By Kenneth Jones
24 Nov 2009

John Douglas Thompson
photo by Carol Rosegg

The Irish Repertory Theatre's acclaimed production of Eugene O'Neill's The Emperor Jones will get a seven-week Off-Broadway commercial run starting Dec. 15. John Douglas Thompson will return as the title character of the 1920 expressionistic drama.

The seven-week limited engagement will play Soho Playhouse at 15 Vandam Street. Official opening will be Dec. 22.

The Irish Repertory Theatre Co., Inc., and Darren Lee Cole Theatricals are presenting the new run, which follows on the heels of the current sold-out run at the Irish Rep. It closes at IRT on West 22nd Street on Dec 6.

Ciaran O'Reilly directs the production, which opened at Irish Rep on Oct. 18.

The Emperor Jones is the story of Brutus Jones, an African-American man who sets himself up as monarch of a Caribbean island after fleeing the United States following a prison break. The drama "is a compelling psychological portrayal of power, fear, and madness as it traces the life of the emperor as he tries to escape the island and the sins of his past," according to production notes.

Thompson is the OBIE and Lucille Lortel Award-winning actor of last season's acclaimed revival of Othello. Original cast members Michael Akil Davis, Jon Deliz, Sameerah Harris, David Heron and Sinclair Mitchell are set for the upcoming run. Additional cast is to be announced.

The commercial production includes original creative team, including set designer Charles Corcoran; costume designer Antonia Ford-Roberts; lighting designer Brian Nason; composer and sound designer Ryan Rumery and Christian Fredrickson; puppet designer Bob Flanagan; and choreographer Brian McNabb.

Thompson's Broadway credits include Cyrano De Bergerac with Kevin Kline and Jennifer Garner, and Julius Caesar, opposite Denzel Washington, plus Off-Broadway's Women Beware Women (Red Bull Theatre), Hedda Gabler (New York Theatre Workshop), Oroonoko (Theatre for a New Audience), and Classical Theater of Harlem's King Lear, for which he received an AUDLECO nomination.

Darren Lee Cole (producer/general manager) has been the executive director of the SoHo Playhouse for the past four years, where he has produced Piaf, Room Service, Jamaica Farewell, Belly of a Drunken Piano, Bukowski From Beyond and Strange and Unusual Hobbies. He has produced and managed plays for 30 years. His producing credits include Krapp, 39 by Michael Laurence; Mindgame by Anthony Horowitz (SoHo Playhouse); Killer Joe by Tracy Letts (Vaudeville Theatre, West End, London; Soho Playhouse; The Theatre, Chicago); Killing Real Estate Women by Gary Bonasorte; among many others.

For more information about Irish Repertory Theatre, visit www.irishrep.org.

Performances will play Soho Playhouse to Jan. 31, 2010. The performance schedule is Tuesdays-Saturdays at 8 PM plus 3 PM matinees on Wednesdays, Saturdays and Sundays (with Christmas and New Year's schedules to be announced). Tickets are $65 and are available by calling (212) 691-1555 or online at www.sohoplayhouse.com.