“Angels in America”
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Press Contact: For National Theatre: Susie Newbery [email protected] For Broadway: Rick Miramontez / Molly Barnett / Chelsea Nachman / Ryan Ratelle [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected] / [email protected] 212 695 7400 FOR RELEASE ON THURSDAY, SEPTEMBER 7, 2017 THE GREAT WORK RETURNS NATHAN LANE & ANDREW GARFIELD STAR IN THE NATIONAL THEATRE PRODUCTION OF TONY KUSHNER’S LANDMARK PLAY “ ANGELS IN AMERICA ” ON BROADWAY FEATURING SUSAN BROWN, DENISE GOUGH, AMANDA LAWRENCE, JAMES McARDLE, & NATHAN STEWART-JARRETT DIRECTED BY MARIANNE ELLIOTT PERFORMANCES BEGIN ON FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 23, 2018 AT THE NEIL SIMON THEATRE OPENING NIGHT SET FOR WEDNESDAY, MARCH 21 STRICTLY LIMITED 18-WEEK ENGAGEMENT New York, NY – Producers Tim Levy (Director, NT America) and Jordan Roth (President, Jujamcyn Theaters) announced today that the National Theatre Production of Tony Kushner’s epic and seminal masterwork, Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes, will return to Broadway for the first time since its now-legendary original production opened in 1993. This spectacular new staging of Part One of Angels in America, Millennium Approaches, and of Part Two, Perestroika, had its world premiere earlier this year in a sold-out run at the National Theatre, where it became the fastest selling show in the organization’s history. This strictly limited, 18-week engagement will begin performances at The Neil Simon Theatre on Friday, February 23, 2018, with an official opening on Wednesday, March 21. Starring two-time Tony Award® winner Nathan Lane and Academy Award® and Tony Award nominee Andrew Garfield, the cast of Angels in America will feature fellow original National Theatre cast members Susan Brown, Denise Gough, Amanda Lawrence, James McArdle, and Nathan Stewart-Jarrett. (Additional casting will be announced shortly.) Two-time Tony Award winner Marianne Elliott (War Horse, The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time) directs. Elliott & Harper, the new 213 West 35th Street Suite 403 New York NY 10001 t 212 695 7400 omdkc.com production company set up by Marianne Elliott and Chris Harper, joins as a producer on the show. In a joint statement, Rufus Norris, Director of the National Theatre, Mr. Levy, and Mr. Roth said, “With Angels in America, Tony Kushner created one of the most indelible literary works of our age. It has been twenty-five years since its original Broadway production, and it is now time for an entirely new generation to be mesmerized, stirred, and astonished by its humor, poetry, and power at a time that feels more relevant than ever. “We are delighted that American audiences will have the chance to experience the astonishing performances of our original cast members and the singular dynamism of Marianne’s production. “Producing the original UK and Broadway productions of Angels in America in London and in New York remain defining achievements in the history of the National Theatre and Jujamcyn Theaters. We couldn’t be happier that our two organizations will be working together to bring this new National Theatre production of Tony’s masterwork back to Broadway.” A quarter-century after stunning the theater world, one of the greatest theatrical journeys of our time returns to Broadway in an acclaimed new production from the National Theatre. As politically incendiary as any play in the American canon, Angels in America also manages to be, at turns, hilariously irreverent and heartbreakingly humane. It is also astonishingly relevant, speaking every bit as urgently to our anxious times as it did when it first premiered. Tackling Reaganism, McCarthyism, immigration, religion, climate change, and AIDS against the backdrop of New York City in the mid- 1980’s, no contemporary drama has succeeded so indisputably with so ambitious a scope. When it first premiered, Angels in America won the Pulitzer Prize for Drama, seven Tony Awards, the New York Drama Critics Circle Award, and the Evening Standard Award for Best New Play. HBO’s 2003 screen adaptation won both the Emmy® and the Golden Globe® Awards for Best Miniseries. The design team includes Tony Award winner Ian MacNeil (Scenic Design), Tony Award nominee Nicky Gillibrand (Costume Design), Tony Award winner Paule Constable (Lighting Design), Drama Desk Award winner Adrian Sutton (Music), Tony Award nominee Ian Dickinson (Sound Design), Nick Barnes and Finn Caldwell (Puppetry Designers), Finn Caldwell (Puppetry Director and Movement), Robby Graham (Movement), and Chris Fisher (Illusions). Tickets may be purchased at the Neil Simon Theatre box office (250 West 52nd Street) or online at www.angelsbroadway.com. To download photos, please click here: http://tinyurl.com/y7czqben C R I T I C A L P R A I S E "The production confirms its place in the pantheon of dramas that stretch toward