The critically acclaimed Royal Court Theatre production of Anton Chekhov's THE SEAGULL is now on sale exclusively to American Express cardholders. Now through July 25, AMEX cardholders can order tickets to the production which broke all box office records in the 50 year history of the Royal Court Theatre, by ordering online at americanexpress.com/entertainment or telecharge.com, or by phone at Telecharge at 212-239-6200. THE SEAGULL will go on sale to the general public on July 26.
THE SEAGULL, featuring a new version by
Christopher Hampton and directed by Ian Rickson, opens Wednesday, October 1 at the Walter Kerr Theatre (219 West 48th Street). Previews will begin Tuesday, September 16. The production will play a strictly limited engagement of 14 weeks through December 21.
Kristin Scott Thomas will make her Broadway debut, reprising her performance as Arkadina, for which she received the 2007 Olivier Award for Best Actress. The production also stars
Peter Sarsgaard as Trigorin and members of the praised original Royal Court Theatre cast, including Mackenzie Crook as Konstantin,
Art Malik as Dorn, Carey Mulligan as Nina, Pearce Quigley as Medvedenko, Peter Wight as Sorin, Christopher Patrick Nolan as Yakov and Mary Rose as the Maid. The production will also feature
Zoe Kazan as Masha, with other casting to be confirmed.
Anton Chekhov's THE SEAGULL, written in 1895 and the first of the playwright's masterworks, concerns the romantic entanglements and regrets of a group of actors, writers and artists gathered on a Russian estate. One of the theatre's great plays about writing, THE SEAGULL conveys the struggle for new forms and the frustrations and fulfillment of putting words on a page.
Kristin Scott Thomas received an Academy Award nomination for her performance in The English Patient, and has also been seen in memorable roles in such films as Four Weddings and a Funeral, Gosford Park, Random Hearts, Life as a House, The Horse Whisperer and Angels and Insects, among many others. Recent films include The Other Boleyn Girl, The Walker and the upcoming I've Loved You So Long, Easy Virtue and Confessions of a Shopaholic.
Peter Sarsgaard will make his Broadway debut as Trigorin. An award-winning stage and film actor, Sarsgaard made his screen debut in Dead Man Walking, going on to acclaimed roles in Kinsey, Shattered Glass (National Society of Film Critics Award), Garden State and Boys Don't Cry among others. He trained at Actor's Studio and appeared Off-Broadway in Signature Theatre's productions of Burn This and Laura Dennis and Drama Dept.'s Kingdom of Earth. His recent films include Rendition, The Dying Gaul, Jarhead, The Skeleton Key, Flightplan, Year of the Dog and the upcoming In the Electric Mist, Orphan, Elegy, An Education and The Mysteries of Pittsburgh.
Mackenzie Crook, who will repeat his Royal Court Theatre role of Konstantin, shot to fame with his iconic performance as Gareth Keenan in the original UK version of "The Office." His film performances include the comic role of Ragetti in the blockbuster Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, as well as The Merchant of Venice with
Al Pacino, The Brothers Grimm and Finding Neverland. He will be seen in the upcoming films, Abraham's Point, Solomon Kane, City of Ember and the TV series, "Little Dorrit".
Zoe Kazan, who joins the cast as Masha, made her Broadway debut last season in Come Back, Little Sheba, and appeared Off-Broadway in Things We Want, Prime of Miss Jean Brodie and 100 Saints You Should Know. Her film credits include The Savages, Fracture, In The Valley of Elah and August and the upcoming Revolutionary Road, Me and
Orson Welles and The Private Lives of Pippa Lee.
Art Malik, who will reprise his Royal Court Theatre role of Dorn, has appeared in the West End in Art, Indian Ink, on tour in Heroes, with the RSC in Othello, The Government Inspector and Romeo and Juliet for the Old Vic, and The Comedians at Leicester, among his many other theatre credits. His numerous film appearances include roles in City of Joy, True Lies, The Living Daylights and A Passage to India. Selected TV includes "The Jewel in the Crown," "The Far Pavilions," "Colour Blind," "Messiah," "Messiah 2," and "Holby City".
Carey Mulligan, who will return to the role of Nina, which she played at the Royal Court Theatre, starred in the film version of Pride and Prejudice, opposite
Keira Knightley and
Judi Dench, and the BBC adaptation of "Bleak House," as well as "Dr. Who," "Waking the Dead" and "The Amazing Mrs. Pritchard". She can be seen in the current film, When Did You Last See Your Father? and the upcoming An Education, Brothers and Public Enemies.
Director Ian Rickson originally staged THE SEAGULL as his farewell to the Royal Court Theatre, when he ended his seven-year tenure as the distinguished theatre's Artistic Director. The limited run became a sold out smash hit and the biggest selling production in the Royal Court's 50 year history.
Ben Brantley, The New York Times, wrote, "The marvel of Ian Rickson's rapturous interpretation of THE SEAGULL, which quickly became a must-have and largely unhaveable ticket, is how seamlessly it captures the vital paradox that so often escapes productions of this masterwork: the bursting theatrical fullness to be found in its unfulfilled lives.
Kristin Scott Thomas is in expert form. Productions like Mr. Rickson's The Seagull are such rarities that it hardly seems fair to measure others against them."
John Lahr, The New Yorker, pronounced it "the finest British production of Chekhov in recent memory with a pitch-perfect cast, elegant staging and the clarity and cunning of
Christopher Hampton's adaptation."
David Benedict, Variety, praised THE SEAGULL as "a bold, supremely truthful production. Chekhov's plays live on a knife edge routinely described as 'tragic-comic.' Most productions, however, topple over into either doomy tragedy or overly fierce comedy. The exhilaration of Rickson's balancing act is evident from the very opening."
THE SEAGULL is designed by Hildegard Bechtler, with lighting by Peter Mumford, sound by Ian Dickinson and music by Stephen Warbeck.
Kristin Scott Thomas, Mackenzie Crook,
Art Malik, Carey Mulligan, Christopher Patrick Nolan, Pearce Quigley, Mary Rose and Peter Wight are appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association. The producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance to this production.
Performances are Tuesday through Saturday at 8:00 PM, with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2:00 PM and Sunday at 3:00 PM. On Sunday, September 28 and October 5, performances are at 2:00 PM and 8:00 PM.
THE SEAGULL will be produced on Broadway by
Sonia Friedman Productions,
Bob Boyett, Robert G. Bartner,
Dede Harris, Fox Theatricals,
Dena Hammerstein, Sharon Karmazin, Olympus Theatricals, Spring Sirkin,
Tara Smith, Mort Swinsky, Karl Sydow, The Weinstein Company, Falkenstein/deRoy and Jay &
Cindy Gutterman.
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