| JOSHUA JACKSON TO MAKE BROADWAY DEBUT IN REVIVAL OF BEST PLAY TONY WINNER "CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD" | |
| Posted by: Official_Press_Release 01:15 pm EDT 08/15/17 | |
|
|
|
| THE FIRST-EVER BROADWAY REVIVAL OF MARK MEDOFF’S TONY AWARD-WINNING BEST PLAY “CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD” BEGINS PERFORMANCES THIS SPRING STARRING JOSHUA JACKSON AND INTRODUCING LAUREN RIDLOFF DIRECTED BY TONY AWARD-WINNER KENNY LEON PREVIEWS BEGIN THURSDAY, MARCH 22, 2018 OPENING NIGHT SET FOR WEDNESDAY, APRIL 11th AT BROADWAY’S STUDIO 54 New York, NY – Producer Hal Luftig announced today that Mark Medoff’s landmark play, Children of a Lesser God,will return to Broadway this spring for the first time since its Tony Award-winning premiere production. Starring Joshua Jackson and introducing Lauren Ridloff, both making their Broadway debuts, and directed by Tony Award-winner Kenny Leon, Children of a Lesser God will begin performances at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street) on Thursday, March 22nd. Opening night is set for Wednesday, April 11, 2018. One of the most celebrated American plays of the late twentieth century, Children of a Lesser God tackles the complexities of human connection and communication with insight, wit, and unyielding compassion. Its 1980 original Broadway production earned a Tony Award for Medoff (Best Play), as well as for the two leads: John Rubinstein and Phyllis Frelich. Its London transfer went on to win the Olivier Award for Best New Play. The acclaimed 1986 film adaptation starring William Hurt and Marlee Matlin further solidified the title’s place in the American canon and earned Matlin the Academy Award for Best Actress in a Leading Role. Frelich and Matlin remain, to this day, the only deaf actresses to have ever won the Tony and Academy Awards for leading roles, respectively. “Despite having more modes of communication at our collective fingertips than ever before, true connection has never seemed so elusive,” Mr. Luftig said. “It has been more than thirty-five years since this play first premiered, and its themes are as resonant today as ever.” “At its essence, this is a poignant and profound love story,” Mr. Leon added. “Ever since these characters, Sarah Norman and James Leeds, first entered the public consciousness, we’ve been fascinated by their relationship to each other and the world around them. I think our appreciation for what Mark created with this play has only deepened with time.” Mr. Leon first directed this production of Children of a Lesser God at the Berkshire Theater Group’s Fitzpatrick Main Stage during the 2017 Summer Season in an engagement that garnered rave reviews and shattered box office records. Additional casting will be announced soon. For the most up-to-date news, visit www.childrenofalessergodbroadway.com. # # # # # BIOGRAPHIES Joshua Jackson (James Leeds) stars alongside Dominic West, Ruth Wilson and Maura Tierney in the Golden Globe Award-winning television series, “The Affair” on Showtime. Jackson was recently seen in the National Geographic Channel’s Emmy Award-winning documentary series, Years of Living Dangerously. He previously starred on FOX’s hit show “Fringe” created by J.J. Abrams, and recently made a cameo appearance in the Netflix Original, “Unbreakable Kimmy Schmidt.” Recent feature film roles include: starring roles opposite Rebecca Hall, Bruce Willis and Catherine Zeta Jones in Lay the Favorite for director Stephen Frears and Inescapable opposite Marisa Tomei. In 2010, Jackson received the 2010 Best Actor Genie Award for his starring role in the Canadian Independent feature film, One Week. Jackson was seen as part of the ensemble cast of the critically acclaimed film Bobby for director Emilio Estevez, and starred in the psychological thriller Shutter for 20th Century Fox/New Regency, which was shot on location in Tokyo. Additionally, Jackson enjoyed a successful run on London’s West End, starring in A Life in the Theatre alongside Patrick Stewart. The acclaimed comedy was written by the Pulitzer