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A Steady Rain, with Craig and Jackman, to Play Broadway's Schoenfeld
By Andrew Gans
09 Jul 2009



Hugh Jackman


Daniel Craig and Hugh Jackman will co-star in the two-character Keith Huff play A Steady Rain, which will begin previews Sept. 10 at the Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre.

Directed by Tony Award nominee John Crowley, the production will play a strictly limited 12-week engagement through Dec. 6. Opening night is scheduled for Sept. 29.

A Steady Rain, according to press notes, "is a new American play that tells the story of two Chicago cops who are lifelong friends and their differing accounts of a few harrowing days that changed their lives forever."

The production will feature set and costume design by two-time Tony Award winner Scott Pask, lighting design by two-time Tony Award nominee Hugh Vanstone and original music and sound design by Mark Bennett.

A Steady Rain was first produced in 2006 at New York Stage and Film's Powerhouse Theater. It had its professional world premiere in 2007 at Chicago Dramatists and was remounted in February 2008 at Chicago's Royal George Theatre winning Jefferson Awards for Best New Work and Best Production.

A Steady Rain will mark Craig's Broadway debut. In London he has worked with the Royal National Theatre (Angels in America), the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic (Hurlyburly), and he was nominated for a 2002 London Evening Standard Theatre Award for Best Actor for his performance in A Number at the Royal Court Theatre. His film credits include "Defiance," "Quantum of Solace," "Flashbacks of a Fool," "The Golden Compass," "The Invasion," "Casino Royale," "Infamous" and "Renaissance," among others.

Jackman, who was recently seen on screen in "X-Men Origins: Wolverine," earned a Tony Award for his work in the Broadway musical The Boy From Oz. He is also known for his film roles in the "X-Men" trilogy, "Someone Like You," "Swordfish," "Kate and Leopold," "Van Helsing" and the recent "The Fountain" and "Happy Feet" (in voice). His stage credits also include Trevor Nunn's staging of Oklahoma! at Britian's National Theatre and award-winning work in productions of Sunset Boulevard and Beauty and the Beast in his homeland.

Playwright Huff is also the author of Pursued by Happiness, Gray City and The Bird and Mr. Banks. His recently completed works include The Detective's Wife and Tell Us of the Night, which round out a trilogy of Chicago cop plays that began with A Steady Rain.

Rain will be produced on Broadway by Frederick Zollo, Michael G. Wilson, Barbara Broccoli, Raymond L. Gaspard, Frank Gero, Cheryl Wiesenfeld, Jeffrey Sine, Michael Rose and Robert Cole.

Tickets — priced $66.50-$130 (with $31.50 student tix) — will go on sale exclusively to American Express cardholders July 11 at 8 AM ET and to the general public July 25 at 12:01 AM ET.

Show times will be Tuesday at 7 PM, Wednesday-Saturday at 8 PM with matinees Wednesday and Saturday at 2 PM and Sunday at 3 PM.

The Gerald Schoenfeld Theatre is located in Manhattan at 236 West 45th Street.

For more information visit www.asteadyrain.com.

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Originally posted by jo:
http://www.asteadyrainonbroadway.com/

The official site is already up - but it seems the link to get info update is not yet operational.

Also, it seems that Daniel Craig gets top billing over Hugh for this production, if that is as indicated on the official site.


Jo

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BIOGRAPHIES

Daniel Craig (Joey) A highly accomplished stage actor, Daniel's theatre credits include leading roles in Hurlyburly with the Peter Hall Company at the Old Vic, Angels in America at The National Theatre, and A Number at The Royal Court Theatre. Born in 1968 in Chester and raised near Liverpool, Daniel was first introduced to theatre at The Liverpool Everyman. When he reached his late teens, he moved to London to join the National Youth Theatre before continuing his training at the London Guildhall School of Music and Drama, and has since secured roles in television, theatre and film, and has gone on to become regarded as one of Britain's finest actors. In 2006 Mr. Craig became the sixth ‘James Bond' in Casino Royale, for which he received a BAFTA Award nomination (Best Actor) and the film became the highest grossing in the history of the 007 franchise. 2008 saw Daniel's second outing as James Bond in Quantum of Solace directed by Marc Forster, which became the highest grossing of the 22 films in the Bond franchise in America and Canada. Mr. Craig has recently finished making Steven Spielberg's new film The Adventures of Tintin: Secret of the Unicorn. Earlier this year he was seen in Edward Zwick's critically acclaimed film Defiance. In 2008 audiences saw Daniel in The Golden Compass and Flashbacks of a Fool directed by Baillie Walsh. In 2005 audiences saw him in Stephen Spielberg's Oscar nominated Munich, Douglas McGrath's Infamous for which he received an Independent Spirit Award nomination (Best Supporting Actor), Matthew Vaughn's directorial debut Layer Cake, in a supporting role in The Jacket and in Roger Michell's critically acclaimed Enduring Love, (based on the novel by Ian McEwan). Prior to Enduring Love, he starred opposite Gwyneth Paltrow as Ted Hughes in Sylvia. In 2003 Daniel was seen starring in The Mother, based on a screenplay by Hanif Kureishi and directed by Roger Michell. In 2002 he garnered much critical acclaim for his role in Sam Mendes' The Road to Perdition. Daniel's earlier film credits include Elizabeth, Love and Rage and Love is the Devil among others. Daniel has numerous television credits including notable projects such as the BBC's adaptation of Michael Frayn's award-winning drama "Copenhagen," "Our Friends in the North" and "Archangel." Daniel Craig is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association.

