LCT announces initial casting for Shows For Days

The Lincoln Center Theater has announced initial casting and creative team for its upcoming production of Shows For Days, a new play by Douglas Carter Beane, directed by Jerry Zaks, which is scheduled to begin previews at LCT's Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on 6 June 2015, before officially opening on 29 June 2015.

The cast will include Tony Award winner Patti LuPone, along with Dale Soules and Michael Urie.

Shows For Days is "playwright Douglas Carter Beane's fond remembrance of his immersion into a life in the theater. The comedy is set in Reading, Pennsylvania in 1973, when 14-year old Car, the play's narrator and the author's alter-ego, is introduced to the world of theater through his local community theatre, the Prometheus Theatre, and its devoted cast and crew which is led by Irene, an indomitable force of nature whose life is dedicated to putting on productions she directs, designs and stars in."

The creative team features scenic design by John Lee Beatty, costume design by William Ivey Long, lighting design by Natasha Katz, and sound design by Leon Rothenberg.

Further casting will be announced at a later date.

Patti LuPone previously appeared at Lincoln Center Theater as Reno Sweeney in 'Anything Goes,' 'Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown,' and 'Matters of the Heart.' She earned Tony Awards for her performances as Rose in the 2008 revival of 'Gypsy' and as Eva Peron in 'Evita.' Other Broadway credits include David Mamet's 'The Anarchist,' 'An Evening with Patti LuPone and Mandy Patinkin,' and 'Sweeney Todd.'

Dale Soules can be currently seen in Atlantic Theater Company's production of 'Posterity.' Her Broadway credits include 'Hands On A Hard Body,' 'Grey Gardens,' 'The Crucible,' 'The Magic Show,' 'Whose Life Is It Anyway?,' 'Dude,' and the original production of 'Hair.' She has also appeared Off-Broadway in 'I Remember Mama.'

Michael Urie is perhaps best known for his performance in the long-running Off-Broadway hit 'Buyer & Cellar.' He appeared on Broadway in 'How To Succeed in Business Without Really Trying' and Off-Broadway in 'The Cherry Orchard,' 'Angels in America,' and 'The Tempermentals.'

- by Tom Millward