John Lithgow & Jennifer Ehle Lead MR. &. MRS FITCH for 2nd Stage; Opens 2/22

Second Stage Theatre has announced that Tony Award winners John Lithgow and Jennifer Ehle will star as MR. & MRS. FITCH in the world premiere comedy from Douglas Carter Beane. The production marks MR. Beane's return to Second Stage Theatre where his critically acclaimed, Tony-nominated play The Little Dog Laughed premiered in 2005. MR. & MRS. FITCH will be directed by Scott Ellis, who also staged the world premiere and Broadway transfer of The Little Dog Laughed. Previews begin at Second Stage Theatre on January 26, 2010; opening night is scheduled for Thursday, February 22.

Meet gossip columnists MR. & MRS. FITCH. When the social circuit no longer provides any scandalous news, they find that great celebrity can appear out of thin air. Tony Award nominee Douglas Carter Beane's wicked new comedy is a scathing look at who is in, who is out and who may not even exist at all.

MR. & MRS. FITCH will feature scenic design by Allen Moyer, costume design by Jeff Mahshie, and lighting design by Kenneth Posner.

The World Premiere production of MR. & MRS. FITCH is supported by the National Endowment for the Arts.

John Lithgow's many Broadway appearances include The Changing Room, My Fat Friend, Trelawney of the Wells, Comedians, Anna Christie, Once in a Lifetime, Spokesong, Bedroom Farce, Beyond Therapy, Requiem for a Heavyweight, The Front Page, M. Butterfly, Sweet Smell of Success, The Retreat From Moscow, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, and, most recently, All My Sons. Off-Broadway: Mrs. Farnsworth, Stories by Heart. England: Malvolio in Twelfth Night (RSC). Television: "3rd Rock From the Sun." Film: The World According to Garp, Terms of Endearment, Twilight Zone: the Movie, Footloose, Cliffhanger, Shrek and Kinsey. Dance: Carnival of the Animals (NYC Ballet). For children: eight bestselling picture books, three CDs and concerts with major U.S. orchestras. Awards: two Tonys (of five nominations), three Drama Desk Awards, four Emmys (of ten nominations), two Oscar nominations, four Grammy nominations, a Golden Globe, two SAG Awards.

Jennifer Ehle received Tony Awards for her performances in The Coast of Utopia and The Real Thing. She also appeared on Broadway in Design for Living and off-Broadway in Macbeth. In London's West End she has appeared in The Philadelphia Story, The Real Thing (Olivier nomination), Tartuffe (Ian Charleston Award) and at London's National Theatre she appeared in Summerfolk. RSC productions include Richard III, Painter of Dishonor, The Relapse. Film includes: Pride and Glory (2007), Kerala/Road to the Sky (2007), Possession, Sunshine, This Year's Love, Bedrooms and Hallways, Wilde (BAFTA nomination), Paradise Road, Backbeat. TV includes: "Pride and Prejudice" (BAFTA Award), "The Camomile Lawn." Jennifer will next be filming the HBO pilot, "Games of Thrones," based on the book series by George R. R. Martin and adapted by David Benioff, co-starring Sean Bean.

Douglas Carter Beane returns to Second Stage Theatre, which produced the world premiere of his Tony-nominated play The Little Dog Laughed. His other works include the book for the Tony-nominated musical Xanadu (Tony nomination, Drama Desk winner), As Bees in Honey Drown (Outer Critics Circle, Gassner Award), Music From a Sparkling Planet, The Country Club, Advice From a Caterpillar, The Cartells. Musicals: The Big Time and the upcoming Lysistrata Jones and The Bandwagon. Revues: Mondo Drama and White Lies. Screenplays: Advice From a Caterpillar (Aspen Comedy Festival Best Feature); To Wong Foo, Thanks for Everything! Julie Newmar. As Artistic Director of the Drama Dept., he produced more than 40 productions including revivals of As Thousands Cheer, June Moon and The Torchbearers and world premieres by Paul Rudnick, David Sedaris and Wendy Wasserstein.

Scott Ellis returns to Second Stage Theatre where he directed Douglas Carter Beane's The Little Dog Laughed. Other Second Stage credits include Good Boys and True, The Waverly Gallery with Eileen Heckert, and That Championship Season. Broadway credits include Curtains, Twelve Angry Men (Tony, Drama Desk nominations), Arthur Miller's The Man Who Had All the Luck with Chris O'Donnell, The Boys From Syracuse, The Rainmaker with Woody Harrelson and Jayne Atkinson, 1776 (Drama Desk, Tony nomination), Picnic (Outer Critics Circle nomination), Company, A Month in the Country with Helen Mirren, Steel Pier (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle awards, Tony nomination), She Loves Me (Drama Desk and Tony Award nominations, Outer Critics Circle Award and Olivier Award for Best Director and Best Revival, London production). Off-Broadway: Entertaining Mr. Sloane with Alec Baldwin; Dark Rapture; And the World Goes' Round: The Songs of Kander & Ebb (Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle awards); among others. NYC Opera: 110 in the Shade, A Little Night Music. TV: director/co-conceiver of "Sondheim: A Celebration at Carnegie Hall" and Great Performances' "My Favorite Broadway: The Leading Ladies," "30 Rock," Frasier," "Hope and Faith," "Stacked," and "Out of Practice." MR. Ellis is the associate artistic director for the Roundabout Theatre Company. MR. Ellis was recently named Supervising Producer/Director of the Showtime series "Weeds."

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