ROUNDABOUT THEATRE COMPANY
Announces the full company of The Philanthropist on Broadway!
Tony® Award winner
Matthew Broderick
Jonathan Cake, Anna Madeley, Steven Weber
Star in a new Broadway production of
THE PHILANTHROPIST
With Tate Ellington, Jennifer Mudge, Samantha Soule
Written by Tony® and Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton
Directed by David Grindley
Tickets go on sale to Amex cardholders Wednesday, February 4th, 2009
Preview performances will begin on April 10th, 2009
Opening night is April 26th, 2009
On Broadway at the American Airlines Theatre
Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) presents Tony® Award winner Matthew Broderick as “Philip”, Jonathan Cake as “Braham”, Anna Madeley as “Celia” and Steven Weber as “Don” in a new Broadway production of The Philanthropist by Tony® and Academy Award winner Christopher Hampton, directed by David Grindley.
The cast also includes Tate Ellington (John), Jennifer Mudge (Araminta), Samantha Soule (Liz).
The Philanthropist will begin previews on April 10th, 2009 and open officially on April 26th, 2009 at the American Airlines Theatre on Broadway (227 West 42nd Street). This will be a limited engagement through June 28th, 2009.
The design team will include Tim Shortall (Sets), Tobin Ost (Costumes), Rick Fisher (Lights) and Gregory Clarke (Sound).
Written as a response to Molière’s The Misanthrope, Hampton’s biting bourgeois comedy examines the empty, insular lives of college intellectuals. At the center of the story is Philip (Broderick), a professor who seems almost absurdly removed from the political turmoil surrounding him, including the assassination of the Prime Minister and his cabinet.
Stage veteran and 2-time Tony® winner Matthew Broderick (The Producers, How to Succeed in Business…) returns to Roundabout Theatre Company following the 2004 production of The Foreigner at the Laura Pels Theatre. Director David Grindley also returns following his acclaimed 2007 production of Pygmalion starring Claire Danes and Jefferson Mays. Roundabout is pleased to continue their relationship with Christopher Hampton following the recent Tony® nominated Broadway production of Les Liaisons Dangereuses starring Laura Linney and Ben Daniels.
The Philanthropist premiered at the Royal Court Theatre in 1970. It opened on Broadway in 1971 and was nominated for the Tony® Award for Best Play. The Donmar Warehouse produced a production of The Philanthropist in 2005 directed by David Grindley.
TICKET INFORMATION:
Beginning February 4th, 2009, tickets will be available exclusively to American Express Card members online at www.roundabouttheatre.org, by phone at (212) 719-1300, or at the American Airlines Box Office (227 West 42nd Street). Ticket prices range from $66.50 to $111.50.
Public on-sale begins Friday, February 20th by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212)719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the American Airlines Box Office (227 West 42nd Street). Through ACCESS Roundabout, 100 tickets will be available for the first preview performance (April 10th) for only $10 each.
PERFORMANCE SCHEDULE:
The Philanthropist will play Tuesday through Saturday evening at 8:00 p.m. with Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinees at 2:00 p.m.
