Steppenwolf's Cuckoo Flies Off June 24; Next Stop London, July 27 | Playbill

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News Steppenwolf's Cuckoo Flies Off June 24; Next Stop London, July 27 Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company will conclude its extended, sold- out run of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on June 24. That will not be the end of the production, however. After the Chicago stint, the company then fly east, to London's Barbican for a run July 27-Aug. 5, as part of the BITE:00 Festival there. Still no word, however, on New York plans for the production, according to Steppenwolf spokesperson Cathy Taylor (reached June 15).

Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre Company will conclude its extended, sold- out run of One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest on June 24. That will not be the end of the production, however. After the Chicago stint, the company then fly east, to London's Barbican for a run July 27-Aug. 5, as part of the BITE:00 Festival there. Still no word, however, on New York plans for the production, according to Steppenwolf spokesperson Cathy Taylor (reached June 15).

The London cast will match the Chicago one, with Gary Sinise, Amy Morton, Rick Snyder, K. Todd Freeman and Mariann Mayberry all making the trip.

Over the past decade, as such Steppenwolfers as Sinise, Laurie Metcalf and John Mahoney have grown more and more famous, the average production at the Steppenwolf Theatre Company has contained precious few of the theatre's ensemble members.

Breaking that tradition is this stage version of Ken Kesey's novel, “One Flew Over the Cuckoo's Nest,” written by Dale Wasserman. Sinise stars as McMurphy in the mental hospital drama, and Morton as Nurse Ratched. (Both are members of the theatre, Sinise a founder). Terry Kinney directs, making for a total of a half dozen Steppenwolf ensemble members feathering the Nest.

The show started previews at Steppenwolf April 6 and officially opened April 16. Rounding out the cast are Sarah Chariper, Stephanie Childers, Jennifer Engstrom, Eric Johner, Leonard Kraft, Misha Kuznetsov, Ross Lehman, Bill Noble, Ron O.J. Parson, Tim Sampson, Warren Schueneman, Christian Stolte, Greg Vinkler, Danton Stone, Afram Bill Williams and John Watson, Sr. Kinney, also a founder of the Chicago theatre, has previously directed A Streetcar Named Desire, A Clockwork Orange and ...And a Nightingale Sang. As an actor, he has starred in The Grapes of Wrath and Buried Child, both on Broadway.

Sinise directed the production of Buried Child in which Kinney starred, and acted opposite him in Grapes of Wrath as Tom Joad. In films, Sinise is currently represented in "Mission to Mars" and "Reindeer Games."

Morton was seen on the New York stage recently in Tina Landau's Space at the Public Theater. At Steppenwolf, her credits include Three Days of Rain and The Berlin Circle, and, as director, Mizlansky/Zilinsky.

Snyder played Gene in Steppenwolf's recent staging of Side Man and Scrooge in the Goodman Theatre mounting of A Christmas Carol. Mayberry was seen in Hysteria and The Berlin Circle, both at Steppenwolf. Freeman, meanwhile, is best known for playing the title role in the Steppenwolf, and then Broadway, productions of The Song of Jacob Zulu.

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Cuckoo's Nest will not be the only Steppenwolf show traveling overseas. While London's West End received what was essentially the Broadway production of Side Man, with Frank Wood and Edie Falco, the Galway Arts Festival of Ireland will get the Steppenwolf staging of the Warren Leight Tony-winner, July 18-22. The cast will feature Rick Snyder (who will then skip over to England for Cuckoo's Nest), Rondi Reed and Andrew McCarthy.

Also to be seen at Galway will be the Steppenwolf mounting of Kurt Elling and Irving Zucker's Beat and Beatitudes: Revisiting Allen Ginsberg and the Beat Generation. Featuring John Mahoney and Tim Hopper, the show will play only on July 19.

 
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