Theater News

Brían F. O’Byrne to Star with Oliver Platt in Shining City

Brían F. O'Byrne 
(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)
Brían F. O’Byrne
(Photo © Joseph Marzullo)

Tony Award winner Brían F. O’Byrne will co-star with the previously announced Oliver Platt in Conor McPherson’s Shining City. The production, to be directed by Tony winner Robert Falls and produced by the Manhattan Theatre Club, will begin performances at the Biltmore Theatre on April 13, with an opening date set for May 3.

O’Byrne currently stars in MTC’s Broadway production of John Patrick Shanley’s Doubt through January 8. His portrayal of a priest suspected of improper relations with an altar boy earned him a Tony Award nomination, as well as the 2005 Drama Desk and Outer Critics Circle Awards for Outstanding Actor. O’Byrne won his Tony for Outstanding Featured Actor in Frozen, and was nominated for Tony Awards for his work in The Beauty Queen of Leenane and The Lonesome West.

“Brían is one of the most talented actors working in theater today,” said MTC’s artistic director Lynne Meadow. “We are so proud that his next role after his stunning performance in Doubt will be in another MTC production.”

Platt’s stage credits include Twelfth Night, Elliot Loves, and Ubu. The actor is a two-time Emmy Award nominee for Huff and The West Wing. He can currently be seen on the big screen in Casanova, and his previous films include The Ice Harvest, The Three Musketeers, and Indecent Proposal.

Originally presented at London’s Royal Court Theater to critical acclaim, Shining City is set in Dublin, where a guilt-ridden man (Platt) reaches out to a therapist (O’Byrne) after seeing the ghost of his recently deceased wife. Wrestling with his own demons, the therapist can only do so much to help. Routine visits between the two men quickly become a gripping struggle to survive, changing both of them for the rest of their lives.

For more information, visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.