BIOGRAPHIES:
MATTHEW BRODERICK (Philip). A two-time Tony award-winning stage actor and instantly recognizable film presence, Matthew Broderick was most recently seen in the feature films Finding Amanda, alongside Brittany Snow, and Diminished Capacity, opposite Alan Alda and Virginia Madsen. In the spring of 2008, he was also on the big screen in Helen Hunt’s directorial debut Then She Found Me. Upcoming work includes Margaret with Matt Damon and Mark Ruffalo, and Universal’s animated adventure The Tale of Despereaux, in which he voices the title character. He most recently wrapped production on Wonderful World, opposite Sanaa Lathan. In 2005 he starred in the blockbuster Broadway production of Neil Simon’s The Odd Couple on Broadway. He also starred in the hit off-Broadway play, The Foreigner, at the Roundabout Theatre. Also in 2005, he starred in the feature film version of The Producers, reprising the Tony-nominated performance he gave on Broadway in this smash hit musical. Broderick starred in the critically acclaimed You Can Count on Me opposite Laura Linney. He also earned considerable acclaim starring opposite Reese Witherspoon in the critically lauded and Independent Spirit Award winning political satire Election, directed by Alexander Payne. A New York native, he made his professional stage debut opposite his father, James Broderick, at age 17 in the production of On Valentine’s Day. His performance in Harvey Fierstein’s Torch Song Trilogy, won him the Outer Critic’s Circle Award for Best Supporting Actor. Broderick won his first Tony Award for Neil Simon’s Brighton Beach Memoirs, and starred in the play’s sequel, Biloxi Blues. He won his second Tony for his role as J. Pierrepont Finch, in the Broadway revival of How to Succeed in Business without Really Trying. Broderick has also starred in such blockbuster movies as Ferris Bueller’s Day Off, Glory, War Games, and Disney’s The Lion King, as the adult voice of Simba. Additional credits include Bee Movie, Godzilla, Addicted to Love, The Cable Guy, Inspector Gadget, Deck the Halls, Mrs. Parker and the Vicious Circle, Max Dugan Returns, Project X, Family Business, The Freshman, The Night We Never Met, The Last Shot and The Stepford Wives. In addition to his stage, screen and Broadway credits, he has also appeared in the Showtime film Master Harold…and the Boys and received an Emmy nomination for the TNT production of David Mamet’s A Life in the Theater in which he starred opposite Jack Lemmon. Broderick resides in New York with his wife Sarah Jessica Parker and son, James Wilkie Broderick.
JONATHAN CAKE (Braham). Broadway: Lincoln Center’s Cymbeline and Warner’s Tony Award nominated play Medea on Broadway, in London’s West End and at BAM. London theatre includes: “Silva Vaccaro” in the Royal National Theatre production of Baby Doll (Best Actor, Barclays Theatre Awards), the title role in Coriolanus at Shakespeare’s Globe, productions at the Royal National Theatre and Royal Shakespeare Co. Off-Broadway: Jez Butterworth’s Parlour Song and Ethan Coen’s Almost an Evening at the Atlantic. Regional: Doubt at Pasadena Playhouse. UK television includes: Ricky Gervais’ Emmy-winning “Extras;” the BAFTA winning programs “A Dance to the Music of Time” and Peter Kosminsky’s “The Government Inspector; the title role in “Mosley;” Dennis Potter’s “Old Lizard;” and Eddie Izzard’s “Cows.” US television includes: ABC’s “Six Degrees” and “Empire,” NBC’s “Inconceivable,” Showtime’s “Out of the Ashes.” Films include: First Knight, True Blue, Honest, The One and Only, and Miramax’s Brideshead Revisited.
ANNA MADELEY (Celia). Theatre includes: Contractions, Ladybird (Royal Court); Coram Boy (Royal National Theatre), The Philanthropist, The Cosmonauts Last Message (Donmar); Colder Than Here (Soho Theatre), The Rivals (Bristol Old Vic), Roman Actor, The Malcontent, Love In A Wood, A Russian In The Woods, Madness in Valencia, The Merry Wives of Windsor (Royal Shakespeare Company / West End). Film includes: Brideshead Revisited, In Burges, Stoned, Circular File, Guest House Paridiso, Wonderful World, Back Home. Television includes: “Crooked House” (BBC4), “Marple – A Pocket of Rye” (ITV), “The Children” (Tightrope), “Waking the Dead,” “Sense and Sensibility,” “Lewis” (BBC).
