UP NEXT AT STUDIO: STUDIO S DAVID MUSE REUNITES WITH FRIEND MAULIK PANCHOLY IN THE REMAINS

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1 CONTACT: Mike Fila/Bucklesweet Media DATE: April 29, 2018 UP NEXT AT STUDIO: STUDIO S DAVID MUSE REUNITES WITH FRIEND MAULIK PANCHOLY IN THE REMAINS, BRINGING AUDIENCES TABLESIDE AS A RELATIONSHIP UNRAVELS OVER DINNER Urban is brilliant, provocative and gushing with talent. The OC Weekly (about Nibbler) The Remains Written by Ken Urban Directed by David Muse Begins May 16, 2018 In the concluding Main Series production of Studio Theatre s Season, Artistic Director David Muse directs the world premiere of Ken Urban s The Remains. Urban s timely, funny, and human play reunites Muse with longtime friend, Maulik Pancholy (Weeds, 30 Rock, Star Trek: Discovery) playing Kevin, one half of a same-sex couple whose seemingly perfect but deeply fraught relationship unravels during a family dinner party. Joining Muse and Pancholy are a superb cast and creative team, including Glenn Fitzgerald (Lobby Hero, The Sixth Sense, Flirting with Disaster, Six Feet Under), Greg Mullavey (Romantic Comedy, Rumors, The Sisters Rosensweig, Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman) Danielle Skraastad (All My Sons, Becky Shaw, 27 Dresses), and DC theater legend Naomi Jacobson (most recently Becoming Dr. Ruth at Theater J and Macbeth at Shakespeare Theatre Company; Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company member and Shakespeare Theatre Company associated artist). I ll be directing the premiere of Ken Urban s play about one of the first gay couples to marry in Massachusetts and their decision to divorce. Ken calls it a comedy about the tragedy of loving. It s an awkward dinner party play in the vein of Mike Bartlett s seriocomedy Cock some outrageous behavior alongside a mature consideration of how relationships end and the state of gay relationships today, says Studio Artistic Director David Muse. Urban s work is known for grappling with moral questions in theatrically adventurous ways.

2 Inspired by Urban s personal experience divorcing his husband as same-sex marriage was legalized in all 50 states, The Remains deals with the public consequences of private decisions as it examines commitment in modernity, marriage, love, holding on, and letting go. This darkly comic play considers this shift in legal status through two lenses. The first is a consideration of the public face of marriage and divorce, and the ways family and friends come to build their sense of themselves around a relationship. The second lens is a philosophical one, as Urban explores the ethical dimensions of Kevin and his partner Theo s divorce. Adds playwright Ken Urban: In June 2015, as the United States had finally legalized gay marriage nationally, I filed for divorce from the man who had been my partner for 18 years. The end of our marriage felt truly tragic, not because it was the wrong choice, but because it was the right one, despite the fact that we genuinely still cared for each other. For Hegel, a genuine tragedy is not a conflict between right and wrong, but instead a conflict between two rights. This play is my exploration of the tragedy of gay divorce. About The Remains Ten years after their historic wedding, Kevin and Theo host a dinner for their families. In their gorgeously renovated condo, they talk philosophy, argue with family, overcook lasagna and reveal the truth of their seemingly perfect relationship. A comedy about the tragedy of loving, starring Maulik Pancholy (Weeds, 30 Rock, Star Trek: Discovery). About Ken Urban Ken Urban s plays include The Remains, A Guide for the Homesick, Nibbler, Sense of an Ending, The Correspondent, A Future Perfect, The Awake, and The Happy Sad. His plays have been produced in New York at Rattlestick Playwrights Theater, 59E59 Theatres, The Summer Play Festival at The Public, and Studio 42. His work has also been produced at Theatre503 in London, Huntington Theatre Company and SpeakEasy Stage Company in Boston, and at First Floor Theater in Chicago. He has developed new plays at Playwrights Horizons, Huntington Theatre Company, Boston Court, Williamstown Theatre Festival, Donmar Warehouse (London), and The Civilians R&D Group. His play Nibbler opened Off Broadway in February 2017, and A Guide for the Homesick received its world premiere at the Huntington Theater Company in Boston in 2017 and will open on the West End in London in October Awards include the Weissberger Playwriting Award, New York Foundation for the Arts Fellowship, Huntington Theater Playwriting Fellowship, MacDowell Colony Fellowships, Headlands Artist Residency, Djerassi Artist Residency, Dramatist Guild Fellowship, and Virginia Center for the Creative Arts Fellowship. Ken is a Resident Playwright at New Dramatists and a Core Writer at the Playwrights Center. He wrote the screenplay for feature-film adaptation of The Happy Sad, which screened internationally at over 25 film festivals, and is now available on itunes, Hulu, and Amazon. He is currently working on a TV pilot about the National Security Agency called The Art of Listening. His plays are published by Dramatists Play Service in the United States and Methuen in the United Kingdom and Europe, and they have been featured in numerous monologue anthologies.

