The American Plan Mercedes Ruehl & Lily Rabe to star

Academy Award and Tony Award winner Mercedes Ruehl and Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle nominee Lily Rabe will star in Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming Broadway premiere of The American Plan by Tony Award-winning playwright Richard Greenberg (Take Me Out).

The limited engagement, to be directed by Tony nominee David Grindley (Journey�s End), will open at MTC�s Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 22 Jan 2009, following previews from 2 Jan, running through to 15 Mar 2009.

The American Plan will mark Mercedes Ruehl�s first appearance on Broadway since her performance in 2002�s 'The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?' for which she received a Tony nomination. She was most recently seen Off-Broadway in the Edward Albee�s 'The Occupant.' In 1991, Ruehl received an Oscar and a Golden Globe Award for her work in Terry Gilliam�s 'The Fisher King.' That same year, she received a Tony for her work as �Bella� in Neil Simon�s 'Lost in Yonkers.'

Lily Rabe returns to Broadway in The American Plan following her appearance in 'Heartbreak House' (2006). She made her Broadway debut in 2005 as �Annelle� in the revival of 'Steel Magnolias.'

The American Plan: It is the Catskill Mountains in the early 1960s, and Lily Adler (Rabe) and her mother Eva (Ruehl) are spending the summer across the lake from a bustling hotel where comics entertain and buffets overflow. When a handsome young stranger enters their world, the emotionally fragile Lily finds herself falling in love. But once her imperious mother learns of their relationship, lies are exposed, alliances are forged and Lily's one chance to escape her mother's control may be lost forever.

Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.

The cretive team features Jonathan Fensom (Scenic & Costume Design), Mark McCullough (Lighting Design), and Darron L West and Bray Poor (Sound Design).