Merkerson to Star on Bway in 'Come Back, Little Sheba'

Manhattan Theatre Club has announced its upcoming Broadway production of William Inge's Come Back, Little Sheba will be directed by Michael Pressman ("Law and Order," To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday) and will star Emmy- and Golden Globe Award-winner and Tony Award nominee S. Epatha Merkerson.

The production of Inge's (Bus Stop, Picnic, The Dark at the Top of the Stairs) play will begin previews at the Biltmore Theatre (261 West 47th Street) on Thursday, January 3 and will open on Thursday, January 24.

"Lola (Merkerson) is a faded beauty queen trapped in a lonely marriage to Doc, a recovering alcoholic on the brink of relapse. When a pretty young woman becomes a boarder in their cluttered Midwest home, their lives are unsettled as unspoken passions rise to the surface. As the emptiness of their marriage is laid bare, can they find their way back to each other or will they be undone?  S. Epatha Merkerson stars in this new production of William Inge's true American classic, an absorbing tale of lost hopes and unfulfilled promise, told with unflinching honesty and heartbreaking power," state press notes.

The creative team and additional casting for Come Back, Little Sheba will be announced at a later date.

Merkerson, currently in her 13th season on Law & Order, received 2006 and 2007 NAACP Image Award Nominations for her portrayal of Lieutenant Anita Van Buren.  Merkerson was most recently seen on stage in Come Back, Little Sheba (dir. Michael Pressman) at the Kirk Douglas Theatre. Starring in "Lackawanna Blues" (HBO), Merkerson garnered 2006 Emmy, Golden Globe, Screen Actors Guild, NAACP Image and Gracie Allen Awards and an IFP Spirit nomination. Film credits include: Black Snake Moan, Slipstream, The Rising Place, Radio (Cammie Award), Jersey Girl, Random Hearts, Terminator II: Judgment Day, Jacob's Ladder, Navy Seals and Loose Cannons.  Merkerson has co-starred in numerous television movies. In 1998, she reprised her role as Lt. Anita Van Buren for the NBC movie "Exiled." Other TV includes: "Peewee's Playhouse" (series regular), "Mann and Machine," "Here And Now," "Moe's World," "Elysian Fields," "Equal Justice," "The Cosby Show" and "Frasier."  On stage Merkerson has performed on and off-Broadway in productions including Suzan Lori-Parks'  F**king A (Lucille Lortel nomination); August Wilson's Pulitzer Prize-winning play The Piano Lesson (Tony, Drama Desk and Helen Hayes nominations); I'm Not Stupid (Young Playwrights Festival; Obie Award); The Old Settler (Helen Hayes Award). She recently performed in Cheryl West's' play Birdie Blue (Second Stage Theatre; Obie Award, Lucille Lortel nomination and Drama League Distinguished Performance Award). 

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 as well as numerous other awards. When Meadow begins her previously announced sabbatical during the 2007-2008 season, Daniel Sullivan, a close associate of Manhattan Theatre Club and director of several MTC productions (Rabbit Hole, Brooklyn Boy, Sight Unseen, Proof, Psychopathia Sexualis), will serve as Acting Artistic Director. Meadow will return to MTC for the 2008-2009 season and will consult on the planning of that season.

For information on how to subscribe please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.