Lavin, Houdyshell and Bartlett Set for Rudnick's The New Century

Linda Lavin, Jayne Houdyshell and Peter Bartlett have signed on for Paul Rudnick's The New Century at Lincoln Center Theater. This series of four short plays will begin previews at the Mitzi E. Newhouse Theater on March 20, 2008, and open on April 14, directed by Nicholas Martin. Additional members of the cast of five will be announced at a later date.

The four plays in The New Century feature everyone from a concerned Long Island mother of at least three gay children Lavin to an accomplished Midwestern craftswoman Houdyshell to one of Rudnick's favorites, Mr. Charles, a flamboyant resident of Palm Beach Barlett. Ultimately, they all collide under surprising and comic circumstances and we discover just where our new century might be heading.

Lavin won a Tony Award for Broadway Bound and has starred on Broadway in Hollywood Arms, The Tale of the Allergist's Wife, The Diary of Anne Frank, Gypsy and The Sisters Rosensweig. Off-Broadway, she won the Obie and Lucille Lortel Awards for her performance in Death Defying Acts.

Houdyshell received a Tony nomination and numerous award for her performance in Well and played Madame Morrible on Broadway in Wicked. Off-Broadway credits include The Pain and the Itch and Much Ado About Nothing.

Bartlett is currently appearing on Broadway in The Drowsy Chaperone. His Broadway credits include Never Gonna Dance, Voices in the Dark, Beauty and the Beast, In the Boom Boom Room and A Patriot for Me. Off-Broadway credits include The Frogs and the original productions of Rudnick's The Most Fabulous Story Ever Told, Jeffrey and Mr. Charles, Currently of Palm Beach.

The New Century will feature costumes by William Ivey Long, lighting by Kenneth Posner and original music and sound design by Mark Bennett.