Robert Falls to Helm Conor McPherson's Shining City at the Biltmore

While Shining City scribe Conor McPherson had directed his own play in previous mountings, Robert Falls will direct the Manhattan Theatre Club production of the drama, a production spokesperson confirmed. Shining City is set to begin previews at the Biltmore Theatre on April 13.

Falls won a 1999 Tony Award for his direction of Death of a Salesman. His other Broadway credits include The Young Man From Atlanta, The Speed of Darkness, The Rose Tattoo, The Night of the Iguana and Long Day's Journey Into Night. His off-Broadway credits include Standing on My Knees, Orchards, On the Open Road, Suburbia, The Food Chain and Blue Surge. He is also the artistic director of Chicago's Goodman Theatre, where he has helmed many productions.

Set in Dublin, Shining City tells the story of a man who comes to a counselor seeking help. He claims to have seen the ghost of his recently deceased wife. But what begins as an unusual encounter becomes a desperate struggle between the living and the dead--a struggle which will shape and define both men for the rest of their lives.

The show, directed by McPherson, ran last year at the Gate Theatre in Dublin and London's Royal Court. It was announced to play San Francisco's Curran Theatre from September 13 through October 9 and then open at Broadway's Schoenfeld Theatre on November 10. Rufus Sewell, Stanley Townsend, Geraldine Hughes and Keith Nobbs were to star in the U.S. mountings. However, in early August, both the tryout and New York production were indefinitely postponed. The show was then announced to play the Biltmore Theatre under the auspices of Manhattan Theatre Club. Shining City is scheduled to officially open on the Great White Way on May 3.