MANHATTAN THEATRE CLUB & GOODMAN THEATRE
WORLD PREMIERE CO-PRODUCTION OF
LYNN NOTTAGE’S
RUINED
OPENS TO RAVE REVIEWS IN CHICAGO

MTC RUN TO BEGIN PREVIEWS WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 21, 2009
IN PREPARATION FOR A TUESDAY, FEBRUARY 10 OPENING
AT NEW YORK CITY CENTER – STAGE I

The Manhattan Theatre Club and Goodman Theatre co-production of Lynn Nottage’s RUINED opened yesterday in Chicago to rave reviews in a production directed by Kate Whoriskey.

Below is a sampling of what Chicago’s major critics are saying in today’s papers:

“A REMARKABLE THEATRICAL ACCOMPLISHMENT! DAZZLING! Lynn Nottage's gripping, gut-wrenching new play RUINED is sincere, passionate, courageous and acutely argued.

Kate Whoriskey's direction gives this many-layered production uncommon vibrancy that is frequently funny. The cast delivers several rich performances with vibrant ensemble scenes that keep us in thrall.

This is both a celebration of the endurance and vitality of African women and an unstinting call for us to keep them safer.”
– Chris Jones, The Chicago Tribune

“If you wish to be among the first to see the play that in every way, shape and form deserves to become the 2009 Pulitzer Prize winner for drama, head directly to the Goodman's Owen Theatre, where Lynn Nottage's RUINED is now in its explosive world premiere in a co-production with Manhattan Theatre Club.

A brash, searing, heart-of-darkness story – periodically shot through with moments of fearsome comedy and the redemptive spirit that suggests the sheer persistence of the life force – RUINED with its volcanic direction by Kate Whoriskey, is a 21st century African variation on Brecht's Mother Courage and Her Children, that quintessential tale of the savage nature of life during a war that seems to have no end.

The cast conjures formidable magic with sublime and show-stopping performances that bristle with wit and energy.”
– Hedy Weiss, The Chicago Sun-Times

“POWERFUL! Lynn Nottage takes on one of playwriting's toughest challenges – the dramatization of distant, gruesome political realities – in her elegant and eloquent new work, RUINED.

In director Kate Whoriskey's vibrant production premiering at Chicago's Goodman on its way to an Off-Broadway slot with Manhattan Theater Club, Nottage values deeply honest characterizations over histrionic expressions of outrage, to emotionally wrenching effect. RUINED is a genuinely original work that is constantly capable of surprising us.

In the charismatic cast we find performances with charm and radiance.”
– Steven Oxman, Variety

RUINED is currently in performances at the Goodman’s Owen Theatre prior to coming to Manhattan Theatre Club. After the Chicago run, the production will come to MTC at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street) where the limited engagement will begin previews on Wednesday, January 21, 2009 and open Tuesday, February 10, 2009.

From Lynn Nottage, the Obie Award-winning author of such plays as Fabulation and Intimate Apparel, and director Kate Whoriskey (Fabulation) comes this haunting, probing work about the resilience of the human spirit during times of war. Set in a small mining town in Democratic Republic of Congo, this powerful play follows Mama Nadi, a shrewd businesswoman in a land torn apart by civil war. But is she protecting or profiting by the women she shelters? How far will she go to survive? Can a price be placed on a human life?

The creative team for RUINED includes: Derek McLane (scenic design), Paul Tazewell (costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design), Rob Milburn and Michael Bodeen (sound design), Dominic Kanza (original music), Randy Duncan (movement director), and Charlotte Fleck (dialect coach).

RUINED is a co-production with Chicago’s Goodman Theatre (Robert Falls, Artistic Director; Roche Schulfer, Executive Director).

Under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, MTC has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. MTC productions have earned a total of 16 Tony Awards and five Pulitzer Prizes, an accomplishment unparalleled by a New York theatrical institution. Renowned MTC productions include Top Girls; From Up Here; Come Back, Little Sheba; The Receptionist; LoveMusik; Blackbird; Translations; Shining City; Rabbit Hole; Doubt; Proof; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife; Kimberly Akimbo; Love! Valour! Compassion!; Sylvia; Four Dogs and a Bone; Putting It Together; Lips Together, Teeth Apart; Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune; Crimes of the Heart; and Ain’t Misbehavin’.

This season, MTC’s Broadway stage was renamed the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street). The landmarked theatre has been the institution’s home on Broadway since 2003 and was rehabilitated by MTC following a two-year, $35 million capital campaign. In addition, MTC operates two theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street), its Off-Broadway home since 1984.

For more information on Manhattan Theatre Club, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

TICKETING INFORMATION

• Via New York City Center Box Office (131 West 55th Street), City Tix (212-581-1212) and www.nycitycenter.org: Single tickets for all Manhattan Theatre Club productions at New York City Center are available by calling CityTix at (212) 581-1212, by visiting www.nycitycenter.org or by going to the New York City Center box office. Tickets are $75.00. Group and student rates are also available. For group ticket information, call (212) 399-3000 x 4132. Student tickets are $25 and will be on sale for all performances based on availability on the day of the performance, up to one hour before showtime. Call (212) 581-1212 for further information. MTC at New York City Center is accessible to people with disabilities and is equipped with a hearing augmentation system.
• MTC Subscriptions: You can subscribe to MTC by calling (212) 399-3030, Monday - Friday, noon - 8 PM, with a major credit card. Subscriptions are available online at www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.