Come Back, Little Sheba announces further casting Kevin Anderson to play Doc

The Manhattan Theatre club have announced further casting for their revival of William Inge' drama Come Back, Little Sheba, opening on Broadway at the Biltmore Theatre on 24 Jan 2008, following previews from 3 Jan.

Kevin Anderson (Doc) is to star beside the previously announced S. Epatha Merkerson (Lola). The cast will also include Zoe Kazan (Marie), Brian J. Smith (Turk), Brenda Wehle (Mrs. Coffman), Lyle Kanouse (Postman) and Matthew J. Williamson (Milkman).

Additional casting will be announced in the coming weeks.

Come Back, Little Sheba: Lola (Merkerson) is a faded beauty queen trapped in a lonely marriage to Doc, a recovering alcoholic on the brink of relapse. When a pretty young woman becomes a boarder in their cluttered Midwest home, their lives are unsettled as unspoken passions rise to the surface. As the emptiness of their marriage is laid bare, can they find their way back to each other or will they be undone?

The play will be directed by Michael Pressman, who recently staged the play in Los Angeles at the Kirk Douglas Theatre, in which Merkerson also starred as the troubled housewife, Lola.

The creative team features James Noone (sets), Jennifer Von Mayrhauser (costumes), Jane Cox (lighting) and Obadiah Eaves (sound). This will be the first revival of Come Back, Little Sheba since the play opened on Broadway at the Booth Theatre 1 Feb 1950, where it ran for 190 performances. Shirley Booth played the role of Lola, for which she won a Tony Award for Best Actress in a Play.

William Inge (Playwright: 1913�1971) had a string of Broadway plays in the 1950s, starting with 'Come Back, Little Sheba' which won Inge the George Jean Nathan Award and earned him the title of most promising playwright of the 1950 Broadway season. When 'Picnic' opened in 1953 Inge won the Pulitzer Prize in Drama. 'Bus Stop' (1955) and 'The Dark at the Top of the Stairs' (1957) followed. All four plays were made into successful films featuring top Hollywood stars, and his screenplay for 'Splendor in the Grass' brought him an Academy Award.

Michael Pressman (Director) is making his Broadway and New York directional debut. Theatre credits include 'To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday' (six LADCC Awards), 'Days and Nights Within' (Back Alley Theatre), 'Love Letters' with Kathy Baker and Tom Skerritt, 'Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune' (Tamarind Theatre), and he was invited last season to direct at the Eugene O�Neill Playwrights Conference. He is the director of TV's 'Law & Order,' 'Boston Legal' and 'The Closer.'

S. Epatha Merkerson (Lola), made her Broadway debut in Tintypes (1980), she also appeared in the Broadway production of 'The Piano Lesson' playing the role of Berniece for which she nominated for a Tony Award for Best Featured Actress in a Play. Merkerson is currently in her 13th season on Law & Order, for which she received 2006 and 2007 NAACP Image Award Nominations for her portrayal of Lieutenant Anita Van Buren.

Kevin Anderson (Doc), made his Broadway debut in 'Orpheus Descending' (1989 revival), he was nominated for a Tony Award for his performance as Biff in 'Death of a Salesman (1999 revival). Anderson was last seen on Broadway in Brooklyn (2004).

Brenda Wehle (Mrs. Coffman) is currently making her Broadway debut in the Roundabout's production of Pygmalion

Lyle Kanouse (Postman) made his Broadway debut in 'Big River' (2003 revival).

Zoe Kazan (Marie), Brian J. Smith (Turk), and Matthew J. Williamson (Milkman) will all be making their Broadway debut.