Exclusive: Tony Winner Joan Allen Joins THE WAVERLY GALLERY on Broadway!

BroadwayWorld has learned that Tony-winner Joan Allen will return to the stage next season joining the starry cast of Kenneth Lonergan's acclaimed memory play (and 2001 Pulitzer Prize Finalist), The Waverly Gallery.

Directed by Drama Desk and Obie Award winner Lila Neugebauer (in her Broadway debut), the cast will include Grammy Award winner and Academy and Golden Globe Award nominee, Elaine May, Academy Award nominee Lucas Hedges and, in his third Lonergan play, Michael Cera.

Produced by Scott Rudin, preview performances will begin Tuesday, September 25, ahead of an official opening night set for Thursday, October 25, 2018.

Allen's Broadway credits include: Burn This (Tony Award for Best Actress), The Heidi Chronicles (Tony nomination for Best Actress) and Impressionism. She has appeared in more than 20 feature films including Compromising Positions, Peggy Sue Got Married, Tucker: The Man and His Dream, Manhunter, Nixon (Academy Award nomination, Best Supporting Actress), The Ice Storm, The Crucible (Academy Award nomination, Best Supporting Actress), The Contender (Academy Award nomination, Best Actress), Pleasantville, Face Off, Yes, TheUpside of Anger, The Bourne Supremacy, The Bourne Ultimatum, a cameo appearance in The Bourne Legacy, and A Good Marriage a film version of Stephen King's novella.

The creative team of The Waverly Gallery includes Tony Award winner David Zinn (Scenic Design), Tony and Academy Award winner Ann Roth (Costume Design), and five-time Tony Award winner Brian MacDevitt (Lighting Design).

A powerfully poignant and often hilarious play, The Waverly Gallery is about the final years of a generous, chatty, and feisty grandmother's final battle against Alzheimer's disease. Gladys is an old-school lefty and social activist and longtime owner of a small art gallery in Greenwich Village. The play explores her fight to retain her independence and the subsequent effect of her decline on her family, especially her grandson. More than a memory play, The Waverly Gallery captures the humor and strength of a family in the face of crisis.

The Waverly Gallery originally premiered at the Williamstown Theatre Festival in August 1999, before opening Off-Broadway at the Promenade Theater in March 2000.