Actor Jim True and director Douglas Hughes have joined forces for a Steppenwolf Theatre Company staging of John Synge's 1907 Irish classic The Playboy of the Western World. True will play the title role, a young man who gains fleeting fame when he reveals his belief that he has slain his father. No other cast members have which been selected. True has previously enjoyed noted success in another Irish play, Brian Friel's Philadelphia, Here I Come!, which was produced at New York's Roundabout Theatre Company in 1994. True was most recently seen on Broadway as Vince in Steppenwolf's lauded 1996 revival of Sam Shepard's Buried Child. True is a member of the Steppenwolf ensemble.
The production will begin previews at Steppenwolf on July 3 and open on July 12 for a run through Aug. 23. The play will then travel in the fall to open the 1998-99 season at the Long Wharf Theatre, where Hughes is artistic director. No specific dates have been announced for the Long Wharf engagement.
