Woody Harrelson will be the latest American star to tread the boards of the West End; he will star in a new production of Tennesee Williams' lyrical drama The Night of the Iguana that will open at the Lyric Theatre on November 23rd, according to Variety.
Harrelson will play the fallen Reverend T. Laurence Shannon in the show, which will be directed by Tony Award-winner Anthony Page (A Doll's House, The Goat) and produced by Bill Kenwright. Jenny Seagrove (Brief Encounter, The Constant Wife) will be featured as the artistic spinster Hannah Jelkes, with two-time Olivier Award winner Claire Higgins (Vincent in Brixton, Sweet Bird of Youth) as the lusty Maxine.Harrelson last took to West End stages in 2002, when he starred with Kyle McLachlan in On an Average Day; he previously appeared on Broadway in The Rainmaker and Biloxi Blues (as well as in The Boys Next Door off-Broadway). Well-known for his role on "Cheers," he has been seen on screen in After the Sunset, The Thin Red Line, The People vs. Larry Flynt (for which he received an Oscar nod), Natural Born Killers, Indecent Proposal, White Men Can't Jump and others.
The Night of the Iguana opened at the Royale Theatre on December 28th, 1961; it was Tony-nominated for Best Play, and also netted a Tony for Margaret Leighton. Bette Davis and Patrick O'Neal also starred in the drama, which ran for 316 performances on Broadway. A 1964 film version featured the stellar cast of Richard Burton, Ava Gardner and Deborah Kerr, while a new film version with Jeremy Irons is also in the works.
