emmy Award-nominated writer-performer Eugene Pack and Dayle Reyfel, recently won the 2009 Drama Desk Award in the category of Unique Theatrical Experience and the 2010 Bistro Awards.

Celebrity Autobiography features a first rate comedic ensemble performing from the actual memoirs of a wide range of celebrities. The passages run the gamut from the "poetry" of Suzanne Somers to the shocking "romance tips" from Tommy Lee to the most famous Hollywood love triangle in history - ElizaBeth Taylor, Debbie Reynolds, and Eddie Fisher.

This evening of sidesplitting (and true) comedy answers a series of timeless questions. How does Vanna flip her panels?  What does Stallone have in his freezer?  Why did Burt and Loni topple from the upper tier of their wedding cake?  What makes the Jonas Brothers get along?  "The show is a bracing tonic for anyone weary of our fame-addled culture. It gives you a chance to indulge in a little celebrity schadenfreude without having to endure the shame of grabbing that issue of In Touch Weekly off the rack at the grocery store," wrote Charles Isherwood in the New York Times.

For more information about the show and the 2010-11 Long Wharf Theatre season, visit the new www.longwharf.org or call 203-787-4282.

Long Wharf Theatre (Gordon Edelstein, Artistic Director and Ray Cullom, Managing Director), entering its 46th season, is recognized as a leader in American theatre, producing fresh and imaginative revivals of classics and modern plays, rediscoveries of neglected works and a variety of world and American premieres.  More than 30 Long Wharf productions have transferred virtually intact to Broadway or Off-Broadway, some of which include The Glass Menagerie, the Pulitzer Prize-winning plays Wit by Margaret Edson, The Shadow Box by Michael Cristofer and The Gin Game by D.L. Coburn. The theatre is an incubator of new works, including last season's Have You Seen Us? by Athol Fugard. Long Wharf Theatre has received New York Drama Critics Awards, Obie Awards, the Margo Jefferson Award for Production of New Works, a Special Citation from the Outer Critics Circle and the Tony^® Award for Outstanding Regional Theatre.