'Faith Healer' Starring Fiennes, Jones and McDiarmid Starts

Tony Award-winners Ralph Fiennes and Cherry Jones will open on Broadway in The Dublin Gate Theatre production of Brian Friel's play Faith Healer at the Booth Theatre (222 W 45th St) on Thursday, May 4th. Produced by Sonia Friedman Productions Ltd and Michael Colgan, Bob Bartner, Roger Berlind, Scott Rudin and Spring Sirkin and directed by Jonathan Kent, the play also stars Ian McDiarmid. Preview performances begin Tuesday, April 18th.

"Ralph Fiennes returns to Broadway -- alongside Cherry Jones, fresh from her tour de force in Doubt -- in Brian Friel's Faith Healer, a spellbinding play in which each new revelation upends all that has come before it. Faith Healer tells the moving tale of dissolute, charismatic Frank Hardy (Fiennes), his long-time lover (Jones) and his devoted manager (McDiarmid) as they travel the back roads of Scotland and Wales peddling miracles. As the three wrestle with Hardy's genuine but elusive gift for healing, they ask potent questions about who we trust, what we know and why we believe. Faith Healer offers the unique opportunity to see three of our finest actors on one stage and delights those with faith in the enduring power of live theatre," state press notes.

Ralph Fiennes returns to Broadway for the first time since his acclaimed performance as Hamlet over a decade ago. That performance, also directed by Jonathan Kent, won him the 1995 Tony and Drama Desk Awards for Best Actor. He received Oscar nominations for Schindler's List and The English Patient. Other notable films include Quiz Show, Strange Days, The End of the Affair, Red Dragon and last year's Harry Potter and The Goblet of Fire and The Constant Gardener. British stage credits include Brand, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Fathers and Sons, King John, The Talking Cure, the title roles in Coriolanus and Richard II and 2005's Julius Caesar.

Jones won her second Tony Award in 2005 for her shattering performance as Sister Aloysius in Doubt, previously winning for 1995's The Heiress. She was Tony-nominated for A Moon for the Misbegotten and her Broadway debut performance in Our Country's Good. Film credits include Ocean's Twelve, The Village, Signs, Swimmers, Cradle Will Rock, Erin Brockovich, The Horse Whisperer, The Perfect Storm, Divine Secrets of the Ya-Ya Sisterhood and the Lifetime movie "What Makes a Family."

Best known to moviegoers for his role as Supreme Chancellor Palpatine in Star Wars Episodes I, II and III, McDiarmid is a former joint artistic director of the Almeida Theatre in London. He appeared at the Almeida in Faith Healer in 2001. Other UK stage credits include Ivanov, Tartuffe, School For Wives and Creditors at the Almeida Theatre; Henry V, The Merchant of Venice, The Party, The War Plays, Crimes In Hot Countries and The Castle for the RSC and acclaimed work at the Royal Court and in the West End.

Jonathan Kent will launch this production of Faith Healer starring Fiennes and McDiarmid at Dublin's Gate Theatre for a limited engagement beginning February 2, 2006.

Faith Healer features set and costume design by Jonathan Fensom and lighting design by Mark Henderson.

Faith Healer was mounted on Broadway in May 1979, starring James Mason and directed by Jose Quintero. "In the quarter century since, several high profile productions have established its critical standing as equal that of Friel's other masterworks Philadelphia, Here I Come and the Tony-winning Best Play Dancing at Lughnasa."

Fiennes and McDiarmid are appearing with the permission of Actors'Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors Equity Association for their assistance of this production.

Tickets for Faith Healer will be available through Telecharge, (212) 239-6200 or www.telecharge.com. American Express Cardmembers can purchase tickets beginning Wednesday, February 1 at 5PM through Broadway.Yahoo.com or by calling (212) 239-6200. American Express Gold Card Events seating is also available through Broadway.Yahoo.com, or by calling 800-292-9465. The general public on-sale begins Saturday, February 18, 2006. The opening date for the Booth Theatre box office is to be announced.

For tickets and information visit faithhealeronbroadway.com

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