Outside Mullingar by John Patrick Shanley

Manhattan Theatre Club (MTC) will present John Patrick Shanley's Outside Mullingar, starring Tony Award winner Brían F. O'Byrne (Frozen) and Emmy Award winner Debra Messing ("Will & Grace"), helmed by Tony Award winning director Doug Hughes (Doubt).

Outside Mullingar will play a strictly limited 11-week engagement, opening at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 23 Jan 2014, following previews from 02 Jan 2014.

The world premiere of Outside Mullingar reunites Shanley, Hughes, and O'Byrne who previously worked together on MTC's production of 'Doubt' which premiered at MTC at City Center, transferred to the Walter Kerr Theatre, and won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama and four Tony Awards including Best Play for Shanley and Best Director of a Play for Hughes.

O'Byrne returns to MTC after winning acclaim for his performances in 'Doubt' and Conor McPherson's 'Shining City.' For 'Doubt' he received a Tony nomination for his portrayal of 'Father Flynn.' O'Byrne received a Tony Award for Best Featured Actor in a Play for 'Frozen,' and Tony nominations for 'The Coast of Utopia,' 'The Lonesome West,' and 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane.' In television, he received an Emmy nomination for "Mildred Pierce" and starred in NBC's "Prime Suspect," ABC's "Flash Forward," and Showtime's "Brotherhood."

Messing, who will make her Broadway debut in Outside Mullingar, returns to MTC after starring in the theatre's 1997 New York premiere of Donald Margulies' 'Collected Stories' opposite Maria Tucci. She also appeared in Paul Rudnick's 1994 play 'The Naked Truth.' Messing rose to fame as "Grace Adler" in NBC's "Will and Grace" for which she received an Emmy Award for Best Actress in a Comedy Series. She has also starred in "The Starter Wife" and "Smash" and has received a total of six Emmy and eight Golden Globe Award nominations.

Outside Mullingar: O'Byrne and Messing play Anthony and Rosemary, two introverted misfits straddling 40. Anthony has spent his entire life on a cattle farm in rural Ireland, a state of affairs that-due to his painful shyness-suits him well. Rosemary lives right next door, determined to have him, watching the years slip away. With Anthony's father threatening to disinherit him and a land feud simmering between their families, Rosemary has every reason to fear romantic catastrophe.

Additional casting, creative team, and additional listings information for Outside Mullingar will be announced in the coming weeks.

Outside Mullingar is presented as part of MTC's 2013-2014 season, joining the previously announced world premiere productions of The Snow Geese by Sharr White, directed by Daniel Sullivan starring Mary-Louise Parker; The Commons of Pensacola by Amanda Peet, directed by Lynne Meadow starring Blythe Danner and Sarah Jessica Parker; Tales From Red Vienna by David Grimm, directed by Kate Whoriskey; and When We Were Young And Unafraid by Sarah Treem, directed by Pam MacKinnon, starring Cherry Jones. Three additional productions for the 2013-2014 season will be announced shortly.