Vincent Kartheiser & Larry Pine Begin Previews in Garry Marshall-Helmed Billy & Ray Off-Broadway

Mad Men star Vincent Kartheiser and Broadway vet Larry Pine begin performances in the New York premiere of Billy & Ray on October 1. Mike Bencivenga's new play, directed by the legendary Garry Marshall, will officially open on October 20 at the Vineyard Theatre and play a limited engagement through November 23.

Billy & Ray charts the birth of the film noir genre. The comedy follows literary odd couple writer-director Billy Wilder (Kartheiser) and novelist Raymond Chandler (Pine) as they contentiously collaborate to adapt the novel Double Indemnity for the silver screen. Set in 1940s Hollywood, Billy & Ray is the true story of how two brilliant and thorny artists battled the Hollywood censors and each other to create a groundbreaking movie classic.

Rounding out the cast are Sophie von Haselberg as Wilder's long-suffering secretary and Drew Gehling as a beleaguered studio chief.