Eileen Atkins, a four-time Tony Award® nominee, will star as Sister Aloysius in DOUBT, the Tony Award and Pulitzer Prize-winning play by John Patrick Shanley, directed by Doug Hughes.  She will begin performances on Tuesday, January 10, 2006, at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street). Cherry Jones will play her final performance as Sister Aloysius on Sunday, January 8th.
Negotiations are ongoing with a male star to play opposite Ms. Atkins. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Eileen Atkins' Broadway credits include The Killing of Sister George, The Promise, Vivat! Vivat! Regina, Indiscretions (Les Parents Terribles) and The Retreat from Moscow. Off-Broadway, she portrayed the title character in Prin (MTC) and Virginia Woolf in her one-woman show A Room of One's Own (Drama Desk Award winner and awarded a special citation from the New York Drama Critics Circle) and in the play Vita and Virginia (opposite Vanessa Redgrave) she adapted based on the letters of Vita Sackville West and Virginia Woolf. She starred opposite Michael Gambon in London and Alan Bates in New York in The Unexpected Man. Ms. Atkins made her first appearance in London as Jaquenetta in Love's Labour's Lost, followed by seasons in repertory with the RSC and the Old Vic. London credits include The Birthday Party, Honour, Semi-Detached with Laurence Olivier, Exit the King with Alec Guinness (Clarence Derwent Award), The Restoration of Arnold Middleton, Childie in The Killing of Sister George (Evening Standard Award), The Cocktail Party (London Critics Award), The Sleepers' Den, Vivat! Vivat! Regina (Variety Club Award), Passion Play, Exclusive, Hesione Hushabye in John Schlesinger's production of Heartbreak House, Cymbeline, Mountain Language, The Winter's Tale (Olivier Award for Best Supporting Actress), Hannah Jelkes in The Night of the Iguana (Plays and Players Award), John Gabriel Borkman, A Delicate Balance (Evening Standard Award) with Maggie Smith and the title roles in Suzanna Andler, St. Joan and Medea. Ms. Atkins' television credits include leading roles in "The Lady's Not for Burning," "The Three Sisters," "The Heiress," "Olive" and "The Letter" and the title roles in "Major Barbara," "The Duchess of Malfi," "Electra," "The Lady From the Sea," "The Jean Rhys Woman" and most recently "Love Again." Her film credits include Cold Mountain, Vanity Fair, Ask the Dust, The Queen of Sheba's Pearls, The Feast of the Goat, Scenes of a Sexual Nature, The Hours, Gosford Park, Cold Comfort Farm, Women Talking Dirty, The Dresser, Equus and Mike Nichols' Wolf and Wit. Eileen co-created, with Jean Marsh, the TV series "Upstairs Downstairs," and she won the Evening Standard Award for Best Film Script for her adaptation of Virginia Woolf's Mrs. Dalloway.
DOUBT is Broadway's most honored play, receiving:
2005 Tony Award - Best Play Pulitzer Prize for Drama Drama Critics Circle Award - Best Play of the 2004-2005 Season Drama Desk Award - Outstanding Play Outer Critics Circle Award - Outstanding Broadway Play Drama League Award - Distinguished Production of a Play Obie Award - writing Lucille Lortel Award - Outstanding Play           Director Doug Hughes received Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and Lortel Awards for his direction of DOUBT, and an Obie Award for sustained excellence. Â
Set against the backdrop of a Bronx Catholic school in 1964, DOUBT is the story of a strong-minded woman faced with a difficult decision. Should she voice concerns about one of her male colleagues…even if she's not entirely certain of the truth?Â
Set design is by John Lee Beatty, costume design is by Catherine Zuber, lighting design is by Pat Collins, original music and sound design is by David Van Tieghem.Â