Christian Slater will continue his role of Clifford, the narrator in Bway's Side Man, through February 28, according to a press spokesperson (Jan. 11). Slater had originally signed on to play the role through Jan. 21.
Side Man has gone through a number of cast changes during its varied venues, most notably when Slater joined the Broadway cast during the show's Broadway preview run on Oct. 20.
Slater replaced Robert Sella as Clifford in the piece, which tells of a man's love of jazz ruining his marriage -- and his wife's sanity. Sella left the show to fill the role of the Emcee during Alan Cumming's hiatus from his Tony winning performance. Press spokesperson, Susan Chicoine confirmed (Jan. 11) that negotiations are underway for a possible return for Sella in March after Slater's contract is up.
In other Side Man news, Edie Falco recently rejoined the cast on Jan. 8, 1999 playing the role she originated, Terry. Her bio lists Side Man as Falco's "first venture into professional theatre," though she has numerous film credits, including "Bullets Over Broadway," "Private Parts" and "Copland."
The rest of the Golden Side Man cast match the play's Roundabout Theatre Company incarnation. Featured are Kevin Geer, Michael Mastro, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Angelica Torn, and Frank Wood. Michael Mayer (View from the Bridge, and You're a Good Man, Charlie Brown) directs. On Oct. 22, Leight won Newsday's 1998 George Oppenheimer Playwriting Award for Best New American Playwright, for Side Man.
Although The Great White Way hasn't seen him for a while, Slater's no stranger to the stage, having notably appeared in Merlin with Chita Rivera and Doug Henning, and The Music Man with Dick Van Dyke. Slater, known for his Jack Nicholson-esque demeanor, rose to stardom in the late eighties after appearing in the dark cult-classic "Heathers." Other films starring Slater include: "Hard Rain," "Broken Arrow," and "Pump Up the Volume."
Side Man is produced by Weissberger Theater Group, Jay Harris, producer/Peter Manning/Ron Kastner/James Cushing/Joan Stein. The design team is Neil Patel (sets), Tom Broecker (costumes), Kenneth Posner (lights) and Ray Schilke (sound).
Leight's drama opened at Off-Broadway's CSC space (produced by the Weissberger Theater Group, Jay Harris and Peter Manning), where reviews were strong enough for Roundabout Theatre to pick up the show in place of a planned Bacharach/David revue that didn't make it past a West Coast try-out. Side Man played at the Roundabout's Stage Right mainstage through Sept. 13.
For ticket information on Side Man at the Golden, call (212) 239- 6200.
