HARTFORD, CT (April 19, 2022) – Tony Award nominee Jeremy Jordan, Tony Award winner Harriet Harris and Tony Award winner André De Shields will star in the world premiere of Matthew Lombardo’s new backstage comedy WHEN PLAYWRIGHTS KILL. Directed by Noah Himmelstein, this strictly limited engagement will be performed July 26 through August 7, 2022 at The Bushnell’s Belding Theatre in Hartford, Connecticut. This hysterical new play stars Jeremy Jordan as “Jack Hawkins,” an aspiring playwright on the verge of making his Broadway debut. But after being forced to hire the notoriously difficult actress “Brooke Remington” (Harriet Harris), his play’s out of town tryout in Boston proves disastrous. Desperately not wanting to bring the production to New York and being unable to convince the producer to fire her, there is only one thing left he can do to save his play and career: Brooke Remington must be stopped. André De Shields plays seasoned director “Maurice Khalan Walker,” who frantically attempts to keep his playwright and actress from killing each other. Literally. WHEN PLAYWRIGHTS KILL is being produced by Nathan Gehan, Jamison Scott, Laura Z. Barket in association with ShowTown Productions. Further casting and creative team will be announced soon.
A native of Wethersfield, CT, Lombardo’s plays have been sell-out hits on Connecticut stages including the world premiere of High at TheaterWorks Hartford and the world premiere of Tea at Five at Hartford Stage. When Playwrights Kill marks his third production to play the Bushnell.
Tickets are now on sale and can be purchased in person at The Bushnell Box Office (166 Capitol Avenue, Hartford, Connecticut 06109), by calling 860-987-5900 or online at www.bushnell.org.
BIOGRAPHIES JEREMY JORDAN (The Playwright) Broadway/NY: Newsies (Tony, Grammy, Drama Desk nominations), Bonnie and Clyde (Theatre World Award), American Son, Little Shop of Horrors, West Side Story, Waitress, Rock of Ages. TV: Series regular roles on “Supergirl,” “Smash,” and Disney’s “Tangled.” Film: The Last 5 Years,Joyful Noise, American Son, Newsies. Next up, he will star as the tenacious record industry giant, Neil Bogart, in the upcoming feature film, Spinning Gold. Jeremy is also a singer-songwriter whose concerts and cabaret shows have won awards and acclaim worldwide. Connecticut audiences will remember Jeremy from his in appearances in TheaterWorks Hartford’s production of The Little Dog Laughed and Goodspeed Musical’s Big River. Follow @jeremymjordan for all updates.
HARRIET HARRIS (The Actress) is the recipient of the 2002 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Featured Actress in a Musical for her performance of Mrs. Meers in Thoroughly Modern Millie. Other Broadway appearances include It Shoulda Been You, Cinderella, Present Laughter, Cry Baby: The Musical, Old Acquaintance, The Man Who Came to Dinner. Film credits include Licorice Pizza, Baby,Phantom Thread, Love is Strange, Rampart, Monster-in-Law, Memento, Nurse Betty, Addams Family Values, and the upcoming National Anthem and Jules. TV credits include “Hollywood,” “Ratched,” “Atlantic Crossing,” “American Horror Story,” “Wilfred,” “Desperate Housewives,” “Frasier,” “Six Feet Under,” “The X-Files,” “It’s All Relative,” “Union Square”.
ANDRÉ DE SHIELDS (The Director). A showstopper at age 75, André De Shields was the triple-crown winner of the 2019 award season, garnering Tony, Outer Critics Circle, Drama Desk and Grammy Awards for his universally praised role as Messenger to the Gods, Hermes, in Hadestown. In an unparalleled career spanning more than half a century, De Shields has distinguished himself as an actor, director, philanthropist and educator. His defining theatrical performances include roles in the original Broadway productions of The Full Monty (Tony Award nomination), Play On! (Tony Award nomination), Ain’t Misbehavin’ (Emmy Award) and the titular role in The Wiz!
