"Next Fall"
Opens Season At SpeakEasy

The new season at SpeakEasy Stage Company will begin with the New England premiere of the acclaimed Broadway play "Next Fall." Norton Award-winning Scott Edmiston will direct the production set to run from September 16 - October 15 at the Calderwood Pavilion at the Boston Center for the Arts.

A 2010 Tony nominee for Best Play, "Next Fall" takes a witty and provocative look at faith, commitment and unconditional love. Luke, a devout Christian, and Adam, a non-believer, have been together for four years, yet spiritual differences continue to spark trouble in their relationship. A sudden twist of fate changes everything for these men in a compelling story that explores what it means to believe and what it might cost us not to.

Will McGarrahan, Deb Martin and Amelia Broome headline the Boston cast, which also includes three actors making their SpeakEasy debuts: Kevin Kaine, Dan Roach and Robert Walsh.

"Next Fall" is the work of Arlington native Geoffrey Nauffts, an accomplished actor, producer and playwright who, for the past two years, was also a writer for the ABC television series "Brothers & Sisters."

"Next Fall" opened Off-Broadway at New York's Peter Jay Sharp Theatre in June of 2009. The play was produced by the Naked Angels Theater Company, for which Mr. Nauffts served as Artistic Director. The play was originally set to close on June 21, but following critical acclaim and a sold-out run, it was extended into August. In February of 2010, "Next Fall" began previews on Broadway at the Helen Hayes Theatre. Featuring the entire original Off-Broadway cast, the show closed on July 4 following 26 previews and 132 regular performances.

"Next Fall" was nominated for two 2010 Tony Awards: Best Play and Best Direction of a Play (Sheryl Kaller). Playwright Geoffrey Nauffts also won the John Gassner Award at the 2010 Outer Critics Circle Awards, and the play received the 2008 Theatre Visions Fund Award from the Blanche and Irving Laurie Foundation.

Director Scott Edmiston's credits at SpeakEasy include "In the Next Room (or the vibrator play)," "The History Boys," "The Light in the Piazza," "Reckless," "The Women" and "Five by Tenn." He has also directed more than 50 productions in Greater Boston at Lyric Stage, Huntington Theatre Company, Opera Boston, Nora Theatre and Gloucester Stage, among others. Recent productions include: "Cat on a Hot Tin Roof," "Sunday in the Park with George," "Trouble in Tahiti" and "My Name is Asher Lev." He has received three IRNE Awards and three Elliot Norton Awards for his direction, as well as the 2011 Norton Prize for Sustained Excellence and the 2009 Outstanding Artist Award from SpeakEasy.

Playwright Geoffrey Nauffts has worked as an actor on and Off-Broadway, regionally and extensively in film and television. He’s directed short plays by Kenneth Lonergan, Frank Pugliese, David Marshall Grant, Theresa Rebeck and Suzan-Lori Parks, as well as Naked Angels’ critically acclaimed production of Steven Belber’s "Tape" in New York, Los Angeles and London. As a writer, his credits include: "Baby Steps," an award-winning short film starring Kathy Bates; "Jenifer," a CBS movie of the week, and two seasons on ABC’s hit series "Brothers and Sisters." He is currently collaborating with Elton John on a score for "Showstopper," a screenplay he co-wrote with Anthony Barrile for Ben Stiller’s company, Red Hour. He is also writing a movie entitled "81 Words" for HBO based on an NPR This American Life segment. Boston audiences will also remember him from The Huntington Theatre production of "Falsettos," in which he played Marvin.

For information, call 617-933-8600 or visit www.BostonTheatreScene.com.