Jeremy Kushnier, Jonathan Spivey & More to Star in SHEAR MADNESS Off-Broadway

Manny Kladitis, Jeffrey Chrzczon, Terry Schnuck, Kathleen K. Johnson, Jack Lane, Radio Mouse Entertainment, Schaffert/Hummel, Driemeyer-Sills Productions, David Gersten, Erach Screwvala, and The Shubert Organization, by special arrangement with Cranberry Productions, today announced the cast for the New York Premiere of the hit comedy whodunit Shear Madness. This open-ended Off-Broadway engagement will begin performances October 22nd at New World Stages/Stage 4 (340 West 50th Street).

Bruce Jordan directs a cast that features Adam Gerber, Jeremy Kushnier, Kate Middleton, Patrick Noonan, Jonathan Spivey, and Lynne Wintersteller.

Opening Night is set for November 11th. Tickets from $49.50 are available online at Telecharge.com or by phone at 212-239-6200. Box Office at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street) is open daily from 1pm.

Shear Madness is America's hilarious whodunit where the audience gets to solve the crime. Set in a local hair salon that turns into a wacky murder scene, the play is filled with up-to-the-minute humor and is different every time you see it!

Adam Gerber portrayed Ryan in Barrington Stage's Engagements and Caleb in George Street's The Whipping Man, along with numerous appearances at The Old Globe, including All's Well That Ends Well, The Merchant Of Venice, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Pygmalion and Othello. Select appearances include Lebensraum (Off-Broadway) and Hikobae (The Galaxy Theatre) in Tokyo. Adam holds an MFA from The Old Globe/USD (Darlene Marcos Shiley Award) and is a graduate of the Stella Adler Studio of Acting.

Jeremy Kushnier most recently portrayed Iago to critical acclaim in Pittsburgh Public Theater's production of Othello. On Broadway he covered Jesus, Judas and Pilate in the most recent production of Jesus Christ Superstar, played Tommy Devito in Jersey Boys, Ren in Footloose and Roger in Rent. National tours include Radames in Aida and the Doctors in Next to Normal, Tommy Devito in the Chicago, Las Vegas, and Toronto companies of Jersey Boys. His most recent TV credits include "Person of Interest," "The Good Wife," and the series finale of "Nurse Jackie." Jeremy has released two independent albums of all original music.

Kate Middleton has appeared Off-Broadway in The Late Christopher Bean (TACT); Asymmetric (59E59 Theatres/Ground UP Productions); Pratfalls (Abingdon/Ground UP Productions); Avow (NYIT Best Lead Actress); The Other Place (MTC workshop). Regional: Alabama Story (world premiere), Few Good Men (PTC); Circle, Mirror, Transformation (Kevin Kline Award, St. Louis Rep); Perfect Wedding (GEVA/Cape Playhouse); Noises Off; Boeing, Boeing (DTF), Huntington, Triad Stage, Playmakers Rep, NJ Shakespeare, Weston Playhouse. TV/Film: "Mercy" (NBC, recurring); "Law & Order;" "Law & Order: SVU;" Comedy Central; upcoming film April Flowers. www.katemiddletonactress.com

Patrick Noonan is thrilled to be bringing this role to NYC. He was last Off-Broadway in 2006 with the original cast of Almost, Maine. He has played Nick in numerous cities including Washington DC, Seattle, Milwaukee, and Albany. Other favorite roles include: King Arthur (Spamalot), Lord Edgar (Irma Vep), Charlie (On Golden Pond). TV: "Orange Is The New Black," "Blue Bloods," "30 Rock," "Life on Mars," "The Black Donnellys," a few "Law and Order"s, "Hope and Faith," "Unfiltered" (pilot in production). Film: The Princess Diaries, Choose.

Jonathan Spivey's Broadway credits include Act One (Lincoln Center). Regional: Arcadia (Yale Rep), Picasso at the Lapin Agile (Long Wharf), His Girl Friday, Man of La Mancha (Barrington Stage), Death of a Salesman, Richard III, Amadeus (Old Globe), Dogpark (Milwaukee Rep), Pump Boys... (Cape Playhouse, Geva Theatre), Souvenir (Virginia Rep), Black Gold (Phoenix Theatre), Around the World in Eighty Days (Sierra Rep), Room Service, The Foreigner, She Loves Me (Hope Summer Rep). MFA Old Globe/University of San Diego.

Lynne Wintersteller's Broadway credits include Grand Night For Singing; Annie. National Tours: Sister Act; Company; Annie. Off-Broadway: Closer Than Ever (Drama Desk Best Actress Nomination); Mother Jones, Castlewalk, Richard Cory (NYMF Outstanding Performance Awards). Regionals: Glass Menagerie; Clybourne Park; Circle Mirror Transformation (Kevin Kline Award); Dinner With Friends; Sunset Boulevard; The Light In The Piazza; Ghost & Mrs. Muir (LA Ovation Best Actress Nomination). TV: "Violet (Marvel Series)," "Madam Secretary," "Law & Order: CI," "Total Security," "Big Brother Jake," "Chappelle's Show." www.lynnewintersteller.com

Shear Madness will have scenic and lighting design by Will Cotton, costume design by Rodney Harper, and sound designer by Bruce Yauger.

It all began in the summer of 1976 while Bruce Jordan was working at a theatre in upstate New York. He came across a play entitled Scherenschnitt, which was written in 1963 by German writer and psychologist Paul Pörtner. The playwright had written the script to use as a study of how people perceive or misperceive reality. The brief play was set in a unisex hair salon and revolved around an off-stage murder of a concert pianist. Subjects were asked to solve the murder based on their individual perceptions of the events and the six stereotypical characters surrounding the murder. Bruce was intrigued by the concept and suggested that he and Marilyn Abrams stage the play in Lake George. Marilyn read Portner's original script, which she described as 'primitive' and says that if she hadn't known and trusted Bruce, she 'would have run for the hills'! She did trust him and they opened the newly titled Shear Madness in 1978 with nothing more than a basic outline of a script. Bruce and Marilyn performed the lead roles as well as helmed the production. Being on stage each night, Marilyn experienced the "magical" chemistry between the actors and the audience and was acutely aware of the audience's response to Shear Madness. Bruce and Marilyn immediately purchased the world stage, screen and television rights to the play.

Marilyn and Bruce always had New York City in mind: "Our initial plan was to open Shear Madness in New York after a Boston tryout, but the tryout was so successful that it didn't make any sense to close. We had received several New York offers but they just didn't seem right to us. With Boston and then Philadelphia running, we set our sights on Chicago, Washington, DC and San Francisco, and licensed successful productions across the United States and around the world. New York has always remained on our radar, and when the Shubert Organization bought New World Stages, we thought 'Let's go!' Now, after many offers, we've found the perfect team to bring Shear Madness to NYC. So, after 36 years of 'trying out' in Boston, 28 years of 'previews' at the Kennedy Center, 5 years in Philadelphia, 18 years in Chicago, and 5 years in San Francisco, we are prepared for the big time. New York has always been our destination, we just took a short detour."

Performances, which begin October 22nd, will be Monday at 7pm, Wednesday through Friday at 8pm, Saturday at 2pm & 8pm, and Sunday at 3pm and 7:30pm. Tickets from $49.50 are available online at Telecharge.com or by phone at 212-239-6200. For Group Sales (10 or more), call 888/517-0112 or 212/757-9117. The Box Office at New World Stages (340 West 50th Street) is open daily from 1pm.

For more information, visit ShearMadness.com.

To post a comment, you must register and login.