Kalember Replaces Maxwell in MTC's Losing Louie; Tony Nominee Pill Will Join Daniels in Blackbird

The Manhattan Theatre Club has announced updated casting and scheduling for its 2006-2007 season. Patricia Kalember, Ana Reeder, and Jama Williamson have joined the cast of Simon Mendes da Costa's Losing Louie, which opens the company's season at the Biltmore Theatre in a production directed by Jerry Zaks. Kalember replaces the previously announced Jan Maxwell, who has departed due to a scheduling conflict, according to a production spokesperson. The cast of Losing Louie also includes Matthew Arkin, Scott Cohen, Mark Linn-Baker who replaced Adam Arkin and Michele Pawk.

MTC's production of Losing Louie will be the American debut of London-based playwright Mendes da Costa. The play presents two generations of family members working through their lives in the same bedroom 50 years apart. Interwoven events from the past and present blend together over the course of the comedy, which enjoyed a sell-out run in London's West End. The play begins previews on September 21 and officially opens on Broadway on October 12.

Kalember previously appeared in Y2K at MTC and on Broadway in The Nerd. Her off-Broadway credits include Sea of Tranquility, From Above, The Foreigner and Loose Knit. She is well-known for starring roles in the TV series Sisters, Thirtysomething and Kay O'Brien.

Reeder co-starred in MTC's Sight Unseen at the Biltmore and appeared in the company's productions of Humble Boy and An Experiment With an Air Pump. Other New York credits include The Wooden Breeks, Hedda Gabler, Small Tragedy, The Time of the Cuckoo and Some Voices.

Williamson will make her Broadway debut in Losing Louie. She appeared off-Broadway in Debbie Does Dallas, Spanish Girl and Eat the Runt.

In other casting news, 2006 Tony nominee Alison Pill The Lieutenant of Inishmore will co-star opposite the previously announced Jeff Daniels in Blackbird at MTC's City Center Stage I. Joe Mantello is set to direct a production that begins previews on March 15, 2007, and opens April 10, 2007.

Blackbird begins when Una Pill shows up unexpectedly at the office of Ray Daniels, forcing him to come to terms with the effects of their relationship. Una pulls Ray into a gripping and surprising encounter.

In scheduling news, Charles Busch's Our Leading Lady, will open at MTC's City Center Stage II on March 15, 2007, after previews beginning February 22. It had previously been announced to begin performances on November 30.

Our Leading Lady tells the story of Laura Keene, a 19th century American stage luminary, as she prepares to perform at Ford's Theatre on the fateful night Abraham Lincoln is in the audience. The production will be directed by MTC artistic director Lynne Meadow, who directed Busch's hit comedy The Tale of the Allergist's Wife.

In place of the Busch play, the fall slot at Stage II will be filled by the American premiere of David Grieg's The American Pilot, also directed by Meadow.

The American Pilot recently earned raves at London's Royal Shakespeare Company. In a rural village in a war-torn country, an American pilot crash-lands. Should the villagers in the region help him, murder him or use him as a pawn in a dangerous game with the enemy? Previews begin November 2 and the play will open off-Broadway on November 21.