Wallace Shawn Joins Cast of Upcoming Ethan Hawke Hurlyburly Off-Broadway

By Ernio Hernandez
22 Oct 2004

Wallace Shawn
Wallace Shawn

Wallace Shawn joins the cast The New Group upcoming Off-Broadway revival of David Rabe's Hurlyburly starring Ethan Hawke, Bobby Cannavale, Josh Hamilton and Catherine Kellner.

New Group artistic director Scott Elliott (Aunt Dan and Lemon) will stage the work for his troupe at Theatre Row — where the company is in residence. The play will begin Jan. 10, 2005 and open Jan. 27 for a run through March 5, 2005.

Ethan Hawke (Henry IV, "Reality Bites") will star in a cast alongside fellow stage and screen stars including Bobby Cannavale (Fucking A, "Six Feet Under"), Josh Hamilton (Proof, "With Honors") and Catherine Kellner (The Long Christmas Ride Home, "200 Cigarettes").

The actor Shawn recently appeared in the New York Theatre Workshop reading of David Hare's Stuff Happens as United Nations inspector Hans Blix. He is known for his turns in the films "My Dinner With Andre," "The Princess Bride" and as the voice of Rex in the "Toy Story" movies.

Also a playwright, Shawn's Aunt Dan and Lemon was revived by The New Group last season. His other works include Marie and Bruce — his screen adaptation starring Matthew Broderick debuted at this year's Sundance Film Festival — and The Designated Mourner, given a New York production a few seasons back with Shawn and Pine in the cast. Shawn is also at work on an adaptation of Threepenny Opera for the Roundabout Theatre Company.

The design team of Hurlyburly includes Derek McLane (sets), Jeff Mahshie (costumes), Jason Lyons (lights) and Ken Travis (sound).

Rabe's Los Angeles-set drama follows the lives of four men "caught in love-hate relationships with Hollywood and women," according to a release. The play ran Off Broadway in 1984 with a cast that included William Hurt, Judith Ivey, Harvey Keitel, Cynthia Nixon, Ron Silver, Jerry Stiller and Sigourney Weaver. The work then transferred to Broadway garnering four Tony nominations (with one win for Ivey). Rabe later adapted it for the screen for the 1998 film starring Sean Penn, Kevin Spacey, Anna Paquin, Meg Ryan, Chazz Palminteri and Robin Wright Penn.

John Cullum (Urinetown, Shenandoah) currently stars in The New Group presentation of Michael Murphy's Sin (A Cardinal Deposed) which will run through Dec. 4. The company will also co-present (with The Play Company) the American premiere of Sascha Dugdale translation of Vladimir and Oleg Presnyakov's Terrorism directed by James Lapine (Into The Woods, Fran's Bed).

The New Group season will play at Theatre Row, 410 West 42 St. For more information on The New Group, visit www.thenewgroup.org.