BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY Announces Full Casting

Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) is pleased to announce full casting for the upcoming the world premiere production of Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa's BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY. Directed by Michael Bush, the production begins previews on March 23 and opens on April 11 at New York City Center - Stage II (131 West 55th Street).

The cast features (in alphabetical order): Carson Elrod (Ethan Keene), Erik Heger (Tyler, Apple Boy, Kim's Guy, Hot L.A. Guy), Kristine Nielsen (Mary Ellen), Pedro Pascal (Michael Sullivan), and Michael Tucker (Ethan's Dad)

The creative team will feature: Anna Louizos (Set Design), Linda Cho (Costume Design), Tracy Klainer (Lighting Design), and Ryan Rummery (Sound Design).

Ethan Keene (Elrod) is a young playwright and comic book writer who's on the verge of breaking through. When a veteran Hollywood producer (Nielsen) decides she wants to turn one of his plays into a horror movie, the frenzy that follows forces him to deal with the real drama in his life - his relationships with his boyfriend (Pascal) and his father (Tucker).

BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY was originally presented as part of MTC's 6 @ 6 reading series, which presents new works in development. Previous plays that have been developed in the 6 @ 6 series and then produced on MTC's stages include the Pulitzer Prize-winning Proof by David Auburn, Fuddy Meers by David Lindsay-Abaire and Between Us by Joe Hortua.

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. Renowned MTC productions include Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Yellowman; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin'. In 2003, MTC reopened Broadway's long neglected landmark Biltmore Theatre, following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign.

Tickets are $48 and can be reserved by calling CityTix at (212) 581-1212. Group and student rates are available. For group ticket information, call (212) 399-3000 x 134. Student tickets are $25 and are on sale for all performances based on availability on the day of the performance, up to one hour before showtime. Call (212) 581-1212 for further information. MTC at New York City Center is accessible to people with disabilities and is equipped with a hearing augmentation system.

The performance schedule for BASED ON A TOTALLY TRUE STORY will be Tuesday through Sunday at 7:30 PM. Matinees on Wednesday (5/17 and 5/24 only), Saturday and Sunday at 2:30 PM.

For more information please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com

BIOGRAPHIES

Carson Elrod (Ethan Keene) previously appeared in MTC's Broadway production of Reckless as Tim Timko and Roy. He also starred in MTC's Off-Broadway productions of Alan Ayckbourn's House & Garden and Comic Potential. Other theatre credits include Noises Off, Cavedweller (New York Theatre Workshop). Off Off-Broadway: Waiting for Godot (East River Park Amphitheatre). Regional: The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow (Yale Rep), Our Town (La Jolla Playhouse), Misalliance (Baltimore Center Stage), The Comedy of Errors (the Colorado Shakespeare Festival), Love's Labour's Lost (Shakespeare and Company), The Importance of Being Earnest (Hangar Theatre). Film: Wedding Crashers, Kissing Jessica Stein. TV: "Lifegame," "The Andy Dick Show," "Married to the Kellys" and "Carnivale" (HBO). Founding member of the improv troupes The Hypothetical 7 and The God Squad. Princess Grace Foundation Award recipient. BA: the University of Kansas. MFA: New York University.

Erik Heger (Tyler, Apple Boy, Kim's Guy, Hot L.A. Guy) recently appeared in the La Jolla Playhouse production of The Scottish Play. He has been featured in San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater's productions of The Master & Margarita, Naked, Romeo & Juliet, Midsummer Night's Dream, and Of Thee I Sing. He has been featured on CBS's "Guiding Light" and the independent films A Perfect Match and Wrong Place, Right Time.

Kristine Nielsen (Mary Ellen) most recently starred in Christopher Durang's Miss Witherspoon. She previously appeared in MTC's production of David Lindsay-Abaire's Wonder of the World. Broadway: The Green Bird, Jackie: An American Life, The Iceman Cometh. Off-Broadway: Pericles (Theatre for a New Audience), Omnium Gatherum (Variety Arts), The Underpants (CSC), Betty's Summer Vacation (Obie Award; Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominations), Machinal (NYSF/the Public), Dog Opera (Obie Award). Regional: Williamstown Theatre Festival, the Guthrie, Long Wharf, Actors Theatre of Louisville, Old Globe, Baltimore Center Stage, La Jolla Playhouse, the Alliance, Hartford Stage, Cleveland Play House. Film: Small Time Crooks. TV: "Law & Order" (original and CI), "Third Watch."