Prize and Olivier Award-winning and Oscar Award-nominated, David Mamet. Jackson recently starred in the Off Broadway play Smart People at Second Stage Theatre that told the story of four Harvard intellectuals finding themselves entangled in a complex web of social politics. Well known as “Dawson’s Creek”’s fast-talking, self-deprecating Pacey Witter, Jackson has been working in front of the camera for over twenty years. His feature film debut was in Michael Bortman’s Crooked Hearts, which he followed up with The Mighty Ducks trilogy, Digger and Andre the Seal. Jackson starred in Universal Pictures’ The Skulls, and more recently in Rose Troche’s acclaimed drama The Safety of Objects, the HBO Films version of Moises Kaufman’s groundbreaking play The Laramie Project and in Regent Films’ Aurora Borealis, as a troubled young man opposite Donald Sutherland. He had noted cameos in Steven Soderbergh’s Ocean’s 11, Scream 2, Urban Legend and I Love Your Work. His additional feature film credits include Sky, Cursed, Gossip, Bryan Singer’s Apt Pupil and Cruel Intentions. A Vancouver native, Jackson divides his time between his hometown and Los Angeles. Lauren Ridloff (Sarah Norman). Recent credits include a role in the film Wonderstruck (2017) and John Legend’s music video, “Love Me Now.” She has appeared in the ASL instructional video series, Sign Naturally and in various sign language publications as a sign language model. A former Miss Deaf America, she holds a Bachelor’s degree in Creative Writing, a Masters of Arts in Education and a torch for American Sign Language. Kenny Leon (Director) is an acclaimed Broadway and film director whose recent work includes the original musical Holler If Ya Hear Me and the 2014 revival of A Raisin in the Sun (which earned him a Tony Award for Best Director). Other Broadway credits include The Mountaintop starring Samuel L. Jackson and Angela Bassett, the Alicia Keys-produced Stick Fly, August Wilson’s Fences, starring Denzel Washington and Viola Davis (which garnered ten Tony nominations, including Best Director), the 2004 Broadway production of A Raisin in the Sun with Sean “P.Diddy” Combs, Gem of the Ocean, and Radio Golf. Off-Broadway, Mr. Leon has directed the Public Theater’s productions of Everybody’s Ruby and Emergency. TV and film work includes Hairspray Live! and The Wiz Live! for NBC, In My Dreams for Hallmark Hall of Fame for ABC, The Watsons Go to Birmingham for Hallmark Channel, and the Lifetime TV adaptation of Steel Magnolias. Mr. Leon is the artistic director of True Colors Theatre in Atlanta, Georgia. Mark Medoff (Playwright ) is a playwright, screenwriter, and theater and film director. He received a Tony Award for Children of a Lesser God. He was nominated for an Academy Award for the film script of Children of a Lesser God and for an Emmy Award for his HBO Premiere movie, Apology. He received an OBIE Award for When You Comin Back, Red Ryder? Mark is the author of 30 plays and has written, produced, or directed 19 movies. He is a Distinguished Achievement Professor at New Mexico State University, where he began as an English Instructor in 1966. He was Head of Theater Arts from 1979-1988 and is one of the founding faculty of the Creative Media Institute for Film and Digital Arts. A film version of his play The Heart Outright will shoot in November in New Mexico, starring his daughter Jessica Medoff, directed by Mark’s son-in-law, Ross Marks (Homage, Twilight of the Golds). A new play, Time and Chance, is looking for a home. He has recently accepted a commission to write a play and movie involving the friendship between Marilyn Monroe and Lena Pepitone. Mark has been married for forty-two years to Stephanie Medoff; they have three daughters and seven grandchildren. |
|
| reply | |
|
|
|
| Previous: | re: Ben Platt announces his final Evan Hanson performance - IThespis 07:22 pm EDT 08/16/17 |
| Next: | re: JOSHUA JACKSON TO MAKE BROADWAY DEBUT IN REVIVAL OF BEST PLAY TONY WINNER "CHILDREN OF A LESSER GOD" - TheHarveyBoy 01:43 pm EDT 08/15/17 |
| Thread: |
|
Time to render: 0.011632 seconds.