Harner, Emmerson, O'Mara, Somerville Announced For SERENADING LOUIE, February 11

Friends since college, Carl and Alex are struggling to deal with the harsh realities of adulthood as they enter their thirties. Disillusioned by work and struggling to keep their marriages alive, they're desperately trying to make sense of it all.

Lanford Wilson's timeless portrait of two suburban American couples explores the destruction of dreams and the loss of passion and purpose.

Jason Butler Harner makes his UK theatrical debut as Alex. His theatre work in the US includes the American premières of The Coast of Utopia (Lincoln Center Theatre), The Invention of Love (A.C.T.) and An Experiment with an Air Pump (Manhattan Theatre Club), as well as Our Town (Barrow St. Theatre), The Cherry Orchard (Mark Taper Forum), The Glass Menagerie (Kennedy Center), The Paris Letter (Roundabout), and Hedda Gabler (NYTW - OBIE Award for Best Actor). For television, his credits include John Adams, The Good Wife, Fringe, Mercy, Law and Order, and The Closer; and for film, Changeling, The Taking of Pelham 1,2,3, The Extra Man, The Irishman, Next and The Good Shepherd.

Charlotte Emmerson plays Gabrielle. Her theatre work includes Wallenstein (Chichester Festival Theatre), On the Rocks (Hampstead Theatre), The Children's Hour (Royal Exchange Manchester), Therese Raquin, The Coast of Utopia (National Theatre) and The Seagull (directed by Peter Stein, Edinburgh International Festival). For television, her credits include Berry's Way, The Innocence Project, Stan, See No Evil, The Brief and The Alan Clark Diaries; and for film, The Last Minute, Smile, Weekend Bird and Food of Love.

Jason O'Mara plays Carl. His theatre credits include The Homecoming, bash (Gate Theatre Dublin), The Jew of Malta (Almeida Theatre - directed by Michael Grandage), School for Scandal (RSC) and Popcorn (Apollo Theatre). Now based in the US, his television work includes the joint series lead in the US version of Life on Mars, Grey's Anatomy, Trust Me, Marlow, Men in Trees, Criminal Minds, Drift, In Justice, The Closer, The Agency and Band of Brothers.

Geraldine Somerville plays Mary. For theatre her credits include Power, Remember This, Blue Remembered Hills (National Theatre), I am Yours (Royal Court) and A Doll's House (Birmingham Rep). For television, her work includes The Children, Daphne, Jericho, The Safe House, The Aristocrats, After Miss Julie and Cracker as Penhaligon; and for film, the Harry Potter series, Sixty Six, Gosford Park and Augustine.

Lanford Wilson (b.1937) is an award-winning American playwright, whose work includes Home Free!, Balm in Gilead, The Rimers of Eldritch, Lemon Sky, The Hot L Baltimore, Talley's Folly, Fifth of July, Angels Fall, Burn This, Redwood Curtain, Sympathetic Magic, Book of Days and Rain DancE. Wilson was awarded the Pulitzer Prize for Drama for Talley's Folly in 1980. His other awards include The Institute of Arts and Letters Award, The Edward Albee Last Frontier Award, The John Steinbeck Award, The Drama-Logue Award (Los Angeles) for Talley's Folly and Fifth of July, two New York Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best Play (Talley's Folley and The Hot L Baltimore), two Obie Awards for Best Play (The Hot L Baltimore and The Mound Builders), and an Obie Award for Sustained Achievement. He is a co-founder of The Circle Repertory Company and was a resident playwright there from 1969 - 1995, and a member of the Dramatists Guild Council.

Simon Curtis directs. Curtis began his directing work at the Royal Court where he ran the Theatre Upstairs and directed the world première of Jim Cartwright's Road - later at Lincoln Center, and A Lie of the Mind with Miranda Richardson. Other credits include Making History (National Theatre), The Rise and Fall of Little Voice (Steppenwolf Theater, Chicago & Broadway), Dinner with Friends (Hampstead Theatre) and Otherwise Engaged (Criterion Theatre). For television, his directing credits include the multi award-winning Cranford, A Short Stay in Switzerland, Freezing, Five Days, Twenty Thousand Streets Under the Sky, The Practice, Man and Boy, The Sins, David Copperfield, The Student Prince and Pinter's Old Times with John Malkovich. As Executive Producer of Performance at the BBC he was responsible for over 50 productions including Poliakoff's Shooting the Past and Pride.

Designed by Peter McKintosh, lighting by Guy Hoare and the composer and sound designer is Adam Cork.

Jason Butler Harner is appearing with the support of UK Equity, incorporating the Variety Artistes' Federation, pursuant to an exchange program between American Equity and UK Equity.

DONMAR ON TOUR

Following its performances at the Donmar Warehouse, Serenading Louie embarks on a three-week tour across the UK to The Lowry, Salford Quays; The Curve, Leicester; and Hall for Cornwall, Truro.

The Donmar began a national touring programme six years ago with Pirandello's Henry IV, in a new version by Tom Stoppard. The production won the Manchester Evening News Awards for Best Touring Production, and Best Actor for Ian McDiarmid. The tours in the following two years repeated this double success with the world première of Neil LaBute's This Is How It Goes - the Best Actor Award going to Ben Chaplin; and the world première of Mark Ravenhill's The Cut - Ian McKellen was the recipient of the Best Actor Award. This was followed by Charlotte Westenra's production of Manuel Puig's Kiss of the Spiderwoman, then Sean Holmes' production of Arthur Miller's early work The Man Who Had All the Luck (Manchester Evening News Award for Best Actor - Andrew Buchan, and Best Actress - Michelle Terry), and this year's co-production with the National Theatre of Scotland, Ian McDiarmid's adaptation of Andrew O'Hagan's novel Be Near Me.

The Donmar also toured the US from 2008 - 2009 with Michael Grandage's production of Peter Morgan's Frost/Nixon with Stacy Keach and Alan Cox.

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