3 About David Muse David Muse is in his eighth season as Artistic Director of Studio Theatre, where he has directed The Effect, The Father, Constellations, Chimerica, Murder Ballad, Belleville, Cock, Tribes, The Real Thing, An Iliad, Dirt, Bachelorette, The Habit of Art, Venus in Fur, Circle Mirror Transformation, reasons to be pretty, Blackbird, Frozen, and The Intelligent Design of Jenny Chow. Previously, he was Associate Artistic Director of the Shakespeare Theatre Company, where he directed seven productions, including Henry V, Julius Caesar, Coriolanus, and last season s King Charles III (a co-production with ACT and Seattle Rep). Other directing projects include Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune (Arena Stage), The Bluest Eye (Theatre Alliance), and Patrick Page s Swansong (New York Summer Play Festival). He has helped to develop new work at numerous theatres, including New York Theatre Workshop, Geva Theatre Center, Arena Stage, New Dramatists, and The Kennedy Center. Muse has taught acting and directing at Georgetown, Yale, and the Shakespeare Theatre Company s Academy of Classical Acting. An eight-time Helen Hayes Award nominee for Outstanding Direction, he is a recipient of the DC Mayor s Arts Award for Outstanding Emerging Artist and the National Theatre Conference Emerging Artist Award. Muse is a graduate of Yale University and the Yale School of Drama. ABOUT THE CAST Glenn Fitzgerald (Theo) makes his Studio Theatre debut in The Remains. His Off Broadway credits include world premieres of Jon Robin Baitz s Mizlansky/Zilinsky, Kenneth Lonergan s Lobby Hero, David Lindsay-Abaire s Ripcord, and Melissa James Gibson s THIS. He s also appeared in innovative productions of classic plays such as Hedda Gabler (directed by Ivo van Hove), Ivanov and Hamlet (directed by Austin Pendleton), and most recently Othello, directed by Sam Gold at New York Theatre Workshop. His regional credits include the world premiere of Will Eno s The Realistic Joneses at Yale Rep and The Importance of Being Earnest at Williamstown Theater Festival (directed by David Hyde Pierce). Television credits include series regular Brian Darling on ABC s Dirty Sexy Money, recurring roles on Six Feet Under and The Good Cop, and guest starring roles on Billions, Madam Secretary, Elementary, Law and Order, Law and Order: Criminal Intent, and Homicide. His film work includes Kathryn Bigelow s Detroit, David O. Russell s cult classic Flirting with Disaster, Ang Lee s The Ice Storm, Gus Van Sant s Finding Forester, M. Night Shyamalan s The Sixth Sense, A Price Above Rubies, Series 7, The Believer, Tully, and Buffalo Soldiers. He was nominated for a Lucille Lortel Award for Outstanding Lead Actor for his work in Lobby Hero. Naomi Jacobson (Trish) is a Shakespeare Theatre Company Affiliated Artist and Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company member. Off Broadway, she performed in Scenes from an Execution at Atlantic Theater Company. Selected regional credits include The Guardsman at The Kennedy Center, Pericles at the Goodman Theatre, The Real Inspector Hound and The Critic at the Guthrie Theater, and Shakespeare In Love at

4 Baltimore Center Stage and Cincinnati Playhouse. She s performed locally at Arena Stage, Ford s Theatre, Signature Theatre, Round House Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Wolf Trap, and most recently in the one-woman show Becoming Dr. Ruth at Theater J. Television and film credits include Homicide (NBC) and Her Father s Eyes (A&E). Jacobson is a recipient of the Inaugural Lunt-Fontanne Fellowship, the Anderson- Hopkins Award for Theatre Excellence, three Helen Hayes Awards, and a DC Arts Commission Individual Artist Grant. Greg Mullavey (Len) has appeared in over 100 theatre productions. His Broadway credits include Romantic Comedy (opposite Mia Farrow), Rumors, and the Broadway