Tickets go on general sale tomorrow for the critically acclaimed Donmar Warehouse production of Friedrich Schiller's MARY STUART, starring Janet McTeer and Harriet Walter. The critically praised new version by Peter Oswald and directed by Phyllida Lloyd, will open Sunday, April 19 on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre (235 West 44th Street). Previews will begin on Monday, March 30. To order call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
McTeer will be making her first Broadway appearance since her Tony Award-winning performance in A Doll's House in 1997. Walter, who won the 2005 Evening Standard Award for Best Actress for her performance, is returning to Broadway for the first time since the Royal Shakespeare Company's All's Well That Ends Well in 1983.
The first Broadway production of MARY STUART in almost 40 years will be produced by Arielle Tepper Madover, Debra Black, Scott Delman Barbara Whitman, David Binder/Ruth Hendel, Neal Street Productions/Matthew Byam Shaw.
Michael Grandage, Artistic Director of the Donmar said, "I am thrilled we are bringing our work to Broadway again. After the success of Frost/Nixon, I am particularly delighted that American audiences will now get to experience one of the Donmar's great classical productions. Phyllida Lloyd's magnificent account of this historical drama offers audiences a chance to engage with two towering performances."
For a Queen to stand, a Queen must fall. MARY STUART is a Friedrich Schiller's thrilling account of the extraordinary relationship between England's Elizabeth I (Harriet Walter) and her cousin, Mary Queen of Scots (Janet McTeer), Elizabeth's rival to the throne. With its behind the scenes intrigue, scheming and betrayal, the play has the feel of a modern-day political thriller. MARY STUART builds to one of the most electrifying dramatic confrontations in world theatre, in which Schiller imagines a meeting between the two monarchs on the grounds at Fotheringay Castle.
Joining Ms. McTeer and Ms. Walter, will be Michael Countryman (Night Must Fall, Laughter on the 23rd Floor) as Sir Amias Paulet; John Benjamin Hickey (Cabaret, Love! Valour! Compassion!,) as Robert Dudley, Earl of Leicester; Michael Rudko (The Best Man, Serious Money) as Count Aubespine/Melvil; Robert Stanton (The Coast of Utopia, All in the Timing) as William Davison; Maria Tucci (Tony Award® nominee for The Rose Tattoo) as Hanna Kennedy; Chandler Williams (Translations) as Mortimer; Nicholas Woodeson (Jumpers, An Inspector Calls) as William Cecil, Lord Burleigh; and three-time Tony Award® nominee Brian Murray (Rosencrantz and Guildenstern are Dead, Da, Noises Off) as George Talbot, Earl of Shrewsbury.
Ben Brantley, New York Times, hailed this production of MARY STUART as "Ripping. A stage burner of a revival. Mary Stuart is portrayed to a red-blooded fare-thee-well by Janet McTeer. Queen Elizabeth I is portrayed with glittering iciness by Harriet Walter. Mary Stuart has never seemed more pertinent than it does in this vivid incarnation, staged by Phyllida Lloyd." The Daily Telegraph pronounced it "Exhilirating... Pure Class!" The Times raved, "Terrific Acting, Terrific Theatre, Terrific Schiller". The Daily Mail called the production "Unforgettable". The Observer raved, "Phyllida Lloyd has provided a gleaming, intense Mary Stuart. It's thrillingly staged and acted to the hilt". The Sunday Times claimed, "Both female leads crackle with the kind of gun-powder charisma that sparks devotion and forments intrigue. In this fine production, every lie, every deception, rings true".
The Donmar Warehouse production of MARY STUART transferred into London's West End where it was produced by Arielle Tepper Madover, ACT Productions, Neal Street Productions & Matthew Byam Shaw. MARY STUART played from July 14 through September 3, 2005 at the Donmar Warehouse and later transferred to the Apollo in London's West End, where it played from October 7, 2005 to January 14, 2006.
The production is designed by Anthony Ward, with lighting by Hugh Vanstone and sound by Paul Arditti.
Preview prices are $64-$99, including $1.50 facilities fee. Tickets for performances after April 20 are $69.50-$116.50. Call Telecharge at 212-239-6200 or visit www.telecharge.com.
