Roundabout's THE REAL THING, Starring Ewan McGregor & Maggie Gyllenhaal, Begins Previews Tonight

Roundabout Theatre Company present sTom Stoppard's Tony Award-winning play, The Real Thing, starring Ewan McGregor as "Henry" and Maggie Gyllenhaal as "Annie" in their Broadway debuts; Cynthia Nixon as "Charlotte" and Josh Hamilton as "Max." Sam Gold directs the cast of seven, which also includes Alex Breaux as "Brodie," Ronan Raftery as "Billy" and Madeline Weinstein as "Debbie." The Real Thing begins preview performances tonight, October 2, 2014 and opens officially on Thursday, October 30, 2014 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). This is a limited engagement.

The Real Thing returns to Broadway in a stirring and sensual new production. This Tony Award-winning play by Tom Stoppard (The Coast of Utopia, Arcadia) first seduced audiences in London and New York nearly 30 years ago. Henry (McGregor) is a playwright not so happily married to Charlotte (Nixon), the lead actress in his play about a marriage on the verge of collapse. When Henry's affair with their friend Annie (Gyllenhaal) threatens to destroy his own marriage, he discovers that life has started imitating art. After Annie leaves her husband (Hamilton) so she and Henry can begin a new life together, he can't help but wonder whether their love is fiction or The Real Thing. Delectably witty and deeply affecting, The Real Thing takes a daring glimpse at relationships, fidelity, and the passions that often blur our perception of love.

Tom Stoppard's relationship with Roundabout Theatre Company includes Broadway productions of The Real Inspector Hound and The Fifteen Minute Hamlet. This fall Roundabout also presents the New York debut of Mr. Stoppard's romantic drama Indian Ink at the Laura Pels Theatre at the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre.

Mr. Stoppard's The Real Thing premiered on November 16, 1982 at The Strand Theatre in London. The Real Thing is the winner of the 1984 Tony Award for Best Play and returns to the Broadway stage having last been produced 14 years ago.

Sam Gold is a Resident Director at Roundabout Theatre Company where his recent work includes Picnic (2013), Look Back in Anger (2012) and Tigers Be Still (2010).

The creative team includes David Zinn (Set Design), Kaye Voyce (Costume Design), Mark Barton (Lighting Design) and Bray Poor (Sound Design).

Photo Credit: Richard Phibbs