National Tour of The Sisters Rosensweig. Recent Off Broadway credits include Precious Little Talent, the title role in Titus Andronicus at the West End, and Clever Little Lies opposite Marlo Thomas at the Westside. Some favorite regional credits are The Price at the Guthrie Theater, the title role in King Lear at Oklahoma City Theatre Company, The Cherry Orchard opposite Alfred Molina at The Odyssey in Los Angeles, and Shylock in The Merchant of Venice at Los Angeles s Road Theatre. A regular on four television series and many films from Bob & Carol & Ted & Alice to The Desperate, Mullavey is best known as Tom Hartman on the late 1970s hit show Mary Hartman, Mary Hartman. He is the recipient of six Dramalogue Awards and Best Actor at The Iowa Short Film Festival. He holds a BA from Hobart College. Maulik Pancholy (Kevin) appeared on Broadway in It s Only a Play. Select Off Broadway/New York credits include Good for Otto and Aunt Dan & Lemon (both with The New Group); two plays by Ken Urban: The Awake and The Happy Sad; and Guantanamo (at The Culture Project). Select regional credits includes Shakespeare Theatre Company, Yale Repertory Theatre, and The Goodman Theatre. Films include 27 Dresses, Hitch, Friends with Money, and several independents. Television credits include Jonathan on 30 Rock (SAG Award: Outstanding Ensemble), Sanjay on Weeds (SAG nomination: Outstanding Ensemble), Neal on Whitney, Sanjay on Sanjay & Craig, Baljeet on Phineas & Ferb, and numerous recurring/guest starring roles. He attended the Yale School of Drama with Studio s Artistic Director David Muse. Danielle Skraastad (Andrea) was seen on Broadway in All My Sons. Off Broadway credits include Lisa Kron s In the Wake at The Public, Tony Kushner s The Intelligent Homosexual s Guide in a co-production between The Public and Signature Theatre, The Mound Builders at Signature Theatre, and The Pain and the Itch at Playwrights Horizons. Select regional credits include Project Dawn at People s Light, Hurricane Diane at Two River Theater, and Becky Shaw at The Wilma Theater (Barrymore Award: Best Ensemble). Skraastad s film work includes Michael Clayton, 27 Dresses, The Business of Story, Hard Sell, and the upcoming horror movie, Being. Television credits include Fringe, Mercy, Law and Order: SVU. She holds an MFA in Acting from NYU. ABOUT THE CREATIVE TEAM Madison Bahr s (Production Stage Manager) previous stage management credits at

5 Studio include The Wolves, Skeleton Crew, Moment, Murder Ballad, and Chimerica. Other local credits include Charlotte s Web, Wonderland: Alice s Rock and Roll Adventure, The Little Mermaid, and The BFG at Imagination Stage; Kiss and Guards at the Taj at Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company; The Admission and Our Suburb at Theater J; Seminar and Glengarry Glen Ross at Round House Theatre; and In the Heart of America and Mrs. Warren s Profession at Rep Stage. Ms. Bahr holds a BA in Theatre from the University of Maryland at College Park. Jesse Belsky (Lighting Designer) previously designed Three Sisters, No Sisters, and Animal at Studio Theatre. Regional credits include The 39 Steps, Pump Boys & Dinettes, Shipwrecked, and Kingdom of Earth at Triad Stage; Lydia and Rough Crossing at Yale Repertory Theatre; and The Year of Magical Thinking at Playmakers Repertory Company. DC designs include Who s Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at Ford s Theatre, The Year of Magical Thinking at Arena Stage, The Mystery of Love & Sex at Signature Theatre, Sense & Sensibility and A Midsummer Night s Dream at Folger Theatre, and The Magic Play at Olney Theatre Center. His designs for Everyman Theater in Baltimore include The Roommate, Deathtrap, Blithe Spirit, and Outside Mullingar. Belsky holds a BA from Duke University and an MFA from the Yale School of Drama, and he has taught lighting design at Connecticut