Metcalf Will Join Lane in Mamet's November at the Barrymore
By Andrew Gans
08 Aug 2007
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Laurie Metcalf on ABC's "Desperate Housewives."
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| photo by Danny Feld/ABC | Laurie Metcalf, the Steppenwolf ensemble member best known for her role as Jackie on TV's "Roseanne," will join Nathan Lane in the upcoming Broadway bow of David Mamet's November.
Metcalf, according to a press statement, will play Clarice Bernstein, an aide to Lane's President Charles Smith. Previews will begin Dec. 20 at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre with an official opening Jan. 17, 2008. Joe Mantello directs.
Three roles have yet to be cast.
The comedy, according to a previous New York Times story, concerns President Smith "and is set a few days before the election, in which he is running as an incumbent. The action unfolds over one day and involves, according to a synopsis provided by the producers, 'civil marriage, gambling casinos, lesbians, American Indians, presidential libraries, questionable pardons and campaign contributions.'"
Mamet previously described the play to the Times as "three men in a room trying to work things out." The award-winning playwright says his inspiration for the play was the absurdity of the turkeys that are pardoned each Thanksgiving by the President.
November will be produced by Jeffrey Richards and Jerry Frankel and will feature set design by Scott Pask, costume design by Laura Bauer and lighting design by Paul Gallo.
Laurie Metcalf made her Broadway debut in My Thing of Love. For her work in Off-Broadway's Balm in Gilead, the actress received a Theatre World Award and a Drama Desk Award (Outstanding Ensemble Acting). Metcalf won three Emmy Awards for her portrayal of Jackie on TV's "Roseanne" and was also Emmy-nominated for her appearances on "Desperate Housewives," "Monk" and "3rd Rock from the Sun."
In addition to his Tony-winning roles in The Producers and A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum, Nathan Lane has starred on The Great White Way in Butley, Present Laughter, Merlin, The Wind in the Willows, Some Americans Abroad, On Borrowed Time, Guys and Dolls, Laughter on the 23rd Floor, Love! Valour! Compassion! and The Man Who Came to Dinner. The actor has also been featured in such films as "Addams Family Values," "Mousehunt," "Love's Labour's Lost" and "The Birdcage," scoring a Golden Globe nomination for his work in the latter. He was also seen in the film adaptation of "Nicholas Nickleby."
A founder of the Atlantic Theater Company, David Mamet's principal works include The Duck Variations, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, American Buffalo, Glengarry Glen Ross (Pulitzer Prize), Boston Marriage, Edmond, Oleanna, Speed-the-Plow and The Cryptogram (Obie Award). He recently adapted The Voysey Inheritance for the Atlantic.
Mamet has also written and directed such films as "Spartan," "State and Main," "The Winslow Boy," "Heist," "House of Games" and "The Spanish Prisoner" and was nominated for Oscars for writing "Wag the Dog" and "The Verdict." He has also adapted many of his plays into films, and is a writer and executive producer for the TV series "The Unit."
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