Deathtrap 1978

Opened: February 26, 1978
Closing: June 13, 1982

Deathtrap - 1978 - Broadway History , Info & More

Biltmore Theatre
261-5 West 47th St. New York, NY

Comfortably ensconced in his charming Connecticut home, Sidney Bruhl, a successful writer of Broadway thrillers, is struggling to overcome a dry spell which has resulted in a string of failures and a shortage of funds. A possible break in his fortunes occurs when he receives a script from a student in the seminar he has been conducting at a nearby college—a thriller that Sidney recognizes immediately as a potential Broadway smash. Sidney’s plan, devised with his wife’s help, is to offer collaboration to the student for co-credit. Or is it? DEATHTRAP provides twists and turns of devilish cleverness, and offers hilariously sudden shocks in such abundance that audiences will be spellbound until the very last moment.

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Review: DEATHTRAP, The Mill at Sonning
by Mica Blackwell - Feb 19, 2024


From the man behind Rosemary's Baby and The Stepford Wives, Ira Levin's Deathtrap has scared and intrigued audiences since premiering in 1978. One of Broadway’s most successful plays and even spawning a film adaptation, The Mill at Sonning's latest production directed by Tam Williams proves why it still makes audiences scream and laugh today.

Review: Jarrott Productions DEATHTRAP Gives Us Classic Thriller Fun
by Joni Lorraine - Nov 1, 2023


What did our critic think of DEATHTRAP at Jarrott Productions?

DEATHTRAP to Open 32nd Season at Players' Ring Theatre
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Aug 24, 2023


Get ready for a thrilling and hilarious evening as the Players' Ring Theatre opens its 32nd season with the iconic comedy-thriller, 'Deathtrap.' Don't miss the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway, nominated for four Tony Awards. Find out more about the production and the talented cast in this article.

Review: DEATHTRAP At Oyster Mill Playhouse
by Andrea Stephenson - Jul 6, 2023


In the hands of the right director, production team, and cast, this show is the perfect mixture of comedy, horror, and mind-bending plot reversals. Under the direction of Mike Rogusky the cast and crew at Oyster Mill Playhouse certainly delivers with their production of Deathtrap.

Video: Full Cast and Creative Team Announced for NEW YORK, NEW YORK; Plus Watch a New Trailer!
by Nicole Rosky - Feb 1, 2023


The full cast and creative team has been announced for the brand new Kander & Ebb musical, NEW YORK, NEW YORK. Plus, check out a new trailer of the cast in action!

Teatro Live! Returns With DEATHTRAP
by Stephi Wild - Nov 9, 2022


 A new Teatro season is at hand and already there are twists aplenty. The launch of the 2022/23 season is also the official launch of the new identity: what was once Teatro La Quindicina is now simply Teatro Live! The first play of the season is Ira Levin's classic comic thriller Deathtrap, exploding on to the Varscona Theatre stage on November 19 in a production directed by Nancy McAlear.

Photos: STRANGER THINGS Star Gaten Matarazzo Joins DEAR EVAN HANSEN On Broadway!
by A.A. Cristi - Jul 29, 2022


See all new photos of Stranger Things star Gaten Matarazzo in Dear Evan Hansen on Broadway. Get a first look at his return to Broadway in the Tony, Grammy and Oliver Award-winning musical.

Farmington Players to Stage DEATHTRAP
by Marissa Tomeo - Apr 30, 2022


The longest running comedy-thriller play in Broadway history is headed to the Farmington Players stage. DEATHTRAP written by Ira Levin, will run May 6th through 21st in Farmington Hills, Michigan. Tickets are available now at farmingtonplayers.org or at the box office: (248) 553-2955. 

DEATHTRAP Comes to Farmington Players Next Month
by Stephi Wild - Apr 29, 2022


The longest running comedy-thriller play in Broadway history is headed to the Farmington Players stage.  DEATHTRAP written by Ira Levin, will run May 6th through 21st in Farmington Hills, Michigan.

