Aya Cash, Carl Lundstedt, and Luke Macfarlane Join World Premiere of REVERBERATION, Now thru 3/15 at Hartford Stage

Aya Cash ("You're the Worst" on FX), Carl Lundstedt (Freaks: a legend about growing up), and Luke Macfarlane ("Brothers and Sisters" on ABC) will star in the world premiere of Reverberation by Matthew Lopez from today, February 19 to March 15 at Hartford Stage. Associate Artistic Director Maxwell Williams (Vanya and Sonia and Masha and Spike) will direct.

A longtime Hartford Stage collaborator, Lopez previously participated in the Brand:NEW series and served as the 2013-14 Aetna New Voices Fellow. His play, The Whipping Man, earned rave reviews here in 2012, and his saga of a star struck immigrant family in NYC, Somewhere, wowed local audiences earlier this year. A former staff writer for HBO's "The Newsroom," he is currently adapting Javier Marías' trilogy, Your Face Tomorrow, for the big screen.

In Reverberation, a personal tragedy has caused Jonathan to withdraw from the world, with little social life beyond the men he meets online. When charming, flighty Claire moves into the apartment upstairs, she tries to coax him out of his shell. They forge a tenuous connection, but the past reverberates into the present, threatening what happiness they've found.

Macfarlane (Jonathan) is best known as Scotty Wandell, the husband of one of the brothers on "Brothers and Sisters" from 2006-2011. He is currently playing the lead in the new SyFy series "Killjoys," which will air in 2015. Other recent TV credits include "Smash," "Beauty & the Beast," and "Person of Interest." His many New York stage credits include The Normal Heart on Broadway and The World Is Hushed at Playwrights Horizons.

Cash, the star of the sitcom "You're the Worst" on FX, will bring Claire to life. A summer replacement series this year, "You're the Worst" was recently renewed for a full season. Cash's NY theatre credits include The Pain and the Itch at Playwrights Horizons; From Up Here at Manhattan Theatre Club; and Offices at Atlantic Theater Company. Rounding out the cast will be Lundstedt, who garnered strong reviews this year in Freaks: a legend about growing up, a breakout hit at the NYC International Fringe Festival.

Williams' other Hartford Stage credits include The 39 Steps, Dying City, Boeing Boeing, and the annual production of A Christmas Carol-A Ghost Story of Christmas. The creative team also includes Andromache Chalfant, Set Designer (The Whipping Man at Hartford Stage); Linda Cho, Costume Designer (A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder at Hartford Stage and on Broadway, Tony Award winner for Best Costume Design); Matthew Richards, Lighting Designer (Macbeth and Hamlet at Hartford Stage); and Tei Blow, Sound Designer (Man in a Case at Hartford Stage).

SPECIAL EVENTS:

Sunday Afternoon Discussion
Enjoy a lecture from artists and scholars connected with the production immediately following the 2 p.m. matinee on Sunday, March 1. Free.

AfterWords Discussions
Join members of the cast and our Artistic staff for a free discussion, immediately following the 7:30 p.m. performances on Tuesday, March 3 and 10, or the 2 p.m. performance on Wednesday, March 4. Free.

The Producer's Table
On Wednesday, March 4, Managing Director Mike Stotts will host a pre-show dinner, where he gives you a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes to produce a play. The backstage tour will begin at 5:45 p.m., with dinner at 6 p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. curtain. Reservations required. Event tickets are $25 (does not include show ticket). Please note this is an UPPER LOBBY event, accessible only by stairs.

LGBT Night Out
On Thursday, February 26, please join us for a pre-show nosh and complimentary wine (plus drink specials at the bar) for our lesbian, gay, bisexual and transgender patrons and allies. Event begins at 6:15 p.m. before the 7:30 p.m. curtain.

Performances February 19-March 15 and run Tue, Wed, Thu, Sun at 7:30 p.m.-Fri, Sat at 8 p.m.-Sat, Sun at 2 p.m. with a Wed matinee at 2 p.m. on March 4 only. Weekly schedules vary. For details, visit www.hartfordstage.org. Tickets for all shows start at $25. For group discounts (10 or more) of up to 40% off regular ticket prices, contact Theresa MacNaughton at 860-520-7114. For tickets, call the Hartford Stage box office at 860-527-5151 or visit www.hartfordstage.org.

Now in our 51st year, Hartford Stage is one of the nation's leading resident theatres, known for producing innovative revivals of classics and provocative new plays and musicals, including 68 world and American premieres, as well as offering a distinguished education program, which reaches more than 20,000 students annually.

In 2011, Darko Tresnjak became only the fifth artistic director to lead Hartford Stage. Since then the theatre has presented the world premieres of A Gentleman's Guide to Love and Murder on Broadway, winner of four 2014 Tony Awards, including Best Musical and Best Direction of a Musical by Darko; Quiara Alegría Hudes' Water by the Spoonful, winner of the 2012 Pulitzer Prize for Drama; Breath & Imagination by Daniel Beaty; and Big Dance Theatre's Man in a Case with Mikhail Baryshnikov.

Hartford Stage, under the leadership of Managing Director Michael Stotts, has earned many of the nation's most prestigious awards, including its first Tony Award in 1988 for Outstanding Regional Theatre. Other national honors include Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk, OBIE, and New York Critics Circle awards. Hartford Stage has produced nationally renowned titles, including the New York transfers of Enchanted April; The Orphans' Home Cycle; Resurrection (later retitled Through the Night); The Carpetbagger's Children; and Tea at Five.