Tony nominees Sherie Rene Scott and Mary Testa, along with Pico Alexander, will appear in John Patrick Shanley's new play The Portuguese Kid, set to play Manhattan Theatre Club's off-Broadway venue, New York City Center—Stage I. They join the previously announced Tony winner Jason Alexander in the work that will begin September 19 ahead of an October 24 opening night.
Set in Providence, Rhode Island, The Portuguese Kid focuses on the habitually widowed Atalanta (Scott), who pays a visit to her second-rate lawyer Barry Dragonetti (Alexander). Intending to settle her late husband's affairs, the larger-than-life Greek tightwad quickly becomes a nightmare for her cheesy, self-aggrandizing attorney. Add Barry's impossible Croatian mother (Testa), a dash of current politics and a couple of opportunistic young lovers, and you have in hand a recipe for comic combustion.
Scott is a two-time Tony nominee whose credits include The Front Page, Everyday Rapture, Dirty Rotten Scoundrels and Women on the Verge of a Nervous Breakdown. Testa, also a two-time Tony nominee, is currently appearing off-Broadway in The Government Inspector. Her other credits include Xanadu, 42nd Street, Guys and Dolls and On the Town. Pico Alexander has appeared off-Broadway in Punk/Rock and What I Did Last Summer.
Additional casting and creative team for The Portuguese Kid will be announced at a later date. The Portuguese Kid was a part of the Vassar and New York Stage and Film’s Powerhouse season in 2016.