The new staging is set for a late May start at the company's Broadway house which currently serves as home to the six-times extended run of Twelve Angry Men.
Director Brokaw — who staged Craig Lucas' Reckless earlier this season — was set to direct the non-profit's revival of Peter Nichols' Passion Play, which has since been postponed at the venue due to the long run of the Reginald Rose jury-room drama.
Set in a 1920's London drawing room, The Constant Wife follows the marriage of a top surgeon and his wife. The comedy of manners delivers a twist after a seemingly secret affair between the husband and his wife's friend is revealed.
A casting notice reveals that the lead role of Constance has already been cast for the run which is slated to play through the summer. No announcement has been made about casting.
Director Brokaw staged the Manhattan Theatre Club and Second Stage co-production of Reckless on Broadway with Mary Louise Parker. He has also recently staged Afterbirth: Kathy & Mo’s Greatest Hits and reteamed with How I Learned to Drive playwright Paula Vogel on the recent Off-Broadway stagings of The Baltimore Waltz and The Long Christmas Ride Home. Other credits include This Is Our Youth, The Dying Gaul, Lobby Hero, As Bees In Honey Drown in New York and A Little Night Music (Sondheim Celebration/ Kennedy Center) and the world premier of the musical Marty starring John C. Reilly (Boston's Huntington Theatre). The busy Roundabout also postponed a planned staging of Fool For Love to be directed by Ed Harris for the fall. The company also joined the producing team for the forthcoming Broadway revival of Glengarry Glen Ross directed by its Assassins collaborator, Joe Mantello. A possible transfer of the new London staging of Sweeney Todd and a new Wallace Shawn adaptation of The Threepenny Opera are also in the works for the coming season. The troupe's 2004-2005 Broadway season has included After The Fall, Twelve Angry Men, Pacific Overtures and the upcoming A Streetcar Named Desire.
Maugham's The Constant Wife was originally presented on Broadway in 1929 with Ethel Barrymore playing the titular role under the direction of John Gielgud. The work has since been thrice revived on the Broadway boards, the most recent in 1975 starring Ingrid Bergman in the lead — also directed by Gielgud. Joanne Woodward (for the Westport County Playhouse) and Edward Hall (for London's West End) and have also staged the work in recent years.
For more information, visit www.roundabouttheatre.org.
