Initial casting for MCC Theater's The Nether announced

MCC Theater has announced initial casting for the New York Premiere of Jennifer Hayley's thriller The Nether, directed by Anne Kaufman, which officially opens on 24 February 2015, following previews from 4 February and plays a limited engagement through to 15 March 2015 at the Lucille Lortel Theatre.

The cast for The Nether will be led by Emmy winner Merritt Wever, Tony Winner Frank Wood and Tony nominee Peter Friedman.

Synopsis: "There is a new immersive realm for the senses online, a virtual playground where those who plug in are coaxed into acting out their darkest fantasies - with no consequences in the 'real' world. Or so it seems...until a young female detective begins an investigation to determine if there is a point at which thought or intention may actually constitute a crime within -- and outside of -- this new frontier."

The Nether is also playing a limited engagement in the West End's Duke of York's Theatre from 30 January to 25 April 2015, following its UK premiere at the Royal Court in July 2014. It received its world premiere in Spring 2013, produced by the Center Theatre Group at the Kirk Douglas Theatre in Los Angeles, where it won an Ovation Award for Best Original Play and an L.A. Drama Critics Circle Award for Writing.

Merritt Wever's stage credits include the Signature Theatre Company's Off-Broadway production of Tony Kushner's 'The Illusion' and SoHo Rep's 'Uncle Vanya'. She is perhaps best known for her Emmy Award-winning role of Nurse Zoey Barkow in 'Nurse Jackie'. Other screen credits include 'Birdman', 'Michael Clayton', 'Into the Wild', 'The Good Wife' and 'The Wire'.

Frank Wood won the Tony Award in 1999 for Best Featured Actor in a Play as Gene in 'Side Man'. Other Broadway credits include 'Clybourne Park', 'Born Yesterday', 'August: Osage County', and 'Hollywood Arms'. He also played Roy Cohn in the Signature Theatre Company's revival of 'Angels in America'.

Peter Friedman received a Tony nomination in 1998 for Best Actor in a Musical for 'Ragtime'. Other Broadway credits include 'Twelve Angry Men', and 'The Heidi Chronicles'. He has also appeared off-Broadway in 'Jacuzzi', 'Fly By Night' and 'The Open House'.

- by Tom Millward