Hugh Jackman (Denny) Australian native Hugh Jackman won a 2004 Tony Award, Drama Desk, Drama League, Outer Critics Circle and Theatre World awards for Best Actor in a musical for his portrayal of the 1970s singer-songwriter Peter Allen in The Boy From Oz. Previous theater credits include Carousel at Carnegie Hall, Oklahoma! at the National Theater in London (Olivier Award nomination), Sunset Boulevard (MO Award - Australia's Tony Award) and Disney's Beauty and the Beast (MO Award nomination). From 2003 through 2005 he hosted the Tony Awards, winning a 2004 Emmy for Outstanding Individual Performer in a Variety, Musical or Comedy program. Mr. Jackman made his first major U.S. film appearance as Wolverine in the first installment of the X-Men franchise, a role he reprised in the enormously successful X2 and 2006's X-Men: The Last Stand. Most recently, he reprised his role in X-Men Origins: Wolverine which serves as a prequel to the popular series and grossed an outstanding $85 million domestically in its first weekend of release in May 2009. On February 22, 2009, Jackman took on the prestigious role of Oscar host as he fronted the 81st Annual Academy Awards. Live from the Kodak, he wowed those in attendance and helped ABC score a 13% increase in viewer ship from the previous year. In late 2008, Jackman appeared in 20th Century Fox's romantic action-adventure epic Australia directed by Baz Luhrmann. The film, set in pre-WWII northern Australia, sees Jackman as a rugged cattle driver who assists an English aristocrat (played by Nicole Kidman) in driving a herd of 2000 cattle across hundreds of miles of rough terrain where they must also face the Japanese bombing of Darwin, Australia. In early 2008, Jackman was seen in the 20th Century Fox film Deception opposite Ewan McGregor. The dark film explores the mystery of a woman's disappearance and a multi-million dollar heist. In 2006 Jackman formed Seed Productions with his producing partners John Palermo and Deborra-Lee Furness. Deception was Seed's first feature. Additionally that year, Jackman was the recipient of ShoWest's Male Star of the Year award. Recently, Jackman has starred in Darren Aronofsky's The Fountain, Christopher Nolan's The Prestige, and Woody Allen's Scoop. In addition, he lent his voice to the animated features Happy Feet and Flushed Away. Other leading roles include Someone Like You, Swordfish, Van Helsing, and Kate and Leopold, for which he received a 2002 Golden Globe nomination. Jackman's career began in Australia in the independent films "Paperback Hero" and "Erskineville Kings" (Australian Film Critics' Circle Best Actor award and The Australian Film Institute Best Actor nomination). In 1999, he was named Australian Star of the Year at the Australian Movie Convention. Hugh Jackman is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association.

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Originally posted by jo:
Birchie,

A 3:00 pm Sunday matinee and a return to the boards on Tuesday evening ( now usually scheduled at 7:00 pm) is more the universal practice for shows, straight plays or musicals.

I think the price mentioned is only for regular seats ( someone on ATC said that $130 is now the highest top price for a straight play on Broadway). No mention of what premium seat pricing will be.

Thanks for the tip on the official site link to get info update. Sadly, it still won't work for me. Please let us know if you receive any updates.



Jo

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Are you saying that $130 is the top price for regular seats? And does that mean that it doesn't include Orchestra or Mezz first few rows? Just for those of us who aren't regular Broadway attendees. Also, thanks for clarifying the performances, I thought there were usually only 2 matinees.

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I'm really surprised Hugh is essaying Denny and not Joey. From what I'd read and heard of the play, Joey seems a more natural fit. Unless he and Daniel have both decided to play against type.

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Originally posted by jo:

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I'm really surprised Hugh is essaying Denny and not Joey. From what I'd read and heard of the play, Joey seems a more natural fit. Unless he and Daniel have both decided to play against type.

Yes, someone on ATC who had seen the play did point out that if casting were true to type, Hugh would be Joey and Daniel would be Denny. Although if you consider Hugh Jackman the actor as the quintessential badass Wolverine, playing Denny would not really be against type. Haha - I am already anticipating the words coming out of Denny!

Jo

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Hugh Jackman is appearing with the permission of Actors' Equity Association.