'THE PORTUGUESE KID' EXTENDED AT NY CITY CENTER

The Portuguese Kid

Manhattan Theatre Club is pleased to announce a second extension week for its world premiere production of The Portuguese Kid, the new play written and directed by Tony, Pulitzer Prize, and Academy Award winner John Patrick Shanley, at MTC at New York City Center – Stage I (131 West 55th Street). The production will now play through Sunday, December 10; tickets for the extension will go on sale today at noon.

The Portuguese Kid, which opened October 24, stars Tony Award winner Jason Alexander (six-time Emmy Award nominee for “Seinfeld,” Jerome Robbins’ Broadway, Merrily We Roll Along), Pico Alexander (Punk Rock, What I Did Last Summer, Home Again), Aimee Carrero ("Young & Hungry," "Elena of Avalor," and the upcoming “American Horror Story”), three-time Tony Award nominee Sherie Rene Scott (The Front Page, Whorl Inside a Loop, Everyday Rapture) and two time Tony nominee and Drama Desk Award winner Mary Testa (The Government Inspector, First Daughter Suite, Queen of the Mist). Performances began on September 19.

The critics said:

“The Portuguese Kid is the funniest new comedy I’ve reviewed since…well, maybe ever. The entire cast is dead-solid perfect, and Mr. Shanley, one of the few playwrights of note who can be trusted to direct his own work, does so to ideal effect. To laugh this hard for that long is downright therapeutic.” – Terry Teachout, The Wall Street Journal

“Uproarious! Deliciously funny and wildly entertaining, with whip-smart, crackling banter and a cast full of scene-stealing actors.” – Isabella Biedenharn, Entertainment Weekly

“Thanks to a first-class production, this one’s a hoot! You will laugh – of that I have no doubt.” – Roma Torre, NY1

In Providence, Rhode Island, habitually widowed Atalanta (Sherie Rene Scott) pays a visit to her second-rate lawyer Barry Dragonetti (Jason Alexander). Intending to settle her latest husband's affairs, this larger-than-life Greek tightwad quickly becomes a nightmare for her cheesy, self-aggrandizing attorney. Add Barry's impossible Croatian mother (Mary Testa), a dash of current politics and a couple of opportunistic young lovers, and you have in hand a recipe for comic combustion.

This feisty romantic comedy could only come from John Patrick Shanley, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning author of the MTC hits Doubt and Outside Mullingar, and the Academy Award-winning screenwriter of Moonstruck.

The Portuguese Kid marks MTC’s 12th collaboration with Shanley, a partnership that spans over three decades.

The creative team for The Portuguese Kid features John Lee Beatty (scenic design), William Ivey Long (costume design), Peter Kaczorowski (lighting design) and Obadiah Eaves (original music and sound design).

Special thanks to The Harold and Mimi Steinberg Charitable Trust for supporting Manhattan Theatre Club. The Portuguese Kid is a recipient of an Edgerton Foundation New Play Award.

Manhattan Theatre Club, under the leadership of Artistic Director Lynne Meadow and Executive Producer Barry Grove, has become one of the country’s most prominent and prestigious theatre companies. Over the past four and a half decades, MTC productions have earned numerous awards including six Pulitzer Prizes and 23 Tony Awards. MTC has a Broadway home at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre (261 West 47th Street) and two Off-Broadway theatres at New York City Center (131 West 55th Street). Renowned MTC productions include Lillian Hellman’s The Little Foxes; August Wilson’s Jitney; Cost of Living by Martyna Majok; Vietgone by Qui Nguyen; Sell/Buy/Date by Sarah Jones; Heisenberg by Simon Stephens; The Father by Florian Zeller with translation by Christopher Hampton; Fool For Love by Sam Shepard; Casa Valentina by Harvey Fierstein; Outside Mullingar and Doubt by John Patrick Shanley; Murder Ballad by Julia Jordan and Juliana Nash; Choir Boy by Tarell Alvin McCraney; The Assembled Parties by Richard Greenberg; Wit by Margaret Edson; Venus in Fur by David Ives; Good People and Rabbit Hole by David Lindsay-Abaire; The Whipping Man by Matthew Lopez; Time Stands Still by Donald Margulies; Ruined by Lynn Nottage; Proof by David Auburn; The Tale of the Allergist’s Wife by Charles Busch; Love! Valour! Compassion! by Terrence McNally; The Piano Lesson by August Wilson; Crimes of the Heart by Beth Henley; and Ain’t Misbehavin’, the Fats Waller musical. For more information on MTC, please visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.

TICKETING INFORMATION

Tickets for The Portuguese Kid are available by calling CityTix at 212-581-1212, online by visiting www.nycitycenter.org, or by visiting the New York City Center box office (131 West 55th Street).

New and renewing subscribers can join MTC’s 2017-2018 season by calling The MTC Clubline at 212-399-3050. For more information, please visit www.manhattantheatreclub.com.

To sign up for MTC’s “30 Under 30” program for theatregoers age 30 and under, please visit www.manhattantheatreclub.com/30under30/.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:

· TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 7 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 19: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7PM; Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8PM; Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2PM.

· MONDAY, NOVEMBER 20 – SUNDAY, NOVEMBER 26 (WEEK OF THANKSGIVING): Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday at 7PM; Friday and Saturday at 8PM; Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2PM.

· TUESDAY, NOVEMBER 28 – SUNDAY, DECEMBER 10: Tuesday and Wednesday at 7PM; Thursday, Friday and Saturday at 8PM; Matinees on Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday at 2PM.