A.R. Gurney's THE GRAND MANNER Previews 6/2

Previews begin Wednesday, June 2 for the Lincoln Center Theater production of A. R. Gurney's new play, THE GRAND MANNER., directed by Mark Lamos, at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater (150 W. 65 Street). Kate Burton, Boyd Gaines, Bobby Steggert and Brenda Wehle comprise the four character cast of its world premiere production which will open on Sunday, June 27.

In 1948 playwright A.R. Gurney, then a young boarding school student, traveled to New York where he attended a performance of Shakespeare's Antony and Cleopatra, going backstage afterwards to meet the production's star, the great stage actress Katharine Cornell, who was dubbed "The First Lady of the American Stage" by the legendary critic Alexander Woollcott. A mix of remembrance and imagination, THE GRAND MANNER is a love letter to this fabled actress and a heartfelt look back at the glorious heyday of the Broadway theater.

Kate Burton portrays Katharine Cornell with Boyd Gaines as her husband, director Guthrie Mcclintic, and Brenda Wehle as her general manager and confidant, Gert Macy. Bobby Steggert portrays Pete, playwright Gurney's fictional self.

THE GRAND MANNER has sets by John Arnone, costumes by Ann Hould-Ward, lighting by Russell H. Champa and original music and sound by John Gromada.

Playwright A.R. Gurney's many plays include Far East, Ancestral Voices and Big Bill, all produced by Lincoln Center Theater. Director Mark Lamos returns to Lincoln Center Theater where he directed Gurney's Big Bill as well as such past LCT productions as Shakespeare's Cymbeline and Measure for Measure, Sheridan's The Rivals and Edward Albee's Seascape.

Lincoln Center Theater is currently celebrating its 25th year with a season consisting entirely of new work. This season LCT presented the New York and world premieres of Nathan Louis Jackson's Broke-ology, directed by Thomas Kail, Sarah Ruhl's In The Next Room or the vibrator play, directed by Les Waters, and Anne Marie Healy's What Once We Felt, directed by Ken Rus Schmoll. the American premiere of Andrew Bovell's When The Rain Stops Falling, directed by David Cromer and the LCT3 production of Graceland a new play by Ellen Fairey, directed by Henry Wishcamper. The final play of the season will be LCT3's On The Levee, a play with music, conceived and directed by Lear deBessonet, play by Marcus Gardley and music and lyrics by Todd Almond (June 14 - July 10). LCT's Tony Award winning production of Rodgers & Hammerstein's South Pacific, directed by Bartlett Sher, continues its record-breaking run in the Vivian Beaumont Theater through Sunday, August 22.

THE GRAND MANNER plays Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8pm, with matinees Wednesday and Saturdays at 2pm and Sundays at 3pm. Tickets, priced at $80 and $85, are available at the Lincoln Center Theater box office (150 West 65 Street) or by visiting telecharge.com or www.lct.org.

Kate Burton LCT: An American Daughter, Some Americans Abroad, Measure for Measure. Broadway: The Constant Wife, The Elephant Man (Tony nomination), Hedda Gabler (Tony nomination), The Beauty Queen of Leenane. Off-Broadway: The Water's Edge, Boston Marriage. TV/Film: Grey's Anatomy, Empire Falls, Swimfan, The Ice Storm.

Boyd Gaines LCT: Contact (Tony and Lucille Lortel Awards). Broadway: Gypsy (Tony, Drama Desk Awards), Pygmalion, Journey's End (Outer Critics and Drama Desk Awards, Tony nomination), Twelve Angry Men, She Loves Me (Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle Awards), The Show Off, Cabaret, Company, The Heidi Chronicles (Tony Award). Film: Funny Games, Lovely By Surprise, Second Best, Porky's, Fame.

Bobby Steggert LCT: debut. Broadway: Ragtime, 110 in the Shade (Outer Critics Circle nomination), ‘Master Harold ... and the boys, Off-Broadway: Yanks, The Slug Bearers of Kayrol Island (Drama Desk nomination), columbinus, The Music Teacher. Film/TV: All My Children, The Namesake, Night Swimming, Kinsey.

Brenda Wehle LCT: Spinning Into Butter. Broadway: Pygmalion. Off-Broadway: Stuff Happens, Talking Heads (Obie and Outer Critics Circle Awards), Waste, Pericles. Regional Theater: Williamstown Theatre Festival and the Guthrie Theatre where she appeared in over 40 productions as a 10 year company member. TV: 24, Cold Case, Law & Order, Malcolm in the Middle, American Dad.

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