DEATHTRAP Will Be Performed At The Millbrook Playhouse Beginning This Week
by Stephi Wild - Oct 20, 2021


On October 22, 2021, Millbrook Playhouse will present the classic thriller Deathtrap by Ira Levin on the Ryan Main Stage. 

Live Theater to Return to Town & Country Players This Friday With Comedy Thriller DEATHTRAP
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Sep 7, 2021


Town & Country Players will welcome patrons back into the Barn Theater to enjoy Ira Levin's 1978 play Deathtrap. The play centers around fictional playwright Sidney Bruhl who is struggling through a writing a dry spell.

TV Icon Cindy Williams At The Wick In ME, MYSELF, AND SHIRLEY
by A.A. Cristi - Jun 3, 2021


The Wick Theatre will present the world premiere of Cindy Williams' one-woman show, Me, Myself and Shirley.

Village Theatre Has Announced its 2020-2021 Season
by Chloe Rabinowitz - Mar 4, 2020


Village Theatre Has Announced its 2020-2021 Season which is filled with a compelling collection of shows that will combine to create an incredible year of theatre. The lineup includes: Mamma Mia!, a dazzling musical triumph filled to the brim with hit ABBA songs; Hello, Dolly!, the universally acclaimed smash hit; Deathtrap, a deliciously shocking comedy thriller; Making Tracks, a powerful musical about the Asian-American experience; and Ain't Misbehavin', a delightful and energizing revue featuring the music of Fats Waller.

Avon Players Present DEATHTRAP
by Stephi Wild - Jan 4, 2020


Greed and desperation lead to a sinister plot in Avon Players' surprise-filled thriller Deathtrap, running January 17-February 1.

BWW Review: DEATHTRAP Brings Thrills and Chills to Sacramento Theatre Company
by Courtney Symes - Nov 12, 2019


Deathtrap, the longest-running comedy/thriller on Broadway, brings tantalizing twists and shocking turns to Sacramento Theatre Company (STC) this month. This 1978 play-within-a-play by Ira Levin (Rosemary's Baby, The Stepford Wives) was nominated for four Tony Awards, including Best Play. Directed by STC's Executive Producing Director, Michael Laun, Deathtrap is a deliciously suspenseful whodunit and being entertained in the cozy Pollock Theatre is a perfect way to spend a chilly fall evening.

BWW Review: The Nonstop Twists and Turns in Garden Theatre's DEATHTRAP Are Both Trick and Treat
by Aaron Wallace - Oct 14, 2019


DEATHTRAP gets off to a slow start, but by Scene Two - when the third of five characters enters the action - it's off to a fast-paced saga of twists, turns, and fatalities... Hilarity and homicide ensue, but in ways you won't see coming, with so many plot twists and misdirects that even an audience with ESP might gasp, as the Garden's sold-out house did all night long. Well, most of the theater...

Routledge Publishes 'In The Long Run: A Cultural History Of Broadway's Hit Plays'
by Stephi Wild - Oct 1, 2019


Covering 100 years of theatre history, In the Long Run: A Cultural History of Broadway's Hit Plays traces the long-running Broadway play as a distinct cultural phenomenon that rises and falls from 1918 to 2018. The book presents in-depth analysis of 15 plays that ran over 1,000 performances, examining what made each so popular in its time-and then, in many cases, fall into obscurity.

Photo Flash: First Look At Theatricum's THE GIN GAME
by A.A. Cristi - Aug 29, 2019


Westside audiences are in for a treat. Last season's acclaimed, Ovation recommended production of The Gin Game, directed byChristian Lebano at the Sierra Madre Playhouse, will be re-staged outdoors atWill Geer's Theatricum Botanicum, with real life husband and wife teamAlan Blumenfeld andKatherine James reprising their roles. With Lebano again at the helm,performances of D.L Coburn's Pulitzer Prize-winning two-hander will run Aug. 17 through Sept. 29 in Theatricum's intimate S. Mark Taper Pavilion.

