The Steppenwolf Theatre Company production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, already seen in the theatre's hometown of Chicago, as well as in London, will nest in Broadway's Royale Theatre for 99 performances only, the producers have announced. The limited run will begin March 16 and open April 8.
Cuckoo - a stage version of Ken Kesey's novel, which was made into the famous 1975 film starring Jack Nicholson - bowed in London on July 27, for a run through Aug. 5, at the Barbican as part of the BITE:00 Festival there. The Broadway cast will match that of the London and Chicago mountings, with Gary Sinise playing McMurphy (the Nicholson role) and Amy Morton playing Nurse Ratched. Also repeating their roles will be Rick Snyder, K. Todd Freeman (The Song of Jacob Zulu) and Mariann Mayberry, all Steppenwolf ensemble members.
Rounding out the large cast are returning performers Ross Lehman, Tim Sampson, Eric Johner, Sarah Charipar, Stephanie Childers, Misha Kuznetsov, Danton Stone, Jeanine Morick, Bill Noble, Ron O.J. Parson, Christine Stolte, John Watson, Sr. and Afram Bill Williams. Terry Kinney directs.
The design team includes Robert Brill (sets), Laura Bauer (costumes), Kevin Rigdon (lights) and Rob Milburn (sound).
Kinney, a founder of the Chicago theatre along with Sinise and Jeff Perry, has previously directed A Streetcar Named Desire, A Clockwork Orange and ...And a Nightingale Sang. As an actor, he has starred in The Grapes of Wrath (with Sinise) and Buried Child (directed by Sinise), both on Broadway. Morton was seen on the New York stage recently in Tina Landau's Space at the Public Theater. At Steppenwolf, her credits include Three Days of Rain and The Berlin Circle, and, as director, Mizlansky/Zilinsky.
The last show Steppenwolf brought to Broadway was Sam Shepard's Buried Child, starring Lois Smith and James Gammon. Other noteworthy Steppenwolf-New York transfers include True West, Balm in Gilead, The Grapes of Wrath and The Song of Jacob Zulu.
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One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest, the play, was written by Dale Wasserman. Sinise starred as McMurphy in the mental hospital drama, and Morton was Nurse Ratched. (Both are members of the theatre, Sinise a founder). Terry Kinney directed. The show — which was aimed at London and possibly New York from the very start — began previews at Steppenwolf April 6, 2000, and officially opened April 16. Thereafter, it extended several times, finally concluding in late June.
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The original 1963 Broadway production of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest starred Kirk Douglas, Gene Wilder, Dale Harding and Joan Tetzel. It ran only 82 performances, 17 shy of the current revival's projected stay.
