Tony Award nominee Brian Murray has joined previously announced stars Craig Bierko and Jan Maxwell in the Manhattan Theatre Club's upcoming world-premiere production of Nick Whitby's To Be or Not to Be, based on the 1942 comedy film. Kicking off MTC's 2008-2009 season, the play begins previews at the Biltmore Theatre on September 11 and will open on October 2, directed by Casey Nicholaw.
Set in Warsaw in 1939, To Be or Not to Be features Bierko and Maxwell as stars of a theatrical troupe who face hard times after their smash-hit show is closed by censors during the German invasion—until a young bomber pilot enlists their help to catch a spy. Murray will play the role of Dowasz, a member of the troupe.
Murray's Broadway credits include The Rivals, The Crucible Tony nomination, Uncle Vanya, Twelfth Night, The Little Foxes Tony nomination, Racing Demon, A Small Family Business, Noises Off, Black Comedy, Sleuth, Da and Rosencrantz and Guildenstern Are Dead Tony nomination. Off Broadway credits include Gaslight, Colder Than Here, Much Ado About Nothing, Beckett/Albee, Scattergood, Hobson's Choice, The Play About the Baby Obie Award, Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Entertainer, Entertaining Mr. Sloane, Misalliance, Molly Sweeney, Travels with My Aunt, Mud River Stone, Ashes Obie, Spread Eagle, The Merry Wives of Windsor, Hamlet, Much Ado About Nothing and The Butterfly Collection. His film credits include Bob Roberts and City Hall. Murray is also the recipient of the 1998 Obie Award for Sustained Excellence, the 1998 Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Body of Work, and has also received a Fox Foundation Fellow.
The To Be or Not to Be cast also features Peter Benson The Pajama Game, Steve Kazee Spamalot, Michael McCarty Mary Poppins, Kristine Nielsen Les Liaisons Dangereuses, MTC's Our Leading Lady, Brandon Perler Broadway debut, Rocco Sisto Iphigenia 2.0, and Marina Squerciati MTC's Beauty of the Father.
The creative team will include Anna Louizos scenic design, Gregg Barnes costume design, Howell Binkley lighting design, Darron L. West sound design and Josh Marquette hair design.
