Avantika, Tony Danza, Tovah Feldshuh, Tonya Pinkins and More Will Lead New Play WINDOWS

 Windows, a new play written by New York Times Bestselling Author Tawni O'Dell will make its world premiere, in a strictly limited engagement March 25th - 27th at The Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street.

Produced by MarMaxMedia, Alexander “Sandy” Marshall, Kati Meister, and River Knight, in special association with Out of the Box Theatrics, the production is directed by Broadway veteran Mitchell Maxwell, and stars Avantika (Bollywood star, Mean Girls musical, Disney's Spin), Craig Bierko (Tony and Drama Desk Nominee and Theatre World Award Winner), Tony Danza (4-time Golden Globe Nominee, People's Choice Award-Winning Actor), Erin Darke (TV regular on “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”), Jeffrey Donovan (star of the hit series “Burn Notice” and “Law & Order”), Tovah Feldshuh (4-time Tony Nominee and Broadway icon), Adam Kantor (veteran Broadway performer), Carolyn McCormick (series regular on “Law & Order”, “Blacklist”, “Blue Bloods”), Jesse Nager (veteran Broadway performer), Tonya Pinkins (Tony Award, Drama Desk Award, Olivier Award Nominee). 

Performances are on March 25th at 7:30pm; March 26th at 3:00pm and 7:30pm; and March 27th at 3:00pm and 7:30pm. The running time is approximately 90 mins. Tickets may be purchased online at www.windowsonstage.com

Windows is a breathtaking new play that brings to light the enormous changes that have washed over us all during the past three years. Fear, hilarity, anger, love and loss were unfolding behind curtains, blinds, broken glass, and bars. Whether it's the self-reflection born out of isolation, or the simple realization of how much we value our most basic connection with others, the great pandemic of 2020 forced us to change from the inside out. Stars of stage and screen delve into the new beginnings we find ourselves in after the world forced us to face an abyss together, but alone. What each of us endured as individuals when time suddenly stood still may differ, but we've all been changed by the experience. Our characters reshaped, for better or worse. Who have you become?

Director Mitchell Maxwell says, “Windows opens up the soul of the human condition and allows for healing. We think we've moved past it all, but we're still living with the anxieties and PTSD that crept into our psyches and took up a sort of permanent residence. We're living hand to mouth physically and emotionally – and it all comes back to the fact that we haven't collectively examined who we've become as a result of the events of the past three years. Windows opens the door to healing through art, allowing us to purge, regroup, and reinvent that which we have neglected to accept: There are dark clouds that remain untended. Once we face these dark clouds through conversation and art, it will put us on a path to newfound optimism and a lighter path for our future.”

Windows was adapted from the highly acclaimed podcast Closing the Distance, an episodic series performed and recorded by celebrated actors during the early days of the lockdown. It received a 5-star rating in the Apple iTunes store. The cast included Jason Alexander, Tony Danza, William Hurt, Kathleen Turner and Kelli O'Hara.

Windows has a Tony Award-nominated design team: Rob Bissinger and Anita La Scala (set design), Jamie Roderick (lighting design), David Woolard (costume design), and Bill Toles (sound design). Press Representation is by DDPR (Daniel DeMello). General Management is by Aaron Grant Theatrical.

Biographies

Tawni O'Dell, a critically acclaimed New York Times Best Selling Author, has now spread her writing wings to include film, podcasts, and live theater. Her play, When It Happens to You, opened off-Broadway in October 2019 and will be opening in London at the prestigious Park Theatre in July. Her Off-Broadway play, Pay the Writer, is Broadway-bound in 2025. Tawni is the bestselling author of six novels including her latest, the coal town thriller, Angels Burning. Her first novel, Back Roads was an Oprah Winfrey Book Club selection and was made into a feature film with a screenplay adapted by Tawni. She also wrote and co-produced the popular audio drama, Rewrites. Her novels have been published throughout the world and have been translated into over forty languages.
Mitchell Maxwell (Director), is a producer and entrepreneur, and the author of the acclaimed novel Little Did I Know, which was adapted for the musical stage. However, due to the Lock Down of 2020 it was presented as the first Broadway-style musical to debut as a podcast on Apple's platform where it soared to #3 on the charts and remained in the Top 40 for over six consecutive months. Maxwell has founded multiple entertainment companies throughout his career. He has produced over fifty stage productions, in the US, on London's West End, and tours throughout The US and the Far East. Mitchell has produced seven major motion pictures. He has worked in all mediums, including stage, screen, publishing, podcast production and as a serial entrepreneur and investor. From 1982-2000, Maxwell owned (along with partner Alan J. Shuster) the Orpheum Theater in NYC's East Village, and in 1984 they built the Minetta Lane Theater. He produced extensively at these venues presenting many successful productions, among them Marvin's Room by Scott McPherson, Jeffery by Paul Rudnick, Martha Clarke's Garden of Earthly Delights, Jerry Sterner's Other People's Money, and the groundbreaking early Hip-Hop performance piece Jam on The Groove. Other noteworthy achievements include co-producing the percussive phenomenon Stomp at the Orpheum Theatre (having just completed its 29-year run). Mr. Maxwell presented the Broadway revival of the classic musical comedy Damn Yankees starring Bebe Neuwirth and Victor Garber. When Mr. Garber left the long running hit Maxwell brought the legendary Jerry Lewis to Broadway replacing Mr. Garber and thus allowing the comic icon to make his Broadway debut. Mr. Lewis remained with the show and subsequently toured with the show for two years and later played the Adelphi Theatre in London. Maxwell's productions have been nominated for multiple Tony, Olivier, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle awards, and winning such honors in every iteration. In 2000 he produced Dinner With Friends, which was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
 
