Roundabout announces full casting for SKINTIGHT

ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY

Announces Complete Casting for

SKINTIGHT

By JOSHUA HARMON

Directed by DANIEL AUKIN

With

WILL BRITTAIN, STEPHEN CARRASCO, ELI GELB, CYNTHIA MACE, IDINA MENZEL, JOHN NOBLE

Performances begin May 31, 2018

Official opening June 21, 2018

Limited engagement through August 26, 2018

Off-Broadway at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre

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Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director/CEO) is thrilled to announce the complete cast of the world-premiere production of SKINTIGHT, by Roundabout Underground alumnus Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other), with direction by three-time Obie Award winner Daniel Aukin (Bad Jews). Joining the previously announced Tony Award winner Idina Menzel as “Jodi Isaac” are Will Brittain as “Trey,” Stephen Carrasco as “Jeff,” Eli Gelb as “Benjamin Cullen,” Cynthia Mace as “Orsolya” and John Noble as “Elliot Isaac.”

Skintight is Harmon’s Roundabout Underground commission. As part of Roundabout’s commitment to foster the talent of emerging writers, each Underground playwright is commissioned to write a new play before their Underground play is produced.

Skintight will begin preview performances Off-Broadway on May 31, 2018, and open officially on June 21, 2018 at the Laura Pels Theatre in the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 West 46th Street). This will be a limited engagement through August 26, 2018.

Tony Award winner Idina Menzel returns to the New York theater stage in May 2018, following her Tony nominated performance in If/Then. Menzel makes her Roundabout Theatre Company debut in Skintight; she has been a part of the development process with playwright Joshua Harmon since the first reading in January 2015.

Roundabout reunites writer Joshua Harmon (Bad Jews, Significant Other) and director Daniel Aukin (Bad Jews) for Skintight, a scorching examination of beauty, youth and sex. Reeling from her ex-husband’s engagement to a much younger woman, Jodi Isaac (Menzel) turns to her famous fashion-designer dad for support. Instead, she finds him wrapped up in his West Village townhouse with Trey. Who’s 20. And not necessarily gay. But probably an adult film star. At least, according to Jodi’s son. Who’s also 20. And definitely gay. Skintight assays the nature of love, the power of attraction, and the ways in which a superficial culture persists in teaching its children that all that matters is what’s on the inside.

Playwright Joshua Harmon’s professional debut with the critically acclaimed world premiere of Bad Jews in 2012 was the first Underground play to transfer to the Laura Pels Theatre. Following a sold-out run Off-Broadway, Bad Jews became the third most produced and licensed play in the country and has been performed all over the world, including Germany, Israel and the West End. Harmon’s play Significant Other premiered at the Laura Pels Theatre in 2015, and was the second play by an Underground playwright to transfer to Broadway, following Stephen Karam’s Tony Award-winning play, The Humans, last season.

Joshua Harmon’s Skintight was developed at Roundabout with support from the Laurents/Hatcher Foundation.

Skintight is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

TICKET INFORMATION:

Tickets for Skintight are available by calling 212.719.1300, online at roundabouttheatre.org, in person at any Roundabout box office: American Airlines Theatre Box office (227 West 42nd Street); The Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre (111 W 46th Street) and Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street); or by visiting StubHub, The Premier Secondary Ticketing Partner of Roundabout. Ticket prices range from $99-109. For groups of 10 or more please call 212-719-9393 x 365 or email groupsales@roundabouttheatre.org.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

Skintight plays Tuesday through Saturday evening at 7:30PM with Wednesday, Saturday matinees at 2:00PM and Sunday matinees at 3:00PM.

ABOUT THE NEW PLAY INITIATIVE

Through the New Play Initiative, Roundabout proves its devotion to the development and production of new works by significant writers and artists. The Roundabout Underground program in particular, provides substantial artistic and financial resources to emerging playwrights to stage their debut productions in New York and on Roundabout’s stages. In addition to producing their first play, writers receive a commission for a future play, showing a level of commitment to writers’ careers and the future of theatre in New York that is unparalleled. The New Play Initiative has discovered and brought audiences some of the most important new voices in theatre and is dedicated to creating a diverse canon for the future of theatre. To learn more about Roundabout’s commitment to the development of new work, visit New Play Initiative.

Roundabout’s work with new and emerging playwrights and directors, as well as development of new work, is made possible by Katheryn Patterson and Tom Kempner.

We gratefully acknowledge the Roundabout Leaders for New Works: Alec Baldwin, James Costa and John Archibald, Linda L. D’Onofrio, Peggy and Mark Ellis, Howard Gilman Foundation, Jodi Glucksman, Sylvia Golden, Judith and Douglas Krupp, K. Myers, Laura Pels International Foundation for Theater, Ira Pittelman, Laura S. Rodgers, Seedlings Foundation, Mary Solomon, Lauren and Danny Stein, Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust, and Dr. Leonard Tow.