College and University of North Carolina at Greensboro. Wilson Chin (Scenic Designer) previously designed Tribes at the Studio. His designs of world premieres include Geoffrey Nauffts Next Fall on Broadway, Julia Cho s Aubergine at Berkeley Rep, Larissa FastHorse s The Thanksgiving Play at Playwrights Horizons, Samuel Hunter s Lewiston at Long Wharf, Hansol Jung s Wild Goose Dreams at La Jolla Playhouse and Public Theater, Martyna Majok s Cost of Living at Manhattan Theatre Club, Antoinette Nwandu s Pass Over at Steppenwolf and LCT3, and Lauren Yee s The Great Leap at Seattle Rep. Chin s opera designs include Lyric Opera of Chicago, Canadian Opera, and Wolf Trap Opera. Most recently, he designed Spike Lee s latest film Pass Over. Ásta Bennie Hostetter (Costume Design) has recently designed for Dance Nation (Playwrights Horizons), Bobbie Clearly (Roundabout Underground), The Lucky Ones (Ars Nova), Miles for Mary (Playwrights Horizons), Porto (Women s Project Theater), The Wolves (Lincoln Center), The Rape of The Sabine Women (Playwrights Realm), Fulfillment Center (Manhattan Theatre Club), John (Signature Theatre), Men on Boats (Playwrights Horizons), The Terrifying (Abrons Arts Center), and 10 out of 12 and Generations (Soho Rep). Regional credits include The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-time (Kansas City Repertory Theatre), El Coquí Espectacular (Two River Theatre), and The Mystery of Love and Sex (Signature Theatre). Adrien-Alice Hansel (Dramaturg) is Studio Theatre s Literary Director where she has dramaturged the world premieres of No Sisters, I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart, Animal, Laugh, Red Speedo, Dirt, Lungs, and The History of Kisses as well as productions of Curve of Departure, The Effect, Wig Out!, Straight White Men, Cloud 9, Hedda Gabler, Constellations, Jumpers for Goalposts, Bad Jews (twice), The Apple

6 Family Plays, Invisible Man, Sucker Punch, The Golden Dragon, and The New Electric Ballroom, among others. Prior to joining Studio, she spent eight seasons at the Actors Theatre of Louisville, where she headed the literary department and coordinated project scouting, selection, and development for the Humana Festival of New American Plays. She also served as production dramaturg on roughly 50 new, contemporary, and classic plays there, including premieres by Naomi Wallace, Gina Gionfriddo, Kirk Lynn and Rude Mechs, Rinne Groff, The Civilians, Anne Bogart and SITI Company, Jordan Harrison, and John Belluso. She is the co-editor of eight anthologies of plays from Actors Theatre and editor of eight editions of plays through Studio. Hansel holds an MFA from the Yale School of Drama. Victoria J. Morales (Assistant Stage Manager) has worked on Skeleton Crew, Translations, and The Wolves during her time as the Stage Management Apprentice at Studio Theatre. Other credits include A Christmas Carol, Lady Day at Emerson s Bar & Grill, and The Glass Menagerie at Milwaukee Repertory Theatre (where she was a Stage Management Resident). She was also stage manager for Anne of Green Gables at The Oberlin Summer Theatre Festival and Tuxedo Junction for Birmingham Children s Theatre. Morales is a three time Kennedy Center American College Theatre Festival nominee for stage management. She holds a BA in Theatre with a focus in Stage Management from The University of Alabama at Birmingham. Manna-Symone Middlebrooks (Assistant Director) is Studio s Artistic Apprentice this season. Her directing credits include Assistant Director for Studio s productions of Translations, The Wolves, Curve of Departure, and Skeleton Crew; Broken Glass at Theater J; Scarred for Life at American University; and The Ruiners: A Modern Romance at Keegan Theatre. Middlebrooks holds a BA in Theatre Arts and Literature from American University and is an alumna of The British American Drama Academy. Matthew