Theatre News Wire

The American premiere of Constellations, the acclaimed new play by Nick Payne, directed by Michael Longhurst, starring Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (Golden Globe nominee for Nightcrawler; Brokeback Mountain) and two-time Olivier Award winner Ruth Wilson (Golden Globe winner for Showtime's "The Affair;" BBC's and PBS' Emmy nominated "Luther"), opens on Broadway tomorrow, Tuesday, January 13 at MTC's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street).

This strictly limited 13-week engagement began previews on Tuesday, December 16.

Constellations is presented by Manhattan Theatre Club (Lynne Meadow, Artistic Director; Barry Grove, Executive Producer) and the Royal Court Theatre, by special arrangement with Ambassador Theatre Group and the Dodgers.

Production support for Constellations is provided by the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation as part of the MTC/Sloan Science Theatre Initiative. For more information on the foundation, visit: www.sloan.org

Oscar nominee Jake Gyllenhaal (Nightcrawler, Brokeback Mountain) and two-time Olivier Award winner Ruth Wilson ("The Affair," "Luther") make their MTC and Broadway debuts in the first American production of Constellations, a new play by Nick Payne (If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet), which premiered at London's Royal Court Theatre to tremendous acclaim. Michael Longhurst (If There Is...) directs.

This spellbinding, romantic journey begins with a simple encounter between a man and a woman (Gyllenhaal and Wilson). But what happens next defies the boundaries of the world we think we know - delving into the infinite possibilities of their relationship and raising questions about the difference between choice and destiny.

When Nick Payne's Constellations opened at the Royal Court's Jerwood Theatre Upstairs in January 2012 under the direction of Michael Longhurst, it was hailed by London and New York critics. The Daily Telegraph called it "playful, intelligent, and bursting with ideas with a powerful undertow of emotion" and The Independent declared it "dazzling, exhilarating, and extraordinary." The New York Times said "This superb play gets into your head and under your skin," and The New Yorker said "Constellations is at once eloquent, mysterious, witty, and brilliant." The play subsequently transferred to the West End and won the Evening Standard Award for Best Play and received an Olivier Award nomination for Best Play.

The creative team for Constellations includes Tom Scutt (scenic and costume design), Lee Curran (lighting design), David McSeveney (sound design), Simon Slater (original music), Lucy Cullingford (movement direction), and Thomas Schall (fight direction).

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country's most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. Over the past four and a half decades, MTC productions have earned numerous awards including six Pulitzer Prizes and 19 Tony Awards. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and two Off-Broadway theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). Renowned MTC productions include Casa Valentina; Outside Mullingar; The Assembled Parties; Venus in Fur; Master Class; Good People; The Whipping Man; Time Stands Still; The Royal Family; Ruined; Come Back, Little Sheba; Blackbird; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist's Wife; Love! Valour! Compassion!; A Small Family Business; Sylvia; Putting It Together; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain't Misbehavin.' For more information on MTC, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

The Royal Court is the writers' theatre. It is a leading force in world theatre, finding writers and producing new plays that are original and contemporary. The Royal Court strives to be at the centre of civic, political, domestic and international life, giving writers a home to tackle big ideas and world events and tell great stories. The Royal Court commissions and develops an extraordinary quantity of new work reading over 3000 scripts a year and annually producing around 14 world or UK premieres in its two auditoria at Sloane Square in London. Over 200,000 people visit the Royal Court each year and many thousands more see our work elsewhere through transfers to the West End and New York, national and international tours, residencies across London and site-specific work. The Royal Court's extensive development activity encompasses a diverse range of writers and artists and includes an ongoing programme of writers' attachment, readings, workshops and playwriting groups. Twenty years of pioneering work around the world means the Royal Court has relationships with writers on every continent. The Royal Court opens its doors to radical thinking and provocative discussion, and to the unheard voices and free thinkers that, through their writing, change our way of seeing.