Atlantic Theater: 2012/13 season announced

Atlantic Theater Company has announced four of its 2012-2013 Season productions, featuring world premiere plays from Olivier and Tony Award winner John Guare and Obie Award winner Melissa James Gibson and New York premieres from Olivier Award winner Simon Stephens and Emmy Award nominated writer Rolin Jones.

Atlantic returns to its newly-renovated home at the Linda Gross Theater in Chelsea for its full first season following a two-year long, $8.5 million renovation of the venue.

Two final productions, dates and additional directors will be announced shortly.

Olivier and Tony Award winning playwright John Guare returns to Atlantic with the world premiere of his play Three Kinds of Exile, staged by Atlantic artistic director Neil Pepe. His plays include 'The House of Blue Leaves,' which won Tony and Obie awards and 'Six Degrees of Separation,' which won an Olivier Award and was adapted into a motion picture.

Olivier Award winning playwright Simon Stephens returns to Atlantic following his Atlantic Stage 2 production of 'Bluebird' last season with the New York premiere of Harper Regan, directed by Gaye Taylor Upchurch, who also staged 'Bluebird.'

Rolin Jones returns to Atlantic with the New York premiere of The Jammer following Atlantic's New York premiere of his play 'The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow,' which received an Obie Award and was a finalist for the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. He was a writer and producer on the first four seasons of "Weeds," received an Emmy Award nomination for his work on "Friday Night Lights," and has served as a co-executive producer on the NBC series "Smash."

Obie Award winning playwright Melissa James Gibson makes her Atlantic debut with the world premiere of What Rhymes with America, directed by Daniel Aukin. This reunites the pair following the Off-Broadway productions of 'This,' '[sic]' and 'Suitcase.' He most recently staged Amy Herzog's play '4000 Miles' which is now running Off-Broadway.

New York Premiere
Harper Regan
Venue: Linda Gross Theater
By Simon Stephens
Director: Gaye Taylor Upchurch
Cast: tba
Expected Fall 2012

Synopsis: One strange evening, Harper Regan decides to walk away from her husband, her daughter and her home. She tells no one where she's going or whether she's ever coming back. She tosses family, history and fate straight up in the air, and it looks like she might be gone for good.

Simon Stephens (Playwright) is an award-winning playwright whose work includes 'Bluebird' (Royal Court, 1998), 'Herons' (Royal Court, 2001), 'Port' (Manchester Royal Exchange, 2002), 'Country Music' (Royal Court, 2004), 'On the Shore of the Wide World' (Manchester Royal Exchange / National Theatre, 2005 - Olivier Award for Best New Play), and 'Motortown' (Royal Court, 2006). His new play 'Three Kingdoms' which had a run at the NO99 Theatre in Estonia and the Munich Playhouse, Germany will make its UK premier at the Lyric Theatre, Hammersmith this May.

Gaye Taylor Upchurch (Director) returns to Atlantic following last season's production of Simon Stephens' play 'Bluebird' starring Simon Russell Beale. New York credits include Susan Mosakowski's 'Escape' (La Mama, June 2012); Patrick Huguenin's 'Paper Dolls' (NY Fringe; Outstanding Ensemble Award) and Naomi Iizuka's 'Language of Angels' (Lincoln Center Institute). She has developed new work at New Dramatists, The Kennedy Center, LCT's Directors' Lab, and The Playwrights' Center. As Associate Director on The Bridge Project, she worked with Sam Mendes.

World Premiere
What Rhymes With America
Venue: Linda Gross Theater
By Melissa James Gibson
Director: Daniel Aukin
Cast: tba
Expected Fall 2012

Synopsis: A father and his teenage daughter stand on either side of a closed door. Life is unraveling for him, and is entirely uncertain for her.

Melissa James Gibson (Playwright) makes her Atlantic debut following the recent Off-Broadway production of her play 'This.' Her Plays include '[sic]' (Obie Award for playwriting), 'Suitcase,' 'Brooklyn Bridge,' 'with a song by Barbara Brousal' and 'Current Nobody.'

Daniel Aukin (Director) most recently staged Amy Herzog's play '4000 Miles' which is now running Off-Broadway at Lincoln Center. Selected credits include 'This' (Playwrights Horizons and Center Theater Group), '[sic]' (Soho Rep., OBIE Award), 'Suitcase' (Soho Rep. and La Jolla Playhouse), 'Brooklyn Bridge' (Children's Theatre of Minneapolis) and 'Current Nobody' (Woolly Mammoth), all written by Melissa James Gibson. More recently work includes Adam Rapp's 'Paraffin' (Rattlestick), Itamar Moses' 'Back Back Back' (MTC), Arthur Miller's 'A View from the Bridge' (Arena Stage) and Elmer Rice's 'The Adding Machine' (The La Jolla Playhouse). Daniel was Artistic Director of Soho Rep from 1999 to 2006.

World Premiere
Three Kinds Of Exile
Venue: Linda Gross Theater
By John Guare
Director: Neil Pepe
Cast: tba
Expected Winter 2012 / Spring 2013

Synopsis: About three artists, all of whom have forged complicated lives in the West, having struggled and suffered amid the cultural and political turmoil of Eastern Europe in the mid-20th Century.

John Guare (Playwright) has written 'House of Blue Leaves' (4 Tony Awards), 'Six Degrees of Separation' (London's Olivier Award Best Play, for which he also wrote the screenplay), 'Landscape of the Body,' 'A Few Stout Individuals,' 'A Free Man of Color,' 'Lydie Breeze' and 'Lake Hollywood' among others. He wrote the Oscar-nominated screenplay for Louis Malle's 'Atlantic City,' won a Tony Award for his libretto to the musical 'Two Gentlemen of Verona' and was nominated for multiple Tony Awards for his play 'Four Baboons Adoring the Sun' and his libretto to 'Sweet Smell of Success.' His adaptation of His Girl Friday premiered at London's National Theater and his play Are You There, McPhee? premieres at the McCarter Theatre in 2012.

Neil Pepe (Director) is currently staging the world premiere production of the new musical 'Hands on a Hardbody' at La Jolla Playhouse. He recently directed the world premiere productions of Ethan Coen's 'Happy Hour' and Adam Rapp's 'Dreams of Flying, Dreams of Falling' Off-Broadway and David Mamet's 'A Life in the Theatre' on Broadway starring Patrick Stewart and T.R. Knight. He made his Broadway directorial debut with the acclaimed revival of Mamet's 'Speed-the-Plow.' Pepe has been the Artistic Director of the Atlantic Theater Company since 1992.

World Premiere
The Jammer
By Rolin Jones
Director: tba
Cast: tba
Expected Spring 2013

Synopsis: Set in the 1950's Jack Lovington, a lovelorn Brooklynite needs to find himself and stake a claim in the world. When he joins up with the rough and tumble Brooklyn Brown Devils, little does Jack know that his life is about to be turned completely upside down.

Rolin Jones' (Playwright) play 'The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow' was a finalist for the 2006 Pulitzer Prize in Drama. It received the 2006 Obie Award for Excellence in Playwriting. He has written several short plays for the Actor's Theater of Louisville's Humana Festival, including 'Sovereignty,' 'Ron Robby Had Too Big a Heart,' 'The Mercury and the Magic,' 'Extremely' and 'Chronicles Simpkins Will Cut Your Ass.' He was a writer/producer on the first four seasons of "Weeds" and seasons four and five of "Friday Night Lights" for which he received an Emmy Award nomination for his episode 'The Son.'