STEVEN WEBER (Don). With a wide range of acclaimed film, television and theater credits to his name, Steven Weber has established himself as one of the most diverse and respected talents in Hollywood. Weber recently starred on Aaron Sorkin’s “Studio 60 on the Sunset Strip”. He also starred in the Stephen King mini-series, “Desperation” for ABC, Showtime’s original film, “Reefer Madness” and the USA Network’s “12 Days of Christmas.” Weber recently returned to the stage, appearing at the Old Vic in London in National Anthems, in which he co-starred with Kevin Spacey and Mary Stuart Masterson and he also took over for Matthew Broderick on Broadway as Leo Bloom in Mel Brooks’ smash hit musical The Producers. Previously, Weber appeared in Mike Figgis’ innovative “Timecode 2000” and he also joined the cast of ABC’s “Once and Again” as a series regular in 2002. Weber made his writing debut with his critically acclaimed film Club Land. He also produced and starred with Alan Alda as the unsuccessful father-son agent team of ‘Willie and Stuey Walters.’ Before Timecode 2000, Weber appeared opposite Nicholas Cage in Figgis’ Leaving Las Vegas, as Bridget Fonda’s doomed boyfriend ‘Sam Rowson’ in the 1992 blockbuster thriller Single White Female, the 1999 romantic drama At First Sight with Val Kilmer and Mira Sorvino, as well as lending his voice to the animated children’s film An All Dog’s Christmas Carol. Weber portrayed the title role in Christopher Ashley’s Jeffrey, the story of a young that same year was seen opposite Leslie Nielsen in Mel Brook’s horror spoof Dracula: Dead and Loving It. Weber has delivered numerous memorable performances on the small screen. Perhaps most famous of all his roles is that of the quick-witted pilot ‘Brian Hackett’ on the popular TV series “Wings,” which ran from 1990-1997. He has also made his mark in several television movies, including “Betrayed By Love” starring opposite Patricia Arquette and “In the Company of Darkness” with Helen Hunt. Weber made his New York theatre debut as a member of the Mirror Repertory Theatre opposite Geraldine Page in Odets’ Paradise Lost and made his Broadway debut in Tom Stoppard’s The Real Thing.
TATE ELLINGTON (John). Tate Ellington starred in the The Elephant King, which was selected for the Tribeca Film Festival, and for which he won Best Actor at the Brooklyn International Film Festival. His theatre credits include The Shape of Things for the Rising Sun Performance Company, and the 2004 Fringe Festival winning Dog Sees God at the SoHo Playhouse. Other film and TV credits include ABC’s “The Unusuals”, Ricky Gervais and Matthew Robinson’s “Invention of Lying”, HBO Film’s Taking Chance, and the independent film Red opposite Brian Cox.
JENNIFER MUDGE (Araminta). Jennifer Mudge has appeared off-Broadway this season in two Stephen Belber works – Fault Lines (Naked Angels), directed by David Schwimmer and The Geometry of Fire (Rattlestick Theater), directed by Lucie Tiberghien. She was nominated for a 2007 Drama Desk Award for her performance opposite Dulé Hill in Amiri Baraka’s controversial Dutchman, at the Cherry Lane Theatre, and played Maggie at the Geffen Playhouse in Gil Cates’ production of Cat on a Hot Tin Roof opposite John Goodman and Brenda Fricker. New York Theater: Craig Wright’s The Pavilion (Rattlestick); world premiere of Terrence McNally’s The Stendhal Syndrome (Primary Stages); Reckless (Broadway); Rose’s Dilemma (Manhattan Theatre Club); Only the End of the World (Company Charniere). Regional: Arena Stage; Bay Street; Alabama Shakespeare; CATF; Sundance Theatre Institute; Westport Playhouse; NY Stage & Film; Williamstown; and, as a member of Trinity Repertory Company under Oskar Eustis’ artistic direction, Saint Joan, Othello, The Music Man, As You Like It, Into the Woods, among others. Independent features: Drifting Elegant by Stephen Belber and Play It by Ear. TV: “Life is Wild”, “Canterbury’s Law”, “Law & Order: Criminal Intent”, “Hope & Faith”, “Law & Order”, “Hack”, various soaps. Training: MFA, Trinity Repertory. 2007 recipient of the Marian Seldes-Garson Kanin Fellowship.
