Elizabeth Marvel to Star in Suzan-Lori Parks' The Book of Grace at the Public

Elizabeth Marvel will star in the world premiere of Pulitzer Prize winner Suzan-Lori Parks' The Book of Grace, previously titled Snake, which will have its debut at the Public Theater. Directed by James Macdonald, the play begins performances March 2, 2010, with opening night set for March 16. The limited engagement plays through April 4.

Marvel will star as Grace in the story of a young man who returns to his home in South Texas to confront his father, an encounter that turns everyday life into a battle for personal survival. Press notes describe the drama as a family portrait shattered by issues of rage, revenge, power and betrayal.

Marvel last appeared at the Public in Henry V at Shakespeare in the Park. Her other Public credits include Troilus and Cressida, King Lear and Silence, Cunning, Exile. She has appeared on Broadway in Top Girls, Seascape, An American Daughter, Taking Sides and The Seagull. Her Off-Broadway credits include Fifty Words, Terrorism, A Secondhand Memory, Hedda Gabler, Lydie Breeze, Alice in Bed, A Streetcar Named Desire, Shopping and Fucking and Therese Raquin. She has performed regionally at the McCarter Theatre, Guthrie Theater, American Repertory Theatre, Stratford Theatre Festival, and Williamstown Theatre Festival.

Parks, currently the Master Writer Chair at the Public, is a playwright, screenwriter and novelist whose plays include 365 Days/365 Plays, Topdog/Underdog (2002 Pulitzer Prize), Fucking A, Imperceptible Mutabilities in the Third Kingdom, The America Play, Venus, The Death Of The Last Black Man in the Whole Entire World and In The Blood, among others. Her work is the subject of the PBS Film The Topdog/Underdog Diaries.

Macdonald returns to the Public after directing Drunk Enough to Say I Love You? The Book of Grace reunites the helmer with Marvel, his leading lady in Top Girls. Additional New York credits include Dying City and A Number.