As previously announced on PBOL, 2002 Tony Award nominee Mercedes Ruehl and filmdom's Bill Pullman will exit The Goat or Who Is Sylvia? in Sept. Production sources indicate their last performance in the show will be Sept. 8. Before that date, however, both actors will vacation from their respective roles. Ruehl will be absent from her Tony-nominated role Aug. 10, 11, 20 and 21, while Pullman will miss out on the Aug. 6 performance and the weekend of Aug. 16-18.
Two new actors are being sought to continue the run at the John Golden Theatre, according to the show's press representative, but no names have yet been mentioned. For now, tickets are only on sale through Sept. 8. There has been a question in the theatrical community whether or not The Goat would remain open without its stars, who received many accolades for their on-stage relationship. Ruehl plays the headstrong, passionate wife of Pullman, an architect who reveals that he's having an affair — with a goat named Sylvia.
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The Goat and its much-lauded playwright Edward Albee won the 2002 Tony Award for Best Play. Best known for his landmark Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, Albee recently enjoyed a well-received revival of his Tiny Alice at Off-Broadway's Second Stage. The remounting of the drama — which was reviled in its 1963 premiere — was embraced by many critics and, as a result, extended its run. His Occupant and All Over, the latter at the Roundabout's Gramercy Theatre, have also been revived in the 2001-02 season.
Ruehl won a Tony Award for Lost in Yonkers and an Academy Award for "The Fisher King." Last season, she starred as Martha opposite Patrick Stewart in Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? at the Guthrie Theatre. Other theatre credits include The Rose Tattoo and Other People's Money. Known for roles in "While You Were Sleeping," "Lost Highway" and "Independence Day," Pullman played Off-Broadway in Curse of the Starving Class and Life and Limb. He appeared in Los Angeles in All My Sons.
Elizabeth Ireland McCann, Daryl Roth, Terry Allen Kramer, Scott Rudin, Fred Zollo, Carole Shorenstein Hays, Scott Rudin and Fred Zollo produce The Goat. David Esbjornson (The Play About the Baby, Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?) is the director. Designers are John Arnone (set), Kenneth Posner (lighting), Elizabeth Hope Clancy (costumes) and Mark Bennett (sound). Previews began Feb. 16.
Tickets are $65-$75. For reservations, call (212) 239-6200. The Goat plays at the Golden Theatre, where it opened March 10.
