According to RTC, "In Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing, playwright Henry (Ewan McGregor) struggles to name the songs he'd take if he were stranded on a desert island. Should he admit to his guiltiest pop pleasures, or stick to more conventional choices? Now it's your turn to decide! Submit a song to include on your Desert Island Disc by Sunday, November 2, then check by on Monday, November 3 to see if your song has advanced to the voting round."
One winner with the most votes will receive a trip to London, including roundtrip airfare for two on American Airlines and four nights accommodations at Baglioni Hotel London. The runner-up will receive an autographed merchandise package from the cast of The Real Thing.
Winners will be announced Nov. 11 through Roundabout Theatre Company's Facebook, Twitter and Instagram feeds. Official contest rules can be seen here.
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Performances began Oct. 2 at the American Airlines Theatre. McGregor (Othello at the Donmar Warehouse) stars as Henry with Gyllenhaal ("Crazy Heart") as Annie. The cast also features Josh Hamilton ("American Horror Story: Coven," "Gracepoint," Reasons to be Happy at MCC, Dead Accounts) as Max, Tony winner Cynthia Nixon (Rabbit Hole) as Charlotte, West End actor Ronan Raftery (The Comedy Of Errors at Shakespeare's Globe, The Shawshank Redemption in the West End, The Silver Tassie at the National Theatre) as Billy, Alex Breaux (a recent Juilliard graduate, seen in Much Ado About Nothing in Central Park and in The Sky and the Limit at 59E59 Theaters) as Brodie and Madeline Weinstein (recent graduate of Northwestern University) as Debbie.
Nixon is a board member of Roundabout Theatre Company and returns to their stage following her roles in Distracted and The Women. She made history when she appeared in the 1984 production of The Real Thing and simultaneously performed in Hurlyburly.
Sam Gold (Picnic, Look Back in Anger, Tigers Be Still) directs the limited engagement, which will officially open Oct. 30 for a run through Jan. 4, 2015, at the American Airlines Theatre.
The creative team includes David Zinn (set design), Kaye Voyce (costume design), Mark Barton (lighting design) and Bray Poor (sound design).
Stoppard's The Real Thing premiered Nov. 16, 1982, at The Strand Theatre in London. The Real Thing is the winner of the 1984 Tony Award for Best Play and returns to the Broadway stage having last been produced 14 years ago.
Here's how Roundabout bills the "stirring and sensual" new production of The Real Thing: "Henry is a playwright not so happily married to Charlotte, the lead actress in his play about a marriage on the verge of collapse. When Henry’s affair with their friend Annie threatens to destroy his own marriage, he discovers that life has started imitating art. After Annie leaves her husband so she and Henry can begin a new life together, he can’t help but wonder whether their love is fiction or the real thing. Delectably witty and deeply affecting, The Real Thing takes a daring glimpse at relationships, fidelity, and the passions that often blur our perception of love."
Visit RoundaboutTheatre.org.