Pedro Pascal (Michael Sullivan) is currently making his Off-Broadway debut in the MTC production of Nilo Cruz's Beauty of the Father at New York City Center - Stage II. Regional: Ghosts (Dir. Ed Sherin) and Lorenzaccio (Dir. Michael Kahn) at The Shakespeare Company in DC, Anna in the Tropics (Dir. Timothy Douglas) at Portland Center Stage, Lobby Hero and John Kolvenbach's Gizmo Love (Dir. Sam Weisman) at W.H.A.T., Orphans (LADCC, Garland Award) at the International City Theater. Film/Television: Hermanas, Burning Bridges, Window Shopping, HBO's "Earth vs. The Spider," "NYPD Blue," "Buffy the Vampire Slayer," "Touched by an Angel," USA Network's "Good vs. Evil," and MTV's "Undressed." For my family.

Michael Tucker (Ethan's Dad) best known for his portrayal of Stuart Markowitz in the hit TV series, "LA Law," started his career in regional theater and then moved to New York where he appeared in numerous off-Broadway and Broadway plays. He then went on to a career in TV and film, where he received numerous Emmy and Golden Globe nominations. He and his wife, Jill Eikenberry, travel the country speaking on behalf of the fight against breast cancer. He received the "Good Guy" award from the National Women's Political Caucus for his work on women's health issues. His first book, I Never Forget a Meal is a memoir based around good eating.

Roberto Aguirre-Sacasa (Playwright). In addition to writing for the theatre, Aguirre-Sacasa writes the monthly adventures of The Fantastic Four and Spider-Man for Marvel Comics. His play, Golden Age, was produced by New York's Tobacco Bar Theatre Company in conjunction with the Horse Trade Theatre Group at the Kraine Theatre. Other works include The Mystery Plays (Connecticut Critics' Award for Outstanding Play; Roger L. Stevens Award), the folkloric thriller The Muckle Man (Helen Hayes nomination for Best New Play), the occult romantic comedy Say You Love Satan (NY International Fringe Festival Excellence in Playwriting Award; GLAAD Media Award nomination). Formerly the playwright-in-residence at 2econd Stage Theatre in New York, he is working on a commission for that theatre (a mystery set in Nicaragua)-as well as on a commission for Manhattan Theatre Club: Good Boys and True, about a scandal that rocks a prep school. For the California Shakespeare Festival in Berkeley and ACT in San Francisco, he is developing a new version of A Midsummer Night's Dream entitled Sweet Thunder, which is set among San Francisco's homeless youth population. For Warner Brothers, he is developing an original horror screenplay. This spring, The Velvet Sky, a dark bedtime story for grown-ups will premiere at the Woolly Mammoth Theatre in Washington, DC. He is a 2003 graduate of the Yale School of Drama.

Michael Bush (Director) is currently the director of artistic production for the Manhattan Theatre Club. He has been associated with MTC for almost 25 years and served as its associate artistic director from 1990-2002. In 2002, he left MTC to serve as the producing artistic director of Charlotte Repertory Theatre for two seasons and produced nine shows, including The Miracle Worker starring Hillary Swank and The Glass Menagerie starring Penny Fuller. He then returned to MTC in 2004. During his time at MTC, he has helped artistically guide more than 150 new plays and musicals including Love! Valour! Compassion!, Proof, Doubt, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, Sight Unseen, The Wild Party, Sylvia, Brooklyn Boy and A Class Act. Michael is also the artistic director of the Eugene O'Neill Theater Center Cabaret and Performance Conference. His recent directing projects include the 20th Anniversary production of Pump Boys and Dinettes and the world premieres Let Me Sing, A Musical Evolution, for which he co-wrote the book with Michael Aman and All of the People, All the Time. This past summer, Michael recently directed The Ballad of Bonnie and Clyde at the New York Musical Theatre Festival, starring Sherrie Austin and Deven May.