By Andrew Gans
23 Nov 2008

John Cullum

Two Broadway veterans, John Cullum and Tony Roberts, will head the cast of the Keen Company's upcoming production of Gerald Sibleyras' Heroes.

Directed by Keen artistic director Carl Forsman, the comedy will begin performances at Off-Broadway's Clurman Theatre Feb. 24, 2009 and continue through April 11, 2009.

In a statement Forsman said, "I am thrilled to be working with John Cullum for the third time, and Tony Roberts brings an extraordinary wealth of talent and experience to Keen Company. Not many groups make the jump from performing Off-Off-Broadway in little spaces in the East Village to working with actors of this caliber and writers like Tom Stoppard. It's a thrilling moment in our development as part of the Off-Broadway not-for-profit movement."

Tony and Academy Award-winning playwright Tom Stoppard translated Heroes, which is described by the company as such: "An evocative comedy about three World War I veterans living in a veterans' home who plot a new assault — a trip to a stand of trees in the distance. But should they bring the stone dog with them? And does the stone dog move sometimes?" Sibleyras says the play, a 2006 Olivier Award winner for Best Comedy, is "about the universal desire to escape the confines of life."

John Cullum earned Tony Awards for his work in On the Twentieth Century and Shenandoah. His extensive stage career also includes August: Osage County, On a Clear Day You Can See Forever, Urinetown, Man of La Mancha, Aspects of Love, 110 in the Shade and the recent Lincoln Center mounting of Cymbeline. Cullum is well known for his Emmy-nominated work on television's "Northern Exposure."

Tony Roberts received Tony Award nominations for his performances in Play It Again Sam and How Now, Dow Jones. His other theatrical credits include Xanadu, Victor/Victoria, Barefoot in the Park, Don't Drink the Water, Sugar, Absurd Person Singular, Arsenic and Old Lace, They're Playing Our Song, Jerome Robbins' Broadway and The Sisters Rosensweig. He won the London's Critics Poll Award for his performance in the West End mounting of Promises, Promises, and his many screen credits include "Annie Hall," "Play It Again, Sam" and "Serpico."

Keen Company performances take place at the Clurman Theater, located at 410 West 42nd Street in Manhattan. Tickets are available by calling (212) 279-4200 or by visiting www.ticketcentral.com.

For further information visit KeenCompany.org.