THE AUDIENCE, Starring Helen Mirren, Begins Previews Tonight on Broadway

Peter Morgan's The Audience, starring Academy Award winner Helen Mirren and directed by Stephen Daldry, begins its limited engagement at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre (236 West 45th Street) tonight, February 14. The official opening night remains March 8. The production runs through June 28, 2015.

The Audience cast is Helen Mirren (Queen Elizabeth II), Dylan Baker (John Major), Geoffrey Beevers (The Queen's Equerry), Michael Elwyn (Sir Anthony Eden), Judith Ivey (Margaret Thatcher), Dakin Matthews (Winston Churchill), Richard McCabe (Harold Wilson), Rod McLachlan (Gordon Brown), Rufus Wright (David Cameron), Anthony Cochrane (Cecil Beaton / Detective / Bishop), Graydon Long (Footman / Beefeater), Jason Loughlin (Footman / Beefeater), Michael Rudko (Ensemble), Henny Russell (Queen's Secretary), Tracy Sallows (Bobo McDonald), Sadie Sink (Young Elizabeth), Elizabeth Teeter (Young Elizabeth), and Tony Ward (Ensemble).

For sixty years Elizabeth II has met each of her twelve Prime Ministers in a weekly audience at Buckingham Palace. Both parties have an unspoken agreement never to repeat what is said, not even to their spouses.

The Audience imagines a series of pivotal meetings between the Downing Street incumbents and their Queen. From Churchill to Cameron, each Prime Minister uses these private conversations as a sounding board and a confessional - sometimes intimate, sometimes explosive. In turn, the Queen can't help but reveal her own self as she advises, consoles and, on occasion, teases. These private audiences chart the arc of the second Elizabethan Age, from the beginning of Elizabeth II's reign to today. Politicians come and go through the revolving door of electoral politics, while she remains constant, waiting to welcome her next Prime Minister.

Geoffrey Beevers, Michael Elwyn, Richard McCabe, and Rufus Wright are appearing with the support of Actors' Equity Association. The Producers gratefully acknowledge Actors' Equity Association for its assistance of this production.

Helen Mirren received the Olivier Award for Best Actress in a Play for her role as Queen Elizabeth II in The Audience, reprising her Academy Award winning role from the film The Queen, also written by Peter Morgan. The recipient of two Golden Globe, three BAFTA, three Screen Actors Guild and four Emmy Awards, Ms. Mirren has been seen previously on Broadway in A Month in the Country (1995) and Dance of Death (2001).

The production is designed by six-time Tony Award winner Bob Crowley with lighting by two-time Tony Award winner Rick Fisher, sound by Tony Award winner Paul Arditti, and music by Paul Englishby.

The Audience is produced by Matthew Byam Shaw for Playful Productions, Robert Fox and Andy Harries.