SAMANTHA SOULE (Liz). Broadway: Dinner At Eight (Lincoln Center Theater) Coram Boy (Imperial Theater) Off-Broadway: The Voysey Inheritance (The Atlantic Theater Company), Valhalla (New York Theater Workshop), The Dining Room (The Keen Company, Drama Desk Award), The Telling Trilogy, Three Sisters (Rising Phoenix Rep), Splitting Infinity, Mayhem (Summer Play Festival), White Chocolate (Culture Project), Silver Nitrate (Juggernaught Theater Company), Brothers And Sisters (Manhattan Theater Source), Daisy Mayme (The Pearl Theater) Regional Theater: Candida (Berkshire Theater Festival), The Evildoers (Yale Repertory Theater), Twelfth Night, An Enemy Of The People, The Tempest (The Shakespeare Theater), A Body of Water (The Old Globe), Lady Windermere’s Fan (Williamstown Theater Festival), David Copperfield (Westport County Theater), Da (Cape Playhouse), TV/Film: Revolutionary Road, The Callback, “Guiding Light”, “Contest Searchlight” Training/Affiliations: BFA: The Juilliard School, Artistic Associate of Rising Phoenix Repertory.
CHRISTOPHER HAMPTON (Playwright). Christopher Hampton’s plays, musicals and translations have garnered three Tony Awards, two Olivier Awards and the New York Theatre Critics Circle Award, while prizes for his film and television work include an Oscar, two BAFTAs and a Special Jury Prize at Cannes. Plays include The Talking Cure, White Chameleon, Tales From Hollywood, Les Liaisons Dangereuses, Treats, Savages, The Philanthropist and Total Eclipse. He wrote the book and lyrics (with Don Black) for the musicals Sunset Boulevard and Dracula and the libretto for the Philip Glass operas Waiting For The Barbarians and Appomattox. He has translated extensively from Chekhov, Ibsen, Moliere, Odon von Horvath and Yasmina Reza (including Art and Lifex3). His screenplays include The Quiet American, Mary Reilly, Total Eclipse, Dangerous Liaisons, Carrington, The Secret Agent and Imagining Argentina, the last three of which he also directed. His latest screenplay was for the film Atonement, which won both the Golden Globe and BAFTA awards for best Picture.
DAVID GRINDLEY (Director). Broadway: The American Plan, Pygmalion, Journey’s End (Belasco Theatre). London: Journey’s End (Olivier nomination) UK tours. West End directing credits include Honour with Diana Rigg, The Philanthropist with Simon Russell Beale, What the Butler Saw, Some Girls with David Schwimmer, Abigail’s Party (Olivier nomination) and Loot. Other credits include National Anthems (Old Vic) with Kevin Spacey, Single Spies, Richard III, Sexual Perversity in Chicago and the comedians The League of Gentlemen. Future work includes In the Club by Richard Bean and A Listening Heaven by Torben Betts.
Roundabout Theatre Company is one of the country’s leading not-for-profit theatres. The company contributes invaluably to New York’s cultural life by staging the highest quality revivals of classic plays and musicals and develops and produces new works by today’s writers and composers. Roundabout consistently partners great artists with great works to bring a fresh and exciting interpretation that makes each production relevant and important to today’s audiences.
Roundabout Theatre Company currently produces at three permanent homes each of which is designed specifically to enhance the needs of the Roundabout’s mission. Off-Broadway, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre, which houses the Laura Pels Theatre and Black Box Theatre, with its simple sophisticated design is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays. The grandeur of its Broadway home on 42nd Street, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics. Roundabout’s Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special event productions. Together these three distinctive venues serve to enhance the work on each of its stages.
American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. Roundabout productions are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, the New York City Department of Cultural Affairs, the National Endowment for the Arts; and the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation. American Express is the 2008-2009 season sponsor of the Roundabout Theatre Company.
Roundabout Theatre Company‘s 2008-2009 season also includes Rodgers & Hart’s Pