A Man For Broadway's 2008-09 Season Opens TonightThis evening, the very first Broadway revival of
Robert Bolt's
A Man For All Seasons opens at the
Roundabout Theatre Company's
American Airlines Theatre.
Helmed by
Doug Hughes, the revival stars three-time Tony Award winner
Frank Langella as
Sir Thomas More. Langella faces
Patrick Page as King Henry VIII.
The late, great
Paul Scofield not only earned a Tony Award for his portrayal of More in the original
1961 Broadway play, but he also won an Academy Award in the
Best Picture of 1966.
Will critics see this as a play for all ages (epochal periods, that is)? Find out tomorrow as I provide my critics' capsule.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Man For All Seasons, Doug Hughes, Frank Langella, Patrick Page, Paul Scofield, Play, Revival, Roundabout Theatre
Broadway Preview: A Man For All SeasonsLess than a half year after the
passing of
Paul Scofield -- the actor's actor will long be remembered for his Tony and Academy Award-winning portrayals of
Sir Thomas More in the
1961 Broadway stage and
1966 film productions, respectively, of
A Man For All Seasons -- a new
Doug Hughes-helmed Main Stem
revival is slated to begin preview performances at the
Roundabout Theatre Company's
American Airlines Theatre on September 12.
Opening night is scheduled for October 7. The limited engagement will run through November 30.
This first revival of
Robert Bolt's
A Man For All Seasons will be headlined by three-time Tony Award winner
Frank Langella as the
English Chancellor who famously defied
King Henry VIII by standing up for his beliefs. This will be Langella's first Great White Way turn since his Tony-winning performance last year as another historical figure,
Richard Nixon, in
Frost/Nixon.
The original Rialto production opened on November 21, 1961, and was honored with four Tony Awards, including Best Play, Best Actor (Scofield) and Best Direction (
Noel Willman). That mounting of
A Man For All Seasons enjoyed a run of 637 performances before closing June 1, 1963.
Given Langella's propensity for earning critical accolades and theatre honors, expect
A Man For All Seasons to be a hot ticket. Tickets go on sale for American Express cardholders on July 16; for everyone else, August 1.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Related Stories:Broadway Preview: To Be Or Not To Be (July 2, 2008)
Broadway Preview: The Seagull (July 1, 2008)
Broadway Preview: Equus (June 30, 2008)
Broadway Preview: A Tale Of Two Cities (June 28, 2008)
Broadway Preview: for colored girls who have considered suicide when the rainbow is enuf (June 25, 2008)
Broadway Preview: [title of show] (June 24, 2008)
Broadway: What's Next (June 20, 2008)
Paul Scofield - RIP (March 20, 2008)
Labels: A Man For All Seasons, Doug Hughes, First Word On New Show, Frank Langella, Frost/Nixon, Paul Scofield, Play, Revival, Roundabout Theatre
Paul Scofield - RIPRenowned British actor
Paul Scofield died Wednesday near his home in Southern England. He was 86.
Scofield is ranked among the best stage thespians of the past 100 years. If his name is not readily known by younger readers, perhaps it's because he largely eschewed the fame that routinely goes with the craft.
The Times of London today offers an outstanding tribute to Scofield in which theatre critic
Benedict Nightingale writes:
Why didn't most theatregoers think of Paul Scofield in the way they thought of Olivier, Gielgud and Richardson? After all, he had pretty well all the qualities, from Olivier's danger through Gielgud's grace to Richardson's soul, that we admired in the 20th century's most renowned triumvirate.
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There were two main reasons for his relative neglect, the first of which is a terrible comment on our honours system. He refused a knighthood, later telling me that "if you want a title what's wrong with Mr?".
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The other reason is that he didn't want to be a household name, let alone a celeb. He seldom gave interviews and never appeared on chat shows, but lived quietly and modestly in Sussex, taking the local train to London when work demanded and invariably returning the same night. It was the art, not the fame, that mattered to him. He was an extraordinary actor content to be an ordinary man.
While American theatregoers had but one opportunity to see him perform on a Broadway stage -- in 1962's
A Man For All Seasons for which he won the Tony for Best Actor -- his work, thankfully, is forever immortalized on celluloid.
In fact, I first became aware of Scofield for his magnificent turn in the excellent film adaptation of "
A Man For All Seasons" that not only took home the 1966 Academy Award for Best Picture, but it also afforded the actor with that rarest of rare opportunities to win two of acting's highest honors for the same role. Scofield portrayed
Sir Thomas More -- the man who dared challenge
King Henry VIII on his decision to break from Rome over divorce and was ultimately executed for doing so.
Scofield began his acting quest in the 1930s and became affiliated first with the
Birmingham Repertory Theatre before moving in 1946 to
Stratford-upon-Avon to perform in many of
William Shakespeare's works. And despite his long and illustrious stage career in England, his enduring legacy in the United States will be his film career spanning five decades and included memorable turns ranging from
Scorpio (1973) to
Quiz Show (1994) for which he received a second Academy Award nomination.
While he may have chosen to think of himself as an ordinary man, he was anything but.
This is Steve On Broadway (SOB).
Labels: A Man For All Seasons, Broadway, Film, In Memoriam, London, Paul Scofield, tribute
