Film star Christian Slater will join the cast of Side Man for its Oct. 20 re-opening at Broadway's John Golden Theatre. Spokesman Gary Springer said (Sept. 24) the "True Romance" star will stay with the show at least through Jan. 20, 1999.
Slater will replace Robert Sella as Clifford, the narrator of the piece, which tells of a man's love of music ruining his marriage. Sella is currently treading the boards in Cabaret , replacing Tony-winner Alan Cumming as the Emcee while Cumming is on-leave to appear in Julie Taymor's film adaptation of Titus Andronicus. The rest of the Golden Side Man cast will match the play's Roundabout Theatre Company incarnation. Featured are Kevin Geer, Michael Mastro, Joseph Lyle Taylor, Angelica Torn, Wendy Makkena and Frank Wood.
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. Slater, known for his Jack Nicholson-esque demeanor, rose to stardom in the late eighties after appearing in the cult-classic "Heathers." Other films starring Slater include: "Hard Rain," "Broken Arrow," "True Romance , and "Pump Up the Volume."
Side Man is produced by Weissberger Theater Group, Peter Manning, Ron Kastner and James Cushing. The design team is Neil Patel (sets), Tom Broecker (costumes), Kenneth Posner (lights) and Ray Schilke (sound).
Warren Leight's drama opened at Off-Broadway's CSC space 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's reopening at the Golden, call (212) 239-6200.
