We remember James Rebhorn
By: Roundabout Theatre Company Mar. 24, 2014
Todd Haimes and the entire Roundabout Theatre Company staff mourn the loss of an extraordinarily talented member of our family, James Rebhorn. Our thoughts and prayers are with his family during this difficult time.
It is not difficult to see why The New York Times classifies James Rebhorn as a "New York theatre stalwart." His remarkably prolific career spans over thirty years across stage and screen. In 2013, Rebhorn returned to the Roundabout stage for his fifth production, Too Much, Too Much, Too Many, marking more than a decade-long relationship with Roundabout Theatre Company. Today we remember some of Rebhorn's great roles on stage at Roundabout.
James Rebhorn began working with Roundabout in our 2002 production of Arthur Miller's The Man Who Had All the Luck, directed by Scott Ellis. Miller's first play, the story is centered on a young Midwestern man charged with the burden of continuing his good fortune. The production starred Chris O'Donnell, with whom Rebhorn had previously shared the screen in Martin Bert's Oscar-nominated film Scent of a Woman along with Al Pacino. Rebhorn earned rave reviews for his portrayal of Patterson Beeves, the father to the young man who possesses limited intellectual means but is full of good intentions.
Richard Riehl, Samantha Mathis, Chris O'Donnell, Mason Adams and James Rebhorn in The Man Who Had All The Luck. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Rebhorn returned to work with director Scott Ellis in our Tony®-nominated production of Twelve Angry Men in 2004. This classic drama by Reginald Rose frames the arduous deliberation of a panel of jurors during a murder trial. Rebhorn's characterization of Juror Four garnered much praise, including John Simon of New York Magazine who described his performance as, "methodical, buttoned-up but unsweaty in this hot room, coolly yet unimaginatively reasoning."
James Rebhorn and the cast of Twelve Angry Men. Photo by Joan Marcus.
In 2007, Reborn took the stage at the American Airlines Theatre in Prelude to a Kiss as Dr. Boyle. Written by Craig Lucas, Prelude to a Kiss tells the bizarre tale of a young couple that finds themselves in a predicament when the new bride kisses an elderly man and their bodies magically switch. Rebhorn played a "cheerfully oblivious" father to the bride with New York Post writer Clive Barnes describing his portrayal as "unerring."
James Rebhorn and the cast of Prelude to a Kiss. Photo by Joan Marcus.
Later that year, Rebhorn was seen in his fourth role at Roundabout in the American premiere production of The Overwhelming. In this play, which highlights the complicated relationship between Americans and Rwanda during the mass genocide in 1994, Rebhorn played a U.S. Official that New York Post writer Frank Scheck called, "deceptively jovial."
James Rebhorn and Sam Robards in The Overwhelming. Photo by Joan Marcus.
In 2013 Rebhorn returned to the stage in Roundabout Underground's world premiere of Too Much, Too Much, Too Many. Written by up-and-coming playwright Meghan Kennedy, the play follows a mother (played by Phyllis Somerville) and daughter (played by Rebecca Henderson) through their journey to heal after the loss of their father (played by James Rebhorn).
James Rebhorn and Phyllis Somerville in Too Much, Too Much, Too Many. Photo by Joan Marcus.
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