Tony Award nominee Jayne Houdyshell, Tony Award nominee Reg Rogers, Mia Barron, Aya Cash, Peter Jay Fernandez, Ada-Marie L. Gutierrez, Nora Markus and Christopher Evan Welch will comprise the cast of Bruce Norris' The Pain and the Itch at Playwrights Horizons. The production, directed by Anna D. Shapiro, is scheduled to begin previews at Playwrights' Mainstage Theater on September 1.
The Pain and the Itch is a satire of the politics of class and race. With a young daughter in serious need of attention and a ravenous creature possibly prowling the upstairs bedrooms, what begins as an average Thanksgiving for one privileged family unravels into an exposé of disastrous choices and less-than-altruistic motives.
Houdyshell, who received a 2006 Tony nomination for her work in Well, won the 2005 Jefferson Award for Best Supporting Actress for her performance in the world premiere of The Pain and the Itch at Steppenwolf Theatre Company. Rogers, who received a Tony nomination for his performance in Holiday, last appeared at Playwrights in Lobster Alice in 1999. Barron previously appeared at Playwrights in The World Over, She Stoops to Comedy and Lobby Hero. Cash's theatrical credits include mountings of Much Ado About Nothing, Richard III, A Midsummer Night's Dream, The Winter's Tale, Edward II and A Flea in Her Ear. Fernandez appeared on the Great White Way in Julius Caesar, The Merchant of Venice, Jelly's Last Jam and Henry IV. Gutierrez, who is just six years old, is making her theatrical debut with The Pain and the Itch. Markus, the five-year-old daughter of Playwrights Horizons' Director of New Play Development Lisa Timmel, will spell Gutierrez at certain performances. Welch recently appeared on Broadway in Festen.
The Pain and the Itch is set to open off-Broadway on September 26 and run through October 8.
