Ambrose and Martin join the previously announced Geoffrey Rush, who won an Academy Award for his performance in Shine, and fellow Oscar winner Susan Sarandon. Additional casting will be announced shortly.
Performances will begin March 7 at the Barrymore Theatre with an official opening March 26; the limited engagement will run through June 14.
Australian director Neil Armfield will helm the production. Armfield also directed Exit the King, which features a translation by the director and actor Rush, last year at the Belvoir St. Theatre in Sydney. That production also cast Oscar winner Rush in the title role.
Exit the King, according to press notes, "is a hilarious and poignant comedy about a megalomaniacal ruler, King Berenger (Rush) whose incompetence has left his country in near ruin. Despite the efforts of Queen Marguerite (Sarandon) and the other members of the court to convince the King he has only 90 minutes left to live, he refuses to relinquish any control."
The design team includes includes Dale Ferguson (set and costume), Damien Cooper (lighting) and Russell Goldsmith (sound). John Rodgers is the composer. Lauren Ambrose made her Broadway debut in the Lincoln Center Theater revival of Awake and Sing! and was also seen in the Shakespeare in the Park mounting of Hamlet. In London she co-starred in the National Theatre's production of Sam Shepard's Buried Child, directed by Matthew Warchus. The actress is perhaps best known for her work as angst-ridden teenager Claire in the acclaimed HBO series "Six Feet Under."
Andrea Martin received Tony, Drama Desk and Theatre World Awards for her performance in My Favorite Year. Her other Broadway credits include Young Frankenstein, Fiddler on the Roof, Oklahoma! and Candide. Off-Broadway she has been seen in The Exonerated, The Vagina Monologues, The Merry Wives of Windsor and her one-woman show Nude Nude Totally Nude. Martin's numerous screen credits include "New York Minute," "My Big Fat Greek Wedding" (SAG Award nomination), "Hedwig and the Angry Inch," "All Over the Guy," "Wag the Dog," "Stepping Out," "Sesame Street" (special Emmy Award) and "SCTV" (two Emmy Awards).
Exit the King will be produced on Broadway by Stuart Thompson, Robert Fox, Howard Panter, Tulchin/Bartner, Scott Rudin and The Shubert Organization.
