FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
CONTACT: Cindy Moran, Public Relations Director, 414-224-1761
cmoran@milwaukeerep.com

July 21, 2011 – [Milwaukee] – Milwaukee Repertory Theater announced today the casting for the Midwest Premiere of Ten Chimneys, the first play to open the 2011/12 Season in The Rep’s  Quadracci Powerhouse. Ten Chimneys is a lush new comedy written by playwright Jeffrey Hatcher that peaks into the private lives of theater legends Alfred Lunt and Lynn Fontanne at their secluded Genesse Depot retreat.

The cast of Ten Chimneys is as follows:
Grant Goodman – Alfred Lunt
Wendi Weber – Lynn Fontanne
Robert Breuler – Sydney Greenstreet
Nick Harazin – Carl Sederholm
Leah Karpel – Uta Hagen
Jenny McKnight – Louise Green
Linda Stephens – Hattie Sederholm

The role of the legendary stage actor Alfred Lunt will be performed by actor Grant Goodman, who returns to The Rep after previously appearing as Mr. Darcy in Pride and Prejudice and as Fred in the past two seasons of A Christmas Carol. Goodman recently completed the National Tour of The Merchant of Venice starring F. Murray Abraham and appeared Off-Broadway in Antony & Cleopatra, The Merchant of Venice (Theatre for a New Audience), King Lear, The Illiad (Lincoln Center) and Pericles (Red Bull). He has extensive regional theater credits including Yale Repertory Theatre, The Shakespeare Theatre Company, Chicago Shakespeare Theater and The Old Globe, to name a few. Making her Milwaukee Rep debut, Wendi Weber will perform the role of Lynn Fontanne, wife to Alfred. A Chicago-based actor, Weber’s credits include: the Midwest Premiere of Greg Kotis and Mark Holliman’s Yeast Nation (ATC); the premiere of Jame’s Sherman’s Relatively Close (Victory Gardens Theater) and the premiere of Lisa Dillman’s My Yeti Dreams (Collaboraction’s Sketchbook, Artistic Associate, Best Actress Award). Weber is also adjunct faculty at Columbia College Chicago and was the recipient of their Excellence in Teaching Award. Also making his Rep debut, Robert Breuler will perform the role of Sydney Greenstreet. Brueler is a member of the Steppenwolf Acting Ensemble of Chicago and has appeared in over 40 productions including Detroit, Of Mice and Men, The Song of Jacob Zulu and The Grapes of Wrath. Other theaters he has also performed at include The Goodman Theatre, Northlight Theatre, Dallas Theater Center, American Conservatory Theater and on Broadway in Death of a Salesman, Carousel, The Grapes of Wrath and The Song of Jacob Zulu. Actor Nick Harazin will perform the role of Carl Sederholm and will also be making his Rep debut. Previously he has appeared with American Players Theatre, Chicago Shakespeare Theater, Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks and Milwaukee Shakespeare Company, amongst others. The role of Uta Hagen will be performed by Leah Karpel, who will also be making her Rep debut with this production. She was recently seen in Tina Landau’s Hot L Baltimore at Steppenwolf Theatre Company where she understudied the role of The Girl. Other Chicago credits include Feet of Clay (Last Match Theatre) and Picked (Goodman New Stages Series). New York credits include: Half and Half (Penguin Rep), Evanston: A Rare Comedy (HERE Arts/PS 122) and The Play about My Dad (Collaboration Town). Actor Jenny McKnight will perform the role of Louise Greene. McKnight returns to The Rep after appearing in last season’s Stiemke Studio production of Speaking in Tongues and in the 2002/03 production of All My Sons. In Chicago she has appeared in Talking Pictures and The Actor at The Goodman Theatre; Pride and Prejudice at Northlight Theatre; Old Time at Remy Bumppo Theatre Company and Frozen, The Laramie Project and The Incident at Next Theatre, to name a few. Award-winning actress Linda Stephens returns to The Rep to play the role of Hattie Sederholm, mother of Alfred Lunt. Stephens appeared last season as Fraülein Schneider in Cabaret. Other productions she has appeared at The Rep include: State of the Union, Edward Albee’s Seascape, Death of a Salesman, Driving Miss Daisy and Our Town. In Milwaukee she has worked with Milwaukee Chamber Theatre, Renaissance Theaterworks, Next Act Theatre and Skylight Opera Theatre. She created the role of Emily Stilson in the musical version of Arthur Kopit’s Wings at The Goodman Theatre in Chicago and The Public Theater in New York. On Broadway she has performed in Damn Yankees, The Man Who Came to Dinner and All My Sons. Television credits include Law & Order SVU, Spin City and Frasier.