BIOS:

WILL BRITTAIN (Trey). Will Brittain’s breakout performance was in the feature film A Teacher, featured at both the 2013 Sundance and SXSW film festivals. He will next be seen in director Michael Curtis Johnson’s true-crime drama Savage Youth, which premiered at the 2018 Slamdance Film Festival, and for which he won "Best Actor" at the Victoria Texas Independent Film Festival. Brittain recently wrapped production on Blow the Man Down, a female-led crime drama set in rural Maine; the Eli Roth-produced horror film, Haunt, directed by Scott Beck & Bryan Woods; the indie feature Clementine; and season three of the cult USA series “Colony.” He previously played the lead roles in Frederick Cipoletti’s contemporary dust bowl drama Desolate, and Tim Disney’s wildly imaginative William. He was last seen in Warner Bros' Kong: Skull Island and Richard Linklater’s 80's baseball ensemble Everybody Wants Some!!. Will currently resides in Los Angeles with his wife and dog. He is represented by The Gersh Agency and Fourward.

STEPHEN CARRASCO (Jeff) is thrilled to be making his Roundabout Debut! A veteran of seven Broadway shows, Stephen grew up in Okemos, Michigan before receiving a BFA from Syracuse University. On Broadway, Stephen has appeared in Anastasia, Charlie and the Chocolate Factory, Fiddler on the Roof, Kinky Boots, Ghost, Billy Elliot and White Christmas. His other NY credits include Superman (Encores!), Music in the Air (Encores!) and Guys and Dolls at Carnegie Hall. He also appeared in the national tours of Kinky Boots and Young Frankenstein. On Television, Stephen has performed on The Today Show, The View, The Tony Awards and The Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade. Follow Stephen on Instagram (@StephenCarrasco) or by visiting www.StephenCarrasco.com.

ELI GELB (Benjamin Cullen). Theatre: How My Grandparents Fell in Love (Ensemble Studio Theatre), The Twenty-seventh Man at The Old Globe (opposite Hal Linden, directed by Barry Edelstein), Ruth (Alex Borinsky, EST/Sloan Workshop), The North Pool (Rajiv Joseph, Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park), The Thickness of Skin (The Barrow Group). Film & TV: The Squid and the Whale, Holy Rollers, The Newsroom (HBO), Not Fade Away (David Chase), Indignation (James Schamus). Proud member of Ensemble Studio Theatre.

CYNTHIA MACE (Orsolya), an award-winning actress, was recently seen Off-Broadway in The Mint Theatre’s Production of The Irish short plays The Suitcase Under the Bed, and Nightingale (Manhattan Theatre Club) as standby for Lynn Redgrave. She was awarded the 2005 Back Stage Garland Circle Award for Lead Performance for The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre and in 1992 was awarded with her fellow cast the Drama League Award for Ensemble Performance for Angels in America Part One: Millennium Approaches and Part Two: Perestroika at the Mark Taper Forum Theatre where she originated the role of Harper. Her other regional theatre credits include: Sideways directed by Des McAnuff (La Jolla Playhouse), The Nurse in Romeo & Juliet (Yale Rep), The Autumn Garden (Williamstown Theatre Festival). She starred Opposite Lynn Redgrave in The Mandrake Root (San Jose Rep) and The Importance of Being Earnest (Papermill Playhouse). Her recent Television Guest credits include: Netflix’s "Mindhunter," Netflix’s "The OA," "Kevin Can Wait," "Younger," "Blue Bloods," and The Movie of The Week Ice Bound opposite Susan Sarandon. Her numerous film credits include: HBO’s Weapons of Mass Distraction, Blast from the Past, Bogus and Fearless with Jeff Bridges. Cynthia is a graduate of The Colorado College BA cum laude and Circle in the Square Theatre School.

IDINA MENZEL (Jodi Isaac). Tony Award-winning icon Idina Menzel has a diverse career that traverses stage, film, television and music. Menzel’s voice can be heard as Elsa in Disney’s global box office smash Frozen, in which she sings the film’s Oscar-winning song “Let It Go,” and in the follow-up short, Frozen Fever. After Menzel’s performance of the multi-platinum song at the 86th annual Academy Awards, she made history as the first person with both a Billboard Top 10 hit and a Tony Award for acting. Menzel capped 2016 with the release of her fifth solo studio album idina. She was most recently seen in Lifetime’s remake of Beaches, which premiered January 2017, in which she portrays the role of ‘CC,’ made famous by Bette Midler. Garnering huge critical acclaim, Menzel reached superstardom on Broadway with her Tony Award-winning performance as ‘Elphaba,’ the misunderstood green girl in the blockbuster Wicked, and in her Tony-nominated role as ‘Maureen’ in the Pulitzer Prize winning Rent. Menzel’s most recent Broadway role as ‘Elizabeth’ in the original production If/Then earned her a third Tony nomination. Other notable projects include Glee and Disney’s Enchanted. In addition to cast albums, Menzel’s prolific recording career includes the solo albums I Stand, Here and Still I Can’t Be Still. Her first-ever Christmas album Holiday Wishes, released October 2014 on Warner Bros. Records, debuted at #1 on Billboard’s Holiday Albums chart, broke into the top 10 on Billboard Top 200 Album Chart and received rave reviews. Menzel received the Breakthrough Artist of the Year Award at Billboard’s annual Women in Music event the same year. Philanthropy is also important to Menzel, who co-founded the A BroaderWay Foundation in 2010. This organization is dedicated to offering girls from underserved communities an outlet for self-expression and creativity through arts-centered programs. The emphasis is on building self-esteem, developing leadership qualities and striving for personal and social achievement. In 2014, Menzel was recognized as one of Variety Magazine’s Power of Women honorees for her work with the organization. For more information on A BroaderWay, visit abroaderway.org. For more information, please visit idinamenzel.com.

