Steve On Broadway (SOB)

Seafarer Opens Sail On Great White Way Tonight

Seafarer Opens Sail On Great White Way Tonight

This evening, the fourth Broadway opening of the week takes place on the same small stretch of 45th Street as two of the three others.

Written and directed by noted Irish playwright Conor McPherson, The Seafarer -- like those other two shows on its block -- was forced to postpone its original opening due to the recent Broadway stagehands strike. The Booth Theatre was one of the nearly thirty venues shuttered by the labor action.

The Seafarer is described as:

...a chilling new play about the sea, Ireland, and the power of myth. It's Christmas Eve and Sharky (David Morse) has returned to Dublin to look after his irascible, aging brother (Jim Norton) who's recently gone blind. Old drinking buddies Ivan (Conleth Hill) and Nicky (Sean Mahon) are holed up at the house too, hoping to play some cards. But with the arrival of a stranger from the distant past, the stakes are raised ever higher. In fact, Sharky may be playing for his very soul.

Hill and Norton reprise the roles they created on the London stage last year.

The Seafarer enjoyed its world premiere a year ago last September at the National’s Cottesloe Theatre where it ran through January of this year. Norton won the 2007 Laurence Olivier Award for Best Performance In A Supporting Role, while the show itself was nominated for Best New Play.

We'll see tomorrow just how well the show fares among critics this side of the ocean, when I'll provide a critics' capsule.

This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).

Click here for tickets.
Related Stories:
All Of Great White Way Gleams Tonight (November 29, 2007)
Add August To The List? (November 14, 2007)
Strike Fallout, Part Two? Opening Nights In Question (November 12, 2007)
McPherson's Seafarer To Navigate Broadway In Fall (June 14, 2007)
Sunday At The Grosvenor House With Laurence (February 19, 2007)
Laurence Olivier Award Nominations Announced (January 18, 2007)

Labels: Broadway, Conleth Heath, Conor McPherson, Jim Norton, Opening Night, Play, The Seafarer, Transfer

posted by Steve On Broadway (SOB) @ Thursday, December 06, 2007