The producers of the highly anticipated production of Tennessee Williams' The Two-Character Play, uniting the talents of Tony Award winner Amanda Plummer (Agnes of God, Pulp Fiction) and Academy Award nominee Brad Dourif (One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest), directed by Gene David Kirk, which began previews at New World Stages(340 West 50th Street) on June 13, announced today that due to an injury sustained by Ms. Plummer, this weekend's preview performances were cancelled and that this evening's performance has been cancelled, as well. However, the show will open on Wednesday evening, June 19, as previously announced.
In a statement, the producers said, "Ms. Plummer has sustained a knee injury which is causing her some discomfort. On doctor's orders, she has been instructed to rest the leg as much as possible. Therefore, we felt it in the best interest of the production that after two extraordinary and luminous previews to cancel the final ones in order for Ms. Plummer to heal. We wished to follow the physician's guidance, while respecting Ms. Plummer's wish to take the stage."
Reality and fantasy are interwoven with terrifying power as two actors on tour-brother and sister-find themselves deserted by their troupe. Faced by an audience expecting a performance, they enact The Two-Character Play. As they dip in and out of performance they find it difficult to differentiate themselves from their roles and reality from illusion. Haunting, provocative, and often funny, The Two-Character Play is one of
Tennessee Williams' most personal - and mystifying - works.
The creative team for The Two-Character Play is comprised of Alice Walkling(scenic design & London costume design), Lara DeBruijn (NY costume design),Phillip Hewitt (sound design & London lighting design), Jake Fine (NY lighting design) and
Rick Sordelet (fight choreography).
The performance schedule for The Two-Character Play is as follows: Monday at 8pm; Wednesday at 2 & 8pm, Thursday & Friday at 8pm; Saturday at 2:30 & 8pm; Sunday at 3pm.
Tickets are $72.50 - $126.50 and are available for purchase viaTelecharge.com or by calling 212-239-6200, as well as in person at the New World Stages box office (340 West 50th Street). Box office hours are Monday 12pm-8pm, Tuesday 1pm-7pm, Wednesday 10am-8pm, Thursday & Friday 1pm-8pm, Saturday & Sunday, 10am-8pm.
The Two-Character Play is being produced by
Robert Driemeyer, Morgan Sills, Jim A. Landé,
Al Parinello and the Somerled Charitable Foundation, in association with
Robert Barry Fleming, Julio Montalvo,
Ted Seifman/
Jamie deRoy, and Jan Warner, with General Management by Brierpatch Productions (
Laura Janik Cronin &
Scott Newsome), Casting by wojcik/seay casting (Scott Wojcik & Gayle Seay) and Marketing by
Ron Johnson, Jr.
The Two-Character Play debuted in 1967 in London, and was produced on Broadway in 1973 by
David Merrick, under the title Out Cry, starring
Michael York. Considered too experimental for its time, Williams continued working on the play and published his final version in The Theatre of
Tennessee Williams Volume 5. After years of withholding rights, Williams' estate granted permission for
Gene David Kirk to present the play at London's Jermyn Street Theatre where he served as Artistic Director. Mr. Kirk was introduced to the play by his mentor
Corin Redgrave, whose sister Vanessa had long desired it as a personal vehicle. Mr. Kirk found the play "absolutely delicious," calling it "a brilliant device exposing the entrapment of humanity itself."
Opening in October 2010, the play earned the critical success that had eluded it years earlier, and found its enthusiastic and appreciative audience in the 21st century. The production was heralded as "revelatory," and the play was lauded as a "lost classic."