Alexander “Sandy” Marshall (Producer). Sandy's expertise spans both sides of the Atlantic; he is a partner of MarMaxMedia (U.S.), MarMax Theatricals (U.K.) and Close Quarter Productions (U.K.) Recent productions include Broadway: Network, Hangmen (Tony Nomination), Pictures From Home, Ohio State Murders, American Buffalo (Tony Nomination), Funny Girl, Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & the Pool. Off Broadway: Pay the Writer, Sideways, Morning's At Seven, Max Maven: Thinking In Person. London: Mike Birbiglia: The Old Man & The Pool (West End), The Lavender Hill Mob (tour), The Dover Road, And in the End: The Death and Life of John Lennon, The Art of Concealment, After All These Years, The Heart of Things, Venus and Adonis (currently planning an international tour). In addition to many other awards, Sandy is a two-time Emmy Award winner (seven nominations) for his television work and has also won the Benjamin Franklin Award for his epic biography about his legendary magician father, Beating a Dead Horse: The Life and Times of Jay Marshall.
 
Out of the Box Theatrics was founded in 2015 by Liz Flemming, a legally blind artist, to create space for artists who have been historically underrepresented and undervalued. The company stages innovative and intimate productions of new and classic plays and musicals while challenging audiences to experience these works outside of their expectations. By casting without regard to gender, race, creed, ethnicity, or disability, OOTB seeks to create a more inclusive and equitable theatre industry. OOTB has earned recent attention for its critically acclaimed streaming co-production of Jason Robert Brown's The Last 5 Years (New York Times' Critics Pick, 2021 Drama League Nominee for Outstanding Digital Theater, 2022 Antonyo Award winner for Best Digital Theater Production), and its new production of the 1983 Broadway musical Baby (2022 Drama Desk Award nominee, Outstanding Revival of a Musical and an Off-Broadway Alliance Nomination for Best Revival). 

 Avantika stars as ‘Karen' in the 2024 Paramount feature Mean Girls, produced by Tina Fey and Lorne Michaels, the #1 movie at the U.S. box office for three consecutive weeks on its January release. Other upcoming credits include a lead role in the Sony/Screen Gems feature Tarot for directors Anna Halberg and Spenser Cohen, and a starring role in the Amazon India series “Big Girls Don't Cry”. She previously starred opposite Rebel Wilson in the Paramount feature Senior Year, which was the #1 movie globally on Netflix upon its 2022 release. In 2021, she was named to Variety's Young Hollywood “Up Next” list after starring as ‘Rhea Kumar' in the Disney Channel Original Movie Spin, which was their first original to star an Indian American lead. She is currently developing a TV series adaptation of the New York Times bestselling novel A Crown of Wishes, which she will star in and executive produce.

Craig Bierko recently starred as ‘Chet' in the Lifetime dramedy series UnREAL. Growing up within his local community theater, Craig landed his big break on the CBS sitcom “Sydney”, in which he was cast opposite Valerie Bertinelli and Matthew Perry. His television credits include The Farrelly Brother's “Unhitched,” “Boston Legal”, “Blue Bloods”, “Tinstar”, “The Good Wife”, and “Sex and the City”. Craig developed a feature slate as well. His best-known roles are those of ‘Timothy' in the 1996 film The Long Kiss Goodnight, ‘Max Baer' in Cinderella Man, and his comedic portrayal of Tom Cruise (played as ‘Tom Ryan') in the spoof film Scary Movie 4. He has also made Broadway appearances in the revival of Guys and Dolls playing the role of ‘Sky Materson', as ‘Peter' in the New York Philharmonic production of Company, and as ‘Mr. Burke' in The Girl From The North Country. Most recently, he can be seen in the second season of HBO Max's Julia as ‘Todd' and with a recurring role on the second season of Sex/Life on Netflix. 

