The London production of David Hare's newly adapted The Blue Room , starring Hollywood film star Nicole Kidman and Iain Glen, officially opens Dec. 13. The limited engagement of 111 performances began performances at the Cort Theatre Nov. 27.
The play, Kidman's Broadway debut, has become the hottest ticket of the season, garnering enough buzz to land the actress on the cover of Newsweek. Much of the attention is rooted in Kidman's much-discussed on-stage nudity, thought the sequence lasts only 20 seconds.
The Blue Room is David Hare's modern take on Arthur Schnitzler's classic romantic text "Reigen," which later became La Ronde after the film version. First performed in 1912, the play caused a scandal with its bitter and comic assessment of love, depicted in a series of sexual liaisons. In the two-hander, Kidman and co-star Glen both play five different characters.
Hare's other plays include The Secret Rapture, Amy's View, Skylight, Racing Demon and The Judas Kiss.
The London staging premiered Sept. 22. Kidman has been praised by London critics for both her sexual wattage as well as her stage performance. One scribe's dubbing of the evening as "pure theatrical Viagra" has become almost as talked about as the show itself. The star, who commands millions of dollars for her film appearances, is receiving the Equity standard of £250 per week for her run at the Donmar. She decided to make her West End debut as she and husband Tom Cruise have been residing in London for the past two years while filming for Stanley Kubrick's "Eyes Wide Shut."
The Blue Room is directed by Sam Mendes, artistic director of the Donmar Warehouse, with design by Mark Thompson, lighting by Hugh Vanstone and music by Paddy Cuneen.
The transfer is produced by the Shuberts, Scott Rudin, Robert Fox, Roger Belind and ABC, Inc. Tickets are currently on sale through Telecharge at (212) 239-6200.
Two other Hare plays are expected on Broadway this season: Amy's View, with Judi Dench, and Via Dolorosa, starring Hare himself. Should both plays open before August 1999, that would give Hare four shows on Broadway within a twelve-month period (thanks to last season's The Judas Kiss).