MATTHEW LOMBARDO (Playwright) Broadway: High (w/ Kathleen Turner) at the Booth Theatre and Looped (w/ Valerie Harper in a Tony-nominated performance) at the Lyceum Theatre. Off-Broadway: Who’s Holiday! at The Westside Theatre (Lucille Lortel Award Nomination for Outstanding Solo Show); Tea at Five (w/ Kate Mulgrew) at the Promenade Theatre (IRNE Award for Best Solo Play); Mother and Child (w/ Ann Wedgeworth) at Second Stage and Guilty Innocence at The Actors’ Playhouse. Television: “Another World” (WGA nomination for Outstanding Achievement in Writing). Regional: Hartford Stage, American Repertory Theatre, Arena Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Seattle Rep, and others. Upcoming: Conversations with Mother directed by Noah Himmelstein (2023).
NOAH HIMMELSTEIN (Director) 2022: Karen Hartman’s The Lucky Star and Michael John LaChiusa/Ellen Fitzhugh’s Los Otros (both off-Broadway) and Deborah Zoe Laufer’s Rooted (Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park). Recent: Thornton Wilder’s The Skin of Our Teeth and Heather McDonald’s An Almost Holy Picture (NY Times Pick, Streaming) – both at Baltimore’s Everyman Theatre; Chelsea Marcantel’s Everything is Wonderful (Philadelphia Theatre Company); the world premieres of Andrew Lippa’s I Am Anne Hutchinson (Strathmore with Kristin Chenoweth) and I Am Harvey Milk (Lincoln Center, Strathmore, San Francisco, LA & Denver); Daniel Zaitchik’s The Costume (Inner Voices, off-Broadway); the world premiere of Jonathan Tolins’s The Forgotten Woman (Bay Street Theatre); Harris Doran, Jason Schafer & Art Bacon’s Bleeding Love (Fredericia Theatre, Denmark). New York Philharmonic (Young People’s Concerts series: The Harlem Renaissance). Associate Artistic Director: Everyman Theatre. His debut film ShirtTugger will premiere later this year. noahhimmelstein.com SHOWTOWN PRODUCTIONS (Executive Producer) Nathan Gehan and Jamison Scott are lead producers of the Tony-winning Broadway and tour productions of A Christmas Carol. They are executive producers of upcoming Romy & Michele, shAme and Kafka’s Metamorphosis. Nathan is the CEO of the general management firm ShowTown Theatricals. Broadway GM credits include: In Residence On Broadway, The Boys in the Band, The Play That Goes Wrong, The Audience, Something Rotten!, Cirque du Soleil Paramour, and Motown the Musical—to name a few. Jamison is the creative producer for ShowTown Theatricals. His Broadway acting credits include Motown, Spider-Man, Memphis and Grease! As a producer, he has worked in association with In Fine Company on A Taste of Things to Come, The Cher Show, Jagged Little Pill and Moulin Rouge! LAURA Z. BARKET: THEATRE NERD PRODUCTIONS LLC (Producer). Broadway: Thoughts Of A Colored Man. Off-Broadway: A Sherlock Carol. West End: Shida and Herding Cats. Boston: Tea at Five. Television: Six-time Emmy Award-winning “After Forever the Series” (Amazon Prime). She has participated in the Broadway productions of Tootsie The Musical, Burn This, and Dear Evan Hansen.
SHOWTOWN THEATRICALS (General Manager). Broadway/Tour: A Christmas Carol, In Residence on Broadway, May We All, The Jimmy Awards,Notre Dame de Paris (Lincoln Center). Regional: American Prophet, Bruce: The Musical, Anne of Green Gables, Grace: The Musical, How to Dance in Ohio. OB: A Sherlock Carol. Upcoming: Romy & Michele, Room,Syncing Ink, When Playwrights Kill. showtown.nyc
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