According to the trade, Crudup, a veteran of such Broadway productions as The Elephant Man, Bus Stop and Arcadia, would play Katurian, a writer in a totalitarian state who is interrogated about the horrific events in his short stories (such as children giving their fathers razor blade-filled apples to eat), and, more frighteningly, their similarity to child murders that are occurring in the same town.

The Pillowman, which was a hit for London's Royal National Theatre, was previously announced for Broadway, and was thought to be scheduled for the fall. However, Variety reports that spring 2005 is a more likely target. No official announcement has been made concerning dates or theatre by representatives of Pillowman.

Bob Boyett, Robert Fox, The Shubert Organization and The National Theatre will produce. John Crowley is the director.

Pillowman would be the third National show to be brought over by Boyett, after the recent Jumpers and Michael Frayn's Democracy, due on Broadway this fall.

Both Pillowman and Democracy were nominated for the Olivier Awards Best Play prize. In what might be considered a minor upset, Democracy lost to The Pillowman.

The Pillowman is from the Irish writer who gave us the Leenane trilogy — The Beauty Queen of Leenane, A Skull in Connemara and The Lonesome West. He was Tony Award-nominated for Best Play two years running, for the Broadway transfers of The Beauty Queen Of Leenane (1998) and The Lonesome West (1999). Pillowman opened at London's National Theatre on Nov. 13, in the Cottesloe.