Shining City Won't Shine on Broadway This Fall

By Robert Simonson
04 Aug 2005

Conor McPherson
Conor McPherson

Conor McPherson's Shining City, announced to have U.S. bows in San Francisco and Broadway this fall, has been postponed, the New York Times reported.

The change was chalked up to "certain critical production schedules" that "could not be resolved in time to meet the current schedule."

Shining City was to have debuted at San Francisco's Curran Theatre Sept. 13 and opened Sept. 20 for a run through Oct. 9 as part of the 2005-2006 Best of Broadway season before heading to Broadway's Schoenfeld Theatre beginning Oct. 18 and opening Nov. 10.

Original London cast member Stanley Townsend was announced to reprise his role opposite Rufus Sewell (Translations on Broadway, the upcoming "The Legend of Zorro"), Geraldine Hughes (of Off-Broadway's recent Belfast Blues) and Keith Nobbs (recently in the Atlantic Theatre Company's Romance).

The Dublin-set Shining City follows the story of a man who goes to a therapist claiming he saw the ghost of his recently deceased wife. "What begins as just an unusual encounter becomes a desperate struggle between the living and the dead — a struggle which will shape and define both men for the rest of their lives," reads show materials.

Barry & Fran Weissler, Scott Rudin/Paramount Pictures Corporation, Roger Berlind and Debra Black make up the producing team. The work had its world premiere at London's Royal Court Theatre in June of 2004 followed by a run at the Gate Theatre during the 2004 Dublin Theatre Festival.

Playwright and director McPherson is known stateside for his Broadway debut The Weir and Off-Broadway works Dublin Carol, St. Nicholas and This Lime Bower Tree. Other works include Come On Over and Port Authority.