The creative team for Ten Chimneys includes: Jeffrey Hatcher (Playwright); Joseph Hanreddy (Director); Linda Buchanan (Set Design); Rachel Healy (Costume Design); Thomas C. Hase (Lighting Design) and Barry G. Funderburg (Sound Design).

Single tickets for all of Milwaukee Repertory Theater’s 2011/12 productions (excluding A Christmas Carol) go on sale Friday, August 5. Single tickets will be available for purchase online at www.MilwaukeeRep.com, through The Rep’s Ticket Office by calling 414-224-9490 or in person at 108 E. Wells Street. Group tickets will also be available for purchase by calling Marketing Manager Ryan Odorizzi at 414-290-0710. Single ticket prices range from $20 – $70. (Prices are subject to change.)

Subscriptions to Milwaukee Repertory Theater are also currently available. Subscription prices range from $60 to $468. For additional information about The Rep’s 2011/12 Season, please contact The Rep’s Ticket Office at 414-224-9490 or visit www.MilwaukeeRep.com.

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Milwaukee Repertory Theater is a nationally recognized theater company that presents a critically-acclaimed selection of compelling dramas, powerful classics, award-winning contemporary works and lively cabaret shows on three stages from September through May. The Rep also produces an annual production of A Christmas Carol. The Rep's home, the Patty and Jay Baker Theater Complex, accommodates the Quadracci Powerhouse, the Stiemke Studio and the Stackner Cabaret. The Rep is also home to a Resident Acting Company of actors who perform with The Rep throughout the season.

The Rep is proud to be a member of the United Performing Arts Fund (UPAF), which provides major annual financial support. Through community support of the United Performing Arts Fund, UPAF Member and Affiliate Groups are able to provide education and outreach to over 400,000 children, provide over 2,000 live performances and reach over 1,000,000 people every year. When everyone supports the arts through UPAF, they help our local economy, improving education and strengthening outreach programs to the disabled and elderly – all while adding culture to their own life. Support of UPAF is critical to UPAF Member Groups’ ability to continue to offer exceptional live performances, award-winning education and outreach programming and substantial economic impact to our region. To learn more about UPAF or to donate, go to www.upaf.org.

The Rep is supported in part by a grant from the Wisconsin Arts Board with funds from the state of Wisconsin. The Rep is a member of the League of Resident Theatres (LORT), a management association of some of the nation's largest non-profit professional theaters that collectively bargains with the unions that represent the actors, directors and designers that work at The Rep; a constituent of Theatre Communications Group (TCG), the national organization for the nonprofit professional theater; and a member of Theatre Wisconsin, the statewide association of non-profit professional theaters. This theater operates under an agreement between the League of Resident Theatres and Actors' Equity Association, the union of professional actors and stage managers in the United States. The set, costume and lighting designers are members of United Scenic Artists, a national labor union. This theater is an equal opportunity employer. Except in plays where race itself is an issue, casting is decided based on ability, not race.

Milwaukee Repertory Theater • Patty & Jay Baker Theatre Complex • 108 E Wells St Milwaukee, WI 53202
Ticket Office: 414-224-9490 Ticket Office Fax: 225-5490 • Administrative: 414-224-1761 Fax: 414-224-9097

www.MilwaukeeRep.com