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Liam Brennan, Paul Chahidi & More Join Mark Rylance in TWELFTH NIGHT and RICHARD III

By: Jun. 26, 2013
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Additional casting has been announced for the critically heralded all-male Shakespeare's Globe repertory productions of Twelfth Night and Richard III on Broadway this fall. The productions, which delighted audiences and broke all box office records in London's West End earlier this year, will open Sunday, November 10 at the Belasco Theatre (111 West 44th Street), with previews beginning October 15. Twelfth Nightand Richard III, which are directed by Tim Carroll, designed by Jenny Tiramani and with music by Claire van Kampen, will play a limited engagement for 16 weeks. Tickets are on sale now through www.telecharge.com. For a schedule of performances and more information, please visit www.ShakespeareBroadway.com

Two-time Tony Award-winner Mark Rylance (Jerusalem, Boeing-Boeing) stars as the suddenly love struck noblewoman Olivia in Twelfth Nightand as the ruthless and conniving title monarch in Richard III. Twelfth Night and Richard III offer the first opportunity for Broadway audiences to see Mark Rylance performing Shakespeare, for which he has earned such accolades as "our greatest living actor" (The Independent) and "the most exciting stage actor of his generation" (The Times). From his early performances with the Royal Shakespeare Company to his 10 years as the first Artistic Director of Shakespeare's Globe (1995-2005), UK critics and audiences have celebrated Rylance for his fresh, hilarious and inventive performances in Hamlet, Romeo and Juliet, Henry V, The Tempest, Much Ado About Nothing, Two Gentlemen of Verona and As You Like It, among others.

Much loved playwright, screenwriter, actor, writer, poet, journalist, comedian, television personality and National Treasure Stephen Fry makes his Broadway acting debut as Malvolio in Twelfth Night. Tony Award-nominee and Drama Desk Award-winner Samuel Barnett (The History Boys) appears as Viola in Twelfth Night and Queen Elizabeth in Richard III.

Joining Rylance, Fry and Barnett will be many members of the acclaimed Shakespeare's Globe and West End casts, including Liam Brennan(Orsino in Twelfth Night and Clarence and Lord Mayor in Richard III), Paul Chahidi (a 2013 Olivier Award nominee for Best Actor in a Supporting Role for Maria in Twelfth Night and Hastings and Tyrell in Richard III), John Paul Connolly (Antonio in Twelfth Night and 1stMurderer, Cardinal, Ratcliff and Halberdier in Richard III), Peter Hamilton Dyer (Feste in Twelfth Night and Brakenbury and Catesby inRichard III), Colin Hurley (Sir Toby Belch in Twelfth Night and King Edward IV and Stanley in Richard III) and Jethro Skinner (Fabian inTwelfth Night and 2nd Murderer, Messenger and Halberdier in Richard III). Angus Wright joins the Broadway company, returning to the role of Sir Andrew Aguecheek which he played in Shakespeare's Globe's earlier staging of Twelfth Night and as Duke of Buckingham in Richard III. Terry McGinity, another veteran of Shakespeare's Globe's earlier staging of Twelfth Night, also joins the Broadway company as the Sea Captain and Priest in Twelfth Night and Scrivener, Rivers and Blunt in Richard III. Additional casting will be announced soon.

The producers are pleased to announce that at every performance, 250 seats will be set aside to be sold for $25. These seats will include the balcony, as well as selected seats in the orchestra, mezzanine, boxes and Globe-style on-stage seating, bookable in advance. Over 20,000 $25 tickets will be made available throughout the run.

Twelfth Night and Richard III are both presented with an extraordinary all-male company playing both male and female roles, as the plays were originally staged in Shakespeare's day. The productions are filled with music, played live by seven musicians on traditional Elizabethan instruments in a gallery above the stage, and are lit almost exclusively by the glow of 100 on-stage candles, adding to the intimate and authentic atmosphere. Entering the theatre, audiences will also witness the pre-show ritual of actors dressing and preparing their make-up on stage, adding to the unique and immersive theatrical experience.

"These productions show how laugh-out-loud funny, thrillingly theatrical and immediate Shakespeare plays can be," the producers commented. "To see Mark Rylance, who is one of the world's greatest, most accomplished and acclaimed stage actors, and the remarkable Shakespeare's Globe company in these two uniquely staged extraordinary productions is an unforgettable experience. It is important to us that the opportunity is accessible to all audiences, across the house, so we are thrilled to be able to offer 250 seats at $25 for every performance, bookable in advance, throughout the engagement."

The plays, which will mark the Broadway debut for London's world-famous Shakespeare's Globe, will be staged in repertory, with six performances of Twelfth Night and two performances of Richard III a week (post opening), with the opportunity to see the two productions in one day on Wednesdays and Saturdays.




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