The New Group's 2009-10 Season Features Broderick, Hawke, Lonergan, Savage and Shepard

The New Group's 2009-10 Season Features Broderick, Hawke, Lonergan, Savage and
Shepard

NEW YORK, May 18 /PRNewswire-USNewswire/ -- The New Group, one of New York's
premiere Off-Broadway not-for-profit theater companies has announced its
upcoming 2009-2010 season. Included are two world premieres, a major revival
and The New Group's first musical since its 2003 production of "Avenue Q."

Opening October 2009 is the world premiere of "The Starry Messenger" by
Kenneth Lonergan, featuring Matthew Broderick in the title role. This
production marks Lonergan's return to New York theater following 2002's "Lobby
Hero" and is the first stage collaboration with childhood friend, Tony
Award-winning actor Matthew Broderick. Lonergan received Drama Desk
nominations for the "Lobby Hero" and "This is Our Youth," and was nominated
for screenwriting Oscars for "You Can Count On Me" and "Gangs of New York."

The season continues in January with the revival of "A Lie of the Mind" by Sam
Shepard, directed by Ethan Hawke. "A Lie of the Mind" opened at the Promenade
Theater in 1985 and won the Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and New York
Drama Critics' Circle Awards for Best New Play. Hawke received accolades in
2007 for directing Jonathan Marc Sherman's "Things We Want" with The New
Group.

The season concludes with "The Kid," a musical based on Dan Savage's book "The
Kid: What Happened After My Boyfriend and I Decided to Go Get Pregnant," with
book by Michael Zam, music by Andy Monroe and lyrics by Jack Lechner. New
Group Artistic Director Scott Elliott directs this world premiere. The
authors were honored with the 2009 BMI Foundation Jerry Bock Award for Best
New Musical. This marks The New Group's return to musical theatre after
producing "Avenue Q," which received the Tony Award for Best New Musical in
2004.

For more information, please contact Beth Sorrell at The Karpel Group,
212-505-2900.

The New Group (Scott Elliott, Artistic Director; Geoff Rich, Executive
Director): The company's 2008-2009 season has included Kevin Elyot's "Mouth to
Mouth" and Eugene O'Neill's "Mourning Becomes Electra" and Ian Bruce's
"Groundswell." Past hits include Jay Presson Allen's "The Prime of Miss Jean
Brodie;" David Rabe's "Hurlyburly;" Mike Leigh's "Abigail's Party," "Two
Thousand Years," "Smelling a Rat," and "Ecstasy;" Wallace Shawn's "Aunt Dan
and Lemon," and "The Fever;" and Kenneth Lonergan's "This is Our Youth."
Winner of the 2004 Tony Award for Best Musical, The New Group celebrates its
15th season next year.

SOURCE The New Group

Beth Sorrell, +1-212-505-2900, for The New Group