M. Nielson (Sound Designer) recently designed and composed original music for Occupied Territories at 59E59 and Where Words Once Were at Lincoln Center. Other recent designs include the world premiere of Astoria, Parts I and II with Portland Center Stage; The Magic Play at Olney Theatre Center, Portland Center Stage, and Actor s Theatre of Louisville; The Book of Will at Round House Theatre; Nina Simone: Four Women at Arena Stage; Shakespeare in Love at Baltimore Center Stage; and Treasure Island at Cincinnati Playhouse in the Park. Film and television credits include The Magicians, Stranger Things, Those Who Wait, NBC Sports, UFC on FOX, The Hero Effect, Epic Drive-In, The Discovery Channel, National Geographic, and Delivery.com. He has received several Helen Hayes and film festival awards. Justin Schmitz (Assistant Sound Designer) previously designed I Wanna Fucking Tear You Apart for Studio Theatre. DC credits include productions at The Kennedy Center, Signature Theatre, Olney Theatre Center, Woolly Mammoth Theatre Company, Theater J, Round House Theatre, Forum Theatre, Imagination Stage, Rorschach, WSC Avant Bard, Constellation Theatre, Keegan, the University of Maryland, Gallaudet University, and Catholic University. Regional credits include The Dixon Place Theater, Chautauqua Theater Company, Triad Stage, Utah Shakespeare Festival, ican House, North Carolina

7 Black Theater, Woodbury Theatre, Actors Guild of Parkersburg, and The Pump House. Upcoming projects include TRAYF at Theater J and the 2018 Chautauqua Institution Season. He is a 2018 Helen Hayes Award nominee for his work on The Wild Party at Constellation Theatre Company, and was previously nominated in 2017 for I Call My Brothers at Forum Theatre. He has received full design fellowships at The Kennedy Center with the Kenan Institute, The Orchard Project through The Kennedy Center, and Chautauqua Theatre Company. He holds an MFA from UNCSA and a BA from University of Wisconsin-La Crosse. INFORMATION Where: Studio Mead Theatre, th St NW, Washington, DC Performances: Tuesday-Saturdays at 8pm; Saturdays and Sundays at 2pm; Sundays at 7pm. There will be no evening performances May 20 or June 9. Ticket Prices: Tickets range from $20 - $85 Begins May 16, 2018 Press performance May 20, 2018 STUDIO THEATRE In its eighth season under the leadership of Artistic Director David Muse, Studio Theatre is Washington s premier venue for contemporary theatre, where local audiences will find today s edgiest playwrights (Variety). Muse is joined by Managing Director Meridith Burkus. One of the most respected midsized theatres in the country, Studio Theatre produces the work of today s greatest writers, augmented by occasional productions of modern classics, performed by acclaimed actors in intimate spaces. Throughout the Theatre s 39-year history, the quality of its work has been recognized by sustained community support as well as with 376 nominations and 68 Helen Hayes Awards for excellence in professional theatre. GENERAL INFORMATION Location: th Street NW (northeast corner of 14th and P Streets). Parking: Studio has a parking partnership with Washington Plaza Hotel at 10 Thomas Circle NW, three blocks south of Studio; patrons who park at the hotel s parking garage can purchase a $13 voucher at concessions. Street parking is extremely limited; arrive early to increase your options. Metro Stops: Red Line: Dupont Circle, Orange/Blue Lines: McPherson Square, and Green/ Yellow Lines: U Street/Cardozo. Accessibility: Studio s theatres are all wheelchair accessible; seats are available by reservation. Assistive listening devices are available for all shows at concessions. Call the Box Office at for more information. Contact Information: Tickets and Subscriptions: Administration: Website: studiotheatre.org info@studiotheatre.org

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