The production, directed by Fortune's Fool's Arthur Penn, just concluded a successful Feb. 20-March 7 Boston run, which netted a profit and an encouraging review from Variety. (The first Broadway preview was recently pushed back one day to allow sufficient time for load-out in Boston, load-in in Manhattan and technical rehearsals.)
Opening at Broadway's Barrymore Theatre is April 1.
The story mirrors that of Ben Jonson's Volpone, a British classic which is seldom produced in the U.S. In it, a miserly rich man pretends to take to his deathbed with the idea of gleefully tricking out of their fortunes every vulture and opportunist who is trying to become his heir.
Dreyfuss' rival conniver in Gelbert's modern adaptation of Ben Jonson's classic comedy Volpone is Eric Stoltz, the dependable commercial and independent film presence, who will star as Simon Able, the servant of Dreyfuss' miser, Foxwell J. Sly. Dreyfuss is also cast in the choice role of a San Francisco judge in Act II, when Sly is put on trial on a morals charge. George C. Scott played both roles in the 1976 original Broadway run, as well.
Joining in the comic machinations are a variety of proven comedic talents from the worlds of stage, film and television, including Elizabeth Berkley, Bob Dishy, René Auberjonois, Bronson Pinchot, Irwin Corey, Peter Scolari, Rachel York and Nick Wyman. Completing the cast are Charles Antalosky, Linda Halaska, Jeremy Hollingworth, Robert LaVelle, Jason Ma, Jeff Talbott and Gordon Joseph Weiss.
The involvement of Dreyfuss means the Oscar-winning actor's first Broadway turn since 1992's Death and the Maiden. In recent years, Dreyfuss has returned to the stage in a big way, acting in London (Prisoner of Second Avenue), Off-Broadway (The Exonerated, Trumbo) and regionally (All My Sons at the Westport Country Playhouse last summer).
The play features set design by George Jenkins and Jesse Poleshuck, costumes by Albert Wolsky and lighting design by Phil Monat.
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Sly Fox was first produced on Broadway in 1976 and went on to run 495 performances. Penn directed that production as well. George C. Scott played the lead role of Sly, with Bob Dishy as Truckle and Jack Gilford as Crouch. Dishy won a Drama Desk Award and was nominated for a Tony.
