Bobby Cannavale Leads Roundabout's THE BIG KNIFE on Broadway in 2013; Doug Hughes Helms

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced a new Broadway production of Clifford Odets' The Big Knife, starring Emmy® Award winner and Tony Award® nominee Bobby Cannavale, directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes.

The full cast & design team will be announced soon.

The Big Knife will begin previews on March 22, 2013 and open officially on April 2013 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). This will be a limited engagement through June 2, 2013.

Says Roundabout Theatre Company's Artistic Director Todd Haimes:"The Big Knife is well overdue for a revival - it's written by one of our greatest American Playwrights with an array of great roles for actors to sink their teeth into. I love the language Odets uses in The Big Knife and how he digs into the dark side of Old Hollywood. This story has all of the glamour we associate with that time and place. Doug Hughes gets this period and this kind of high-style language. As our Resident Director, he also understands Roundabout and shares our dedication to finding exciting, seldom-seen plays like this to revive. I'm a huge fan of Bobby Cannavale, and I think he's one of those modern actors who you can really imagine fitting right into the 1940s. There's something wonderfully old-school about him, and I'm so happy that we'll get to see Bobby take on a great role like Charlie Castle. With the musical comedy of Drood, the romance of Picnic, and now the movie-land drama of The Big Knife, I'm thrilled about the range in our Broadway revivals. And including two new plays off-Broadway that mix drama and dark comedy, If There Is I Haven't Found It Yet and The Unavoidable Disappearance of Tom Durnin, I think the new season is shaping up to be an incredibly strong and varied one that represents what Roundabout brings to the audience."

Roundabout Theatre Company presents an electrifying new production of Clifford Odets' classic tale about keeping your integrity in the face of success. In the golden age of Hollywood cinema, actors may have all the glory, but studio execs have all the power. The Hoff-Federated studio has had its most successful star, Charlie Castle, over a barrel ever since it helped cover up a mistake that could have ended his career. When a woman with insider knowledge threatens to come forward, the studio heads will stop at nothing to protect Charlie's secret... but how far is he willing to go before he quits the movie business for good? Set in a glossy world of rumor mills and rocky friendships, Clifford Odets' The Big Knife is a riveting, bitingly funny look at how challenging it can be to stay true to yourself-when everyone expects you to play a part.

This is the first new Broadway production since The Big Knife premiered on Broadway in 1949, directed by Lee Strasberg.

Director Doug Hughes is Roundabout Theatre Company's Resident Director. For Roundabout, he most recently staged the world premier of Maury Yeston's musical Death Takes a Holiday and the Broadway production of Mrs. Warren's Profession starring Cherry Jones & Sally Hawkins, A Man For All Seasons starring Frank Langella, A Touch of the Poet starring Gabriel Byrne and A Naked Girl on the Appian Way starring Jill Clayburgh and Richard Thomas.

Only Roundabout subscribers have first access to tickets. To become a Roundabout Subscriber, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org or call Roundabout Ticket Services (212) 719-1300 today. Single Tickets will be available to the general public in the winter of 2013.

PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE: The Big Knife will play Tuesday through Saturday evening at 8:00PM with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00PM.

More Articles by This Author...