Complete casting, including former "Grinch" Page, was announced Aug. 5.
The full cast of the Doug Hughes-directed revival of the Robert Bolt play will include Hannah Cabell (Margaret More), Michael Esper (William Roper), Zach Grenier (Thomas Cromwell), Dakin Matthews (Cardinal Wolsey), George Morfogen (Thomas Cranmer, Archbishop), Tony Award winner Maryann Plunkett (Alice More), Michael Siberry (Duke of Norfolk), Jeremy Strong (Richard Rich), Charles Borland (Jailor), Peter Bradbury (Steward), Patricia Hodges (Woman), Triney Sandoval (Thomas Chapuys) and Emily Dorsch.
Frank Langella won his third Tony Award for his recent Broadway outing in Frost/Nixon. He also stars as Nixon in the forthcoming film version. The limited engagement of A Man for All Seasons will begin previews Sept. 12 at the American Airlines Theatre with an official opening Oct. 7. This will be a limited engagement through Dec. 7.
A Man for All Seasons is billed by Roundabout as "a timeless exploration of politics, religion and power. Robert Bolt's classic drama is based on the fascinating true story of English Chancellor Sir Thomas More and his moral objection to King Henry VIII's plan to leave the Catholic Church."
The design team will include Santo Loquasto (sets), Catherine Zuber (costumes), David Lander (lights), David Van Tieghem (original music & sound) and Tom Watson (hair and wigs). Langella made his Broadway debut in Seascape and has also appeared on Broadway in Match, Passion, Amadeus, The Father, Hurlyburly, Present Laughter and Design for Living. Most recently on Broadway in Frost/Nixon, Langella is the recipient of three Tony Awards, for Frost/Nixon, Fortune's Fool and Seascape. Also a star of feature film, his movie credits boast "Dracula," "Lolita," "The Ninth Gate," "Small Soldiers," "Dave," "Diary of a Mad Housewife" and "The Twelve Chairs."
Page's Broadway credits include How the Grinch Stole Christmas (Grinch), The Lion King (Scar), The Kentucky Cycle, Beauty and the Beast (Lumiere) and A Christmas Carol (Scrooge—standby for Roger Daltry). He has played leading roles at Long Wharf (Sergius), Oregon Shakespeare (Marc Antony, Autolycus, Brazen, and more), Pioneer Theatre Co. (Cyrano, Richard III, Henry V), Alabama Shakespeare (Richard II), Utah Shakespeare (Iago, Brutus, Armado, Jaques, Richard III, etc.), Indiana Rep (Hamlet), Missouri Rep (Mercutio), Arizona Theatre Co. (Dracula), as well as Seattle Rep, ACT, Cincinnati Rep, and many others. Page is recipient of the Princess Grace Award, The Joseph Jefferson Award and the Utah Governor's Medal for the Arts.
Director Hughes, a resident director at Roundabout Theatre Company, is a Tony Award winner for his staging of Doubt.
A Man for All Seasons played one preview and 637 regular performances at Broadway's ANTA Playhouse, Nov. 21, 1961-June 1, 1963. Paul Scofield starred as Sir Thomas More on Broadway and later on film; he had originated the role in the West End. The production won 1962 Tony Awards for Best Play, Best Actor in a Play (Scofield), Best Direction of a Play (Noel Willman) and Best Producer of a Play (Robert Whitehead and Roger L. Stevens). The feature film won six Academy Awards. This marks the first Broadway revival.
Playwright Bolt was born in Sale in Manchester on Aug. 15, 1924, the son of a shopkeeper. Early education at Manchester Grammar School was followed by a history degree at Manchester University. After serving in the Royal Air Force in World War II, Bolt qualified as a teacher and taught English in the prestigious private school Millfield between 1950 and 1958. It was here that, in his spare time, he wrote both radio and stage plays. Many of his radio plays received an airing, and he also did some producing. In 1958, encouraged by the London success of his play The Flowering Cherry, he gave up teaching to concentrate full time on his writing. In 1960 he had two plays running in London, The Tiger and the Horse and A Man for All Seasons. The eponymous role of Sir Thomas More shot actor Paul Scofield to stardom, and A Man for All Seasons proved a huge hit both in London's West End and on Broadway. Bolt won his first Oscar for the screenplay "Doctor Zhivago" in 1963. In 1966 his screen adaptation of A Man for All Seasons won him a second Oscar. In 1970 another historical play, charting the relationship between Mary Queen of Scots and Elizabeth I, Vivat! Vivat! Regina! played to full houses at the Chichester Festival and later enjoyed a long run in the West End. It transferred to Broadway two years later and was nominated for a Tony Award for Best Play. Meanwhile, Bolt wrote the screenplay for two films starring his then wife, Sarah Miles: "Ryan's Daughter" in 1970 and the historical costume drama "Lady Caroline Lamb" in 1972. Miles was both his second and fourth (last) wife; the first married in 1967, but divorced in 1976, then after a third marriage ended in divorce in 1985, Miles and Bolt remarried in 1988. In 1972 Bolt was appointed a CBE. Bolt died in 1995 at the age of 70.
Show times will be Tuesday-Saturday at 8 PM with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2 PM.
Tickets, priced $66.50-$111.50, are available by calling (212) 719-1300 or by visiting www.roundabouttheatre.org. The American Airlines Theatre is located in Manhattan at 227 West 42nd Street.
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Through ACCESS Roundabout, 100 tickets will be available for the first preview performance (Sept. 12) for only $10 each.