JOHN NOBLE (Elliot Isaac) is an esteemed voice, television, film, and stage actor who is best recognized for his work as Dr. Walter Bishop on JJ Abrams’ cult favorite, “Fringe.” John reunited with “Fringe” co-creators Alex Kurtzman and Bob Orci, for the first two seasons of “Sleepy Hollow,” followed by a season on “Elementary” as Sherlock Holmes’ father for CBS. He has also hosted “Dark Matters” for The Science Channel and broke out internationally in The Lord of the Rings trilogy as “Denethor” in The Two Towers and Return of the King. John is extremely proud of his thespian roots, having spent the first half of his career acting and directing in the theatre. Highlights include serving ten years as the Artistic Director of the Stage Company of South Australia, directing a production of David Williamson’s Sons of Cain that transferred to London’s West End, and acting in an award-winning production of Rob George’s Errol Flynn’s Great Big Adventure Book For Boys at the Edinburgh Festival in Scotland. In addition John has garnered great critical acclaim for his performances in New York in the off-Broadway productions, Substance of Fire and Posterity and has lent his voice to such games as Batman Arkham Knight, LA Noire, Superman: Unbound, Transformers Prime, and The Last Airbender. Most recently, John has appeared in “Salvation,” DC’S “Legends of Tomorrow,” “The Librarians” and now, “The Blacklist.”

The Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre opened in March 2004 with an acclaimed premiere of Lynn Nottage’s Intimate Apparel starring Viola Davis, directed by Dan Sullivan. In the ten years since that landmark production, the center has expanded beyond the Laura Pels Theatre to include the Black Box Theatre and now a new education center. The Steinberg Center continues to reflect Roundabout’s commitment to produce new works by established and emerging writers as well as revivals of classic plays. This state-of-the-art off-Broadway theatre and education complex is made possible by a major gift from The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust. The Trust was created in 1986 by Harold Steinberg to promote and advance American Theatre as a vital part of our culture by supporting playwrights, encouraging the development and production of new work, and providing financial assistance to not-for-profit theatre companies across the country. Since its inception, the Trust has awarded over $70 million to more than 125 theatre organizations.

Roundabout Theatre Company celebrates the power of theatre by spotlighting classics from the past, cultivating new works of the present, and educating minds for the future. A not-for-profit company, Roundabout fulfills that mission by producing familiar and lesser-known plays and musicals; discovering and supporting talented playwrights; reducing the barriers that can inhibit theatergoing; collaborating with a diverse team of artists; building educational experiences; and archiving over five decades of production history.

Roundabout Theatre Company presents a variety of plays, musicals and new works on its five stages: Broadway’s American Airlines Theatre, Studio 54 and Stephen Sondheim Theatre, and Off-Broadway’s Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre.

American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout productions are supported, in part, with public funds from the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs in partnership with the City Council, the New York State Council on the Arts with the support of Governor Cuomo and the New York State Legislature.

Roundabout’s 2017-2018 Broadway season concludes with Tom Stoppard’s Travesties, directed by Patrick Marber, starring Tom Hollander.

Roundabout’s Off-Broadway season dedicated to new work at the Harold & Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre in 2017-2018 includes Amy and the Orphans by Lindsey Ferrentino, directed by Scott Ellis; Skintight by Joshua Harmon, directed by Daniel Aukin; and Bobbie Clearly by Alex Lubischer, directed by Will Davis at the Roundabout Underground.

In 2018-2019, Roundabout’s Broadway season will present Bernhardt/Hamlet, a new play by Theresa Rebeck, directed by Moritz von Stuelpnagel, starring Janet McTeer; True West by Sam Shepard, directed by James Macdonald, starring Ethan Hawke and Paul Dano; and Kiss Me, Kate, directed by Scott Ellis, starring Kelli O’Hara.

Off-Broadway in 2018-2019, Roundabout will produce Apologia by Alexi Kaye Campbell, directed by Daniel Aukin, with Stockard Channing; Toni Stone by Lydia R. Diamond, directed by Pam MacKinnon, with Uzo Aduba; and Usual Girls by Ming Peiffer, directed by Tyne Rafaeli at Roundabout Underground.

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