By Kenneth Jones
15 May 2003

A national tour of The Play What I Wrote, the antic Broadway comedy now starring British character actors Sean Foley, Hamish McColl and Toby Jones, will embark on a national tour in fall 2004, the producers announced May 15.

The sketch-comedy-driven show has been nominated for a 2003 Tony Award in the category of Special Theatrical Event. No casting has been confirmed for the road, though Kenneth Branagh will direct, as he did for Broadway and London, where the show was a sensation due partly to the fact that it pays tribute to the British comedy team of Morecambe and Wise — who are virtually unknown in the U.S. A rotating roster of guest stars in London and on Broadway have kept audiences buzzing, too.

In London's West End, The Play What I Wrote won the Olivier Award for Best Comedy. It's written by Hamish McColl, Sean Foley and Eddie Braben.

The producers are David Pugh, Joan Cullman, Mike Nichols, Hamilton South, Charles Whitehead and Stuart Thompson.

In related news, character actor Toby Jones (who won the Olivier Award in London for the role of Arthur in the three actor show) told Playbill On-Line he'll return to the Broadway company at the Lyceum Theatre May 15 after a receiving a week of physiotherapy on an injured hip. The ailment was not a work-related injury, he said. His standby, Jay Russell, has played the role since May 8. Among roles the caffeinated Jones assumes in the show are Shubert Organization chairman Gerald Schoenfeld and producer Mike Nichols, renamed "Mike Tickles." Jones might be best known as the voice of Dobby the House Elf in the second "Harry Potter" movie.

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The Play What I Wrote "is about a comedy double act, one of whom no longer wants to be in the act and instead wants to see the play that he has written, A Tight Squeeze for the Scarlet Pimple, properly mounted on Broadway," according to production notes. "However, he needs a celebrity to make a guest appearance in the play. Thus far on Broadway, the mystery guest stars have included Liam Neeson, Nathan Lane, Roger Moore, Alan Alda, Roger Moore, Eric McCormack, Glenn Close, John Lithgow and Jeff Goldblum. During the show's London engagement, the guest stars included Sting, Ralph Fiennes, Ewan McGregor, Kenneth Branagh, Minnie Driver and Daniel Radcliffe."

Tour dates and cities will be announced.