the heavens. In the case of ‘Angels in America: A Gay Fantasia on National Themes,’ the sky is not the limit, and no work of theater since has quite matched its reach." -Ben Brantley, The New York Times ★★★★★ Sunday Times ★★★★★ Evening Standard ★★★★★ Daily Telegraph ★★★★★ What’s On Stage BIOGRAPHIES Tony Kushner’s (Playwright) plays include A Bright Room Called Day; Angels in America, Parts One and Two; Slavs!; Homebody/Kabul; the musical Caroline, or Change and the opera A Blizzard on Marblehead Neck, both with composer Jeanine Tesori; and The Intelligent Homosexual's Guide to Capitalism and Socialism with a Key to the Scriptures. He has adapted and translated Pierre Corneille's The Illusion, S.Y. Ansky's The Dybbuk, Bertolt Brecht's The Good Person of Szechwan and Mother Courage and Her Children; and the English-language libretto for the opera Brundibár by Hans Krasa. He wrote the screenplays for Mike Nichols' film of Angels in America, and for Steven Spielberg's Munich and Lincoln. His books include Brundibar, with illustrations by Maurice Sendak; The Art of Maurice Sendak; 1980 to the Present; and Wrestling with Zion: Progressive Jewish-American Responses to the Palestinian/Israeli Conflict, co-edited with Alisa Solomon. Kushner is the recipient of a Pulitzer Prize, two Tony Awards, three Obie Awards, two Evening Standard Awards, an Olivier Award, an Emmy Award, two Oscar nominations, and the Steinberg Distinguished Playwright Award, among other honors. In 2012, he was awarded a National Medal of Arts by President Barack Obama. He lives in Manhattan with his husband, Mark Harris. Marianne Elliott (Director) is Artistic Director of Elliott & Harper Productions. She is the first woman in Broadway history to win 2 Tony Awards for Best Direction of a Play. Marianne was an Associate Director at the National Theatre for 10 years. Her work for the NT includes the multi-award winning War Horse and The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time. War Horse, co-directed with Tom Morris, transferred to the West End and Broadway, and has toured the UK and Ireland, two tours of North America, plus runs in Canada, Toronto, Berlin and China. War Horse’s awards include the Tony Award for Best Direction of a Play. Marianne’s production of The Curious Incident of the Dog in the Night-Time transferred from the NT to the West End and Broadway, as well as tours of the UK & Ireland and North America; winning Marianne an Olivier and Tony Award for Best Director and the South Bank Show Arts Award. At the National Theatre, Marianne also directed Husbands & Sons (a co-production with the Royal Exchange Theatre), Rules for Living, The Light Princess Port, Season’s Greetings, Women Beware Women, All’s Well That Ends Well, Mrs. Affleck, Harper Regan, Saint Joan (Olivier Award for Best Revival, South Bank Show Award), Thérèse Raquin, and Pillars of the Community (Evening Standard Best Director Award) for the NT. She was an Associate Director at the Royal Court, where her productions include Stoning Mary, Notes on Falling Leaves, The Sugar Syndrome and Local. Previously she was an Artistic Director of the Royal Exchange Theatre where she directed Port, Design for Living, Les Blancs, As You Like It, A Woman of No Importance, Nude with Violin, Fast Food, Martin Yesterday, Deep Blue Sea, Mad for It, Poor Superman and I Have Been Here Before. Other theatre includes Sweet Bird of Youth at the Old Vic; Much Ado About Nothing for the RSC and The Little Foxes at the Donmar. Nathan Lane appeared last season in the hit Broadway revival of The Front Page, for which he received Tony, Drama Desk, and Outer Critics Circle Award nominations. Prior to that, he appeared in It’s Only a Play on Broadway and at BAM as Hickey in the critically acclaimed revival of The Iceman Cometh. Broadway: Present Laughter, Merlin, Wind in The Willows, Some Americans Abroad, On Borrowed Time, Guys and Dolls, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Love! Valour! Compassion!, A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, The Man Who Came to Dinner, The Producers, The Frogs, The Odd Couple, Butley, November, Waiting for Godot, The Addams Family, and The Nance. Theater awards include two Tonys, five Drama Desk Awards, five Outer Critics Circle Awards, two Obies, and an Olivier. In 2008 he was inducted into the American Theater Hall of Fame. On television, he was last seen as F. Lee Bailey on FX’s “The People Vs. O.J. Simpson”. He has had recurring roles on “Modern Family” and “The Good Wife” as well as many guest appearances. He has received six Primetime Emmy nominations, two Daytime Emmy Awards and the People’s Choice Award. He has appeared in many films including Ironweed, The Birdcage (Golden Globe nomination, SAG and American Comedy Awards), Frankie and Johnny, The Lion King, Mousehunt, Stuart Little, Nicholas Nickleby, The Producers (Golden Globe nomination), Carrie Pilby, and Sidney Hall.