Tony Danza has been one of the worlds most beloved and iconic entertainers for over 40 years. Perhaps best known for his starring roles on two of television's most cherished and long-running series, Taxi and Who's The Boss, Tony has also starred in hit films such as Angels in the Outfield, She's Out of Control, Hollywood Knights, and Don Jon. Well established as a song and dance man, Tony has also starred on Broadway in The Producers, A View from the Bridge, and most recently received rave reviews for his performance in the Broadway musical comedy, Honeymoon In Vegas, with the New York Times calling his performance “sly genius,” and a “career high”. He received an Emmy nomination for his guest spot on “The Practice” and has recently made special appearances on hit shows like “Blue Bloods”, “Broad City”, “And Just Like That”. Danza most recently starred in the animated feature, Rumble, for Paramount, the Hulu original film, Darby & the Dead, the Netflix series “The Good Cop”, the limited series “There's Johnny” on Hulu, and the hit Starz series “Power Book III: Raising Kanan”.

Erin Darke can currently be seen on season 3 of “Miracle Workers” opposite Daniel Radcliffe and Steve Bucsemi. She can also be seen as one of the female leads in Sheri Elwood's series “Moonshine” opposite Jennifer Finnigan. Erin is known for her series regular role as ‘Cindy Reston' in the critically acclaimed Amazon series “Good Girl Revolt” opposite Anna Camp and Genevieve Angelson. She was recently seen as one of the female leads in AMC's “Dietland” opposite Juliana Margulies and Joy Nash. Erin was also previously cast in Theresa Rebeck's YouTube original “It's A Man's World” as the female lead. She was also seen in Amazon's award-winning series “The Marvelous Mrs. Maisel”. Erin can currently be seen in Summer '03 with Joey King and Andrea Savage. Her other credits include Kill Your Darlings opposite Daniel Radcliffe, Love & Mercy opposite Paul Dano, Don't Think Twice, and Thank You For Your Service.

Jeffrey Donovan is perhaps best known for his leading work as former CIA operative ‘Michael Westen' on the Emmy nominated USA series “Burn Notice” for 7 seasons. Donovan received strong notices playing North Dakota off-kilter mobster Dodd Gerhardt in FX's critically acclaimed 2nd season of Noah Hawley's “Fargo” and was cast as the series lead ‘Charlie Haverford', a tarot reading con-artist on Hulu's “Shut Eye”.  More recently, Jeffrey starred on two seasons of the NBC reboot of “Law & Order” playing lead Detective Frank Cosgrove. On the film side, credits include National Champions, the Western Surroundedopposite Letitia Wright and Jamie Bell, the hostage drama 892 opposite John Boyega and the late Michael Kenneth Williams, and First Love opposite Diane Kruger. Past features include Cash Truck for director Guy Ritchie, the Focus feature Let Him Goalongside Kevin Costner and Diane Lane as well as Noah Hawley's Lucy In The Sky alongside Natalie Portman and Jon Hamm for Fox Searchlight. His other film credits include Soldado opposite Josh Brolin and Benicio Del Toro, the independent feature Villains opposite Bill Skarsgård and Kyra Sedgwick and the independent feature Honest Thief opposite Liam Neeson. Other notable film credits include Denis Villeneuve's Sicario, Clint Eastwood's  J. Edgar (playing Robert F. Kennedy), The Changeling, Rob Reiner's LBJ (as John F. Kennedy) and Ric Waugh's Shotcaller.