BWW Review: DEATHTRAP at Princeton Summer Theater Surprises
by Sarah Vander Schaaff - Jul 8, 2019


C. Luke Soucy steps into the role of 'washed-up thriller playwright' Sidney Bruhl confidently, exuding a deft connection with the wit, tempo, and maturity of the character. Abby Melick, as the eccentric and prophetic Helga Ten Dorp, is another PST regular, who once again shines with her comic timing and captivating connection to character.

STUART LITTLE Opens March 16 At Sierra Madre Playhouse
by Julie Musbach - Mar 14, 2019


Each year, Sierra Madre Playhouse presents a show especially for young audiences. In 2019, the show is Stuart Little, innovatively staged with puppets, projections and original music. Performances for school field trips start on March 11 with over 3000 tickets sold, but the Playhouse will present a limited number of performances to the general public as well, with an official public opening on March 16. The play is ideal for audience members aged 4 to 10, but their entire families can enjoy it as well.

Ross Valley Players Presents DEATHTRAP
by BWW News Desk - Jan 18, 2019


Ross Valley Players Presents DEATHTRAP, written by Ira Levin, which became an American thriller film in 1982. This ingeniously structured play offers a rare and skillful blending of two priceless theatrical ingredients: gasp-inducing thrills and spontaneous laughter.

Ross Valley Players Presents DEATHTRAP
by BWW News Desk - Jan 17, 2019


Ross Valley Players Presents DEATHTRAP, written by Ira Levin, which became an American thriller film in 1982. This ingeniously structured play offers a rare and skillful blending of two priceless theatrical ingredients: gasp-inducing thrills and spontaneous laughter.

DEATHTRAP at Vertigo Theatre is Sure to Kill
by Vicki Trask - Jan 13, 2019


Sidney Bruhl is languishing in his Connecticut home, struggling to overcome a bout of writer's block that has seen his Broadway success turn to near bankruptcy. But the answer may have just arrived when Sidney receives a fantastic script written by his former student, Clifford Anderson. Anderson just wants his old mentor's opinion, but Sidney will do whatever it takes to get back on Broadway.

Ross Valley Players Presents DEATHTRAP
by A.A. Cristi - Dec 26, 2018


Ross Valley Players Presents DEATHTRAP, written by Ira Levin, which became an American thriller film in 1982. This ingeniously structured play offers a rare and skillful blending of two priceless theatrical ingredients: gasp-inducing thrills and spontaneous laughter.

DEATHTRAP Comes To Claremont Theatre
by Julie Musbach - Oct 3, 2018


Inland Valley Repertory Theater company (IVRT) is pleased to conclude the 2018 Season with Ira Levin's 1978 DEATHTRAP, which is known as a play with many plot twists or 'a play within a play.' DEATHTRAP holds the record for the longest-running comedy-thriller on Broadway and was nominated for four Tony Awards. The production will run October 24 through November 6 on Tuesdays and Wednesdays at the Candlelight Pavilion in Claremont.

Deathtrap FREQUENTLY ASKED QUESTIONS

What productions of Deathtrap have there been?
Deathtrap has had 2 productions including Broadway which opened in 1978 and West End which opened in 2010.
What Tony Awards has Deathtrap been nominated for?
Best Play and , Best Direction of a Play for Robert Moore.
What awards has Deathtrap been nominated for?
Deathtrap has been nominated for several awards. It received nominations for Outstanding Lighting Design at the Drama Desk Awards, with Marc B. Weiss being recognized for his work in this category. Additionally, the show was also nominated for Outstanding Set Design at the Drama Desk Awards, with William Ritman being acknowledged for his exceptional set design. These nominations highlight the talent and creativity displayed in Deathtrap's lighting and set design.

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