MTC's MURDER BALLAD Closes at The Studio at Stage II Off-Broadway Today

Manhattan Theatre Club's Murder Ballad, the new musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash, directed by Trip Cullman, that opened to glowing reviews, closes today, Sunday, December 16 at MTC's The Studio at Stage II - Harold and Mimi Steinberg New Play Series at New York City Center - Stage II (131 West 55th Street).

MURDER BALLAD features four of New York's most exciting musical theatre talents: Tony Award nominee John Ellison Conlee ("Parks & Rec," The Full Monty), Rebecca Naomi Jones (American Idiot, Passing Strange), Tony Award winner Karen Olivo (West Side Story, In The Heights), and Tony Award nominee Will Swenson (Priscilla Queen of the Desert, Hair).

A love triangle gone wrong, Murder Ballad centers on Sara, an Upper West Sider who seems to have it all, but whose downtown past lingers enticingly and dangerously in front of her. This sexy, explosive new musical explores the complications of love, the compromises we make, and the betrayals that can ultimately undo us.

MURDER BALLAD is conceived by Jonathan Larson Award winner and two-time Susan Smith Blackburn Prize finalist Julia Jordan with book and lyrics by Jordan and music and lyrics by indie rock singer/songwriter Juliana Nash. Drama Desk Award nominee Trip Cullman (Paul Weitz's Lonely, I'm Not; Adam Bock's A Small Fire) directs.

The creative team for Murder Ballad includes: Mark Wendland (scenic design), Jessica Pabst (costume design), Ben Stanton (lighting design), Leon Rothenberg (sound design), Doug Varone (choreography), and Justin Levine (music direction, vocal arrangements and orchestrations), David Caparelliotis & Kelly Gillespie (casting).

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. Over the past three decades, MTC productions have earned a total of 18 Tony Awards and six Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and an Off-Broadway theatre at New York City Center - Stage I (131 West 55th Street). Since January 2011, Mandy Greenfield (Artistic Producer) has taken the lead in programming and execution at MTC's Off-Broadway home. Renowned MTC productions include Venus in Fur; Master Class; Good People; The Whipping Man; Time Stands Still; The Royal Family; Ruined; The American Plan; Come Back, Little Sheba; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; A Small Family Business; Sylvia; Putting It Together; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin.'

The Studio at Stage II is Manhattan Theatre Club's new initiative, under the leadership of Mandy Greenfield, at New York City Center - Stage II (131 West 55th Street). Murder Ballad the new rock musical by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash marks the first production of this new endeavor. In June 2013, The Studio's inaugural season will conclude with the American premiere of CHOIR BOY, a play with music by Tarell Alvin McCraney. As part of The Studio at Stage II, MTC and Ars Nova (Jason Eagan, Artistic Director; Jeremy Blocker, Managing Director) have partnered to launch The Writer's Room a program to commission, develop, and support playwrights in the process of creating new work for the stage. MTC and Ars Nova look forward to announcing members of The Writer's Room shortly.

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

MURDER BALLAD was originally presented by New York Stage and Film Company and The Powerhouse Theater at Vassar in July 2012.

For more information on MTC and The Studio, visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com/TheStudio.

Photo Credit: Joan Marcus