MTC's THE PORTUGUESE KID and ACTUALLY Enter Final Fortnight Off-Broadway

Two weeks remain to catch Manhattan Theatre Club's acclaimed fall off-Broadway offerings at New York City Center - the world premiere production of The Portuguese Kid, the new play written and directed by Tony, Pulitzer Prize, and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley and starring Jason Alexander, Pico Alexander, Aimee Carrero, Sherie Rene Scott, and Mary Testa; and the New York premiere of Actually, the new play by Anna Ziegler, directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz, and starring Joshua Boone and Alexandra Socha.

Both productions, which were extended due to popular demand, play through Sunday, December 10 at MTC at New York City Center - Stage I and The Studio at Stage II - The Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series (131 West 55th Street), respectively.

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THE PORTUGUESE KID

The Portuguese Kid, which opened October 24, stars Tony Award winner Jason Alexander (six-time Emmy Award nominee for "Seinfeld," Jerome Robbins' Broadway, Merrily We Roll Along), Pico Alexander (Punk Rock, What I Did Last Summer, Home Again), Aimee Carrero ("Young & Hungry," "Elena of Avalor," and the upcoming "American Horror Story"), three-time Tony Award nominee Sherie Rene Scott (The Front Page, Whorl Inside a Loop, Everyday Rapture) and two time Tony nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Mary Testa (The Government Inspector, First Daughter Suite, Queen of the Mist). Performances began on September 19.

In Providence, Rhode Island, habitually widowed Atalanta (Sherie Rene Scott) pays a visit to her second-rate lawyer Barry Dragonetti (Jason Alexander). Intending to settle her latest husband's affairs, this larger-than-life Greek tightwad quickly becomes a nightmare for her cheesy, self-aggrandizing attorney. Add Barry's impossible Croatian mother (Mary Testa), a dash of current politics and a couple of opportunistic young lovers, and you have in hand a recipe for comic combustion.

This feisty romantic comedy could only come from John Patrick Shanley, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the MTC hits Doubt and Outside Mullingar, and the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Moonstruck.

The Portuguese Kid marks MTC's 12th collaboration with Shanley, a partnership that spans over three decades.

The creative team for The Portuguese Kid features John Lee Beatty (scenic design), William Ivey Long (costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design) and Obadiah Eaves (original music and sound design).

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting Manhattan Theatre Club. The Portuguese Kid is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7PM; Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8PM; Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2PM.

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ACTUALLY

Actually, which opened November 14, stars Joshua Boone (Holler If Ya Hear Me, Mother Courage & Her Children at CSC, Fan Girl) and Alexandra Socha (Amazon's "Red Oaks", Fun Home, Spring Awakening), who reprise their roles from the play's acclaimed Williamstown production this past summer.

At a raucous party during their freshman year at Princeton, Tom (Joshua Boone) and Amber (Alexandra Socha) connect in ways that seem innocent enough at first. But as things progress, they find themselves in murky territory, with ramifications that could affect the rest of their lives. What actually happened between them? Tackling the highly charged topic of sexual consent, this hit production direct from Williamstown Theatre Festival explores the intersection of gender and race on campus today, offering "a portrait of a generation" (The Boston Globe). This deeply felt, funny and thought-provoking play comes from fast-rising playwright Anna Ziegler (Photograph 51) and is directed by Lileana Blain-Cruz (Pipeline).

The co-world premiere of Actually was produced by Geffen Playhouse and Williamstown Theatre Festival in 2017.

The creative team for Actually is Adam Rigg (scenic design), Paloma Young (costume design), Yi Zhao (lighting design), and Jane Shaw (sound design).

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: Tuesday-Saturday at 7:30PM; Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday, and Sunday at 2:30PM.

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Manhattan Theatre Club, under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. Over the past four and a half decades, MTC productions have earned numerous awards including six Pulitzer Prizes and 23 Tony Awards. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and two Off-Broadway theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). Renowned MTC productions include Prince of Broadway; Lillian Hellman's The Little Foxes; August Wilson's Jitney; Heisenberg by Simon Stephens; The Father by Florian Zeller with translation by Christopher Hampton; Fool For Love by Sam Shepard; Airline Highway by Lisa D'Amour; Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein; Outside Mullingar and Doubt by John Patrick Shanley; The Commons of Pensacola by Amanda Peet; Murder Ballad by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash; Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney; The Assembled Parties by Richard Greenberg; Wit by Margaret Edson; Venus in Fur by David Ives; Good People and Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire; The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez; Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies; Ruined by Lynn Nottage; Proof by David Auburn; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife by Charles Busch; Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally; The Piano Lesson by August Wilson; Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley; and Ain't Misbehavin', the Fats Waller musical. For more information on MTC, visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

The Studio at Stage II is Manhattan Theatre Club's initiative at New York City Center - Stage II (131 West 55th Street). The initiative launched in 2012 with the sold out, critically acclaimed world premiere of Murder Ballad, the rock musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash and has continued with the critically acclaimed premieres of Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney, Taking Care of Baby by Dennis Kelly, The Lion by Benjamin Scheuer, By The Water by Sharyn Rothstein, Heisenberg by Simon Stephens, Important Hats of the Twentieth Century by Nick Jones, The Ruins of Civilization by Penelope Skinner, and Sell/Buy/Date by Sarah Jones.

The Studio at Stage II has been partially underwritten with a major grant from The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust.

Photo Credit: Richard Termine

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