Tovah Feldshuh, who is celebrating her 50th year on Broadway, is a six-time Emmy and Tony Award nominee, four-time winner of the Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards and has been awarded three honorary Doctorates of Humane Letters. She is the creator and founder of The Feldshuh Fund for Women's Health (entertainmentcommunity.org/Tovah) for early detection of ovarian and all reproductive cancers for all women in the entertainment community. Her award-winning memoir LILYVILLE: Mother, Daughter, and Other Roles I've Played was #1 in Parent-Child Relationships on Amazon. She is currently filming a Netflix series for writer/creator Erin Foster, opposite Kristen Bell, in Hollywood. Since October 7th, she's been very active in Am Yisrael Chai activities in support of the survival and continual growth and thriving of the Sovereign State of Israel. www.tovahfeldshuh.com Instagram: @Tovahfeld

Adam Kantor recently completed a critically acclaimed run of The Inheritance at The Geffen Playhouse, where he was nominated for an LA Drama Critics Circle Award. He won an Emmy and a Grammy for his performance in the Tony-winning Broadway production of The Band's Visit, as well as an Outer Critics Circle honor for his performance in Darling Grenadine at the Roundabout. Previously, on Broadway, Adam starred in Fiddler on the Roof, Next to Normal, and Rent (final cast, filmed live for Sony Pictures). Off-Broadway, he starred in The Last Five Years at Second Stage and Avenue Q at New World Stages. Regional highlights include Duncan Sheik and Kyle Jarrow's Noir at the Alley, as well as Barry Levinson and Sheryl Crow's Diner at the Signature. On TV he was in “Billions” on Showtime as ‘Pununzio', and “The Good Wife” on CBS as ‘Ezra'.  He recently starred in the feature film Either Side of Midnight, directed by Roger Spottiswoode. Adam is a graduate of Northwestern University and the British American Dramatic Academy. 

Carolyn McCormick Broadway credits include Equus, The Dinner Party, and Private Lives. Off-Broadway: A Man For All Seasons, The Stone Witch, Family Furniture, Open House (Drama Desk Award, Lucille Lortel nomination),  What I Did Last Summer, Black Tie, Ten Chimneys, Celebration, Privilege, Biography, Dinner with Friends. Multiple plays in regional theatre: Seattle Rep, Old Globe, ACT, Denver Center, Williamstown, Papermill Playhouse, Yale Rep. Television includes ‘Dr. Olive' on “Law and Order”, ‘Minuet' on “Star Trek”, series regular on “Cracker” and “Spenser For Hire”, guest star on “Bull”, “Billions”, “Madam Secretary”, “Blue Bloods”, “Body of Proof”, “Cold Case”, “Judging Amy”, “The Practice”, “Homicide”. Films include Mapplethorpe, Nyad, The Post, Whatever Works, Loverboy, You Know My Name, A Simple Twist of Fate, Enemy Mine. Multiple Lifetime movies and Hallmark's A Holiday Spectacular as well as a myriad of audiobooks including The Hunger Games in addition to many Ken Burns documentaries. Williams College BFA, American Conservatory Theater MFA. www.carolynmccormick.com

Jesse Nager Broadway credits include Motown: The Musical (NAACP Theatre Award Nomination), Mamma Mia, Mary Poppins, Scandalous, Good Vibrations, and Fame.  Regional Highlights: Disney's Hercules (Papermill), Stephen Sondheim's Being Alive (dir. by Billy Porter at PTC), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Papermill), Jesus Christ Superstar (‘Jesus' at The Ordway). He has performed with Mariah Carey and Shania Twain at Madison Square Garden and his vocals have been heard on both seasons of NBC's “Smash,” as well as the movie Hairspray and numerous commercials and corporate recordings across the country. Jesse is also the creator of The Broadway Boys, a touring group that rearranges traditional musical theater tunes. @thebroadwayboys

Tonya Pinkins is a three-time Tony nominee, winning the award in 1992 for her performance as ‘Sweet Anita' in Jelly's Last Jam. Over the course of her career in theater, she has also been recognized with Opie, Lortel, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle, AUDLECO, Garland, LA Drama Critics Circle, Clarence Derwent and NAACP Theater awards. On television, Pinkins can currently be seen in Tyler Perry's popular dramedy series “Sistas”, and she recently starred in the critically acclaimed ABC limited series “Women of the Movement”. Pinkins also appeared in the series “God Friended Me”, “Fear the Walking Dead”, “Gotham”, “24” and J.J. Abrams' “11.22.63”. Notable silver screen credits include Above the Rim, The Book of Henry, and Enchanted. She made her feature directorial debut with the 2021 horror-comedy Red Pill, which received numerous accolades, including Best Narrative Feature at the Reel Sisters of the Diaspora Film Festival. Her second feature, Game Nite premiered at the Pan African Film Festival in early 2024. A 2019-2022 Fulbright Specialist and published author, she was also the 2020 recipient of the Franky Award and the Rachel Crothers Leadership Award. Her podcast You Can't Say That is available for streaming on the Broadway Podcast Network. Visit her at www.tonyapinkins.com or www.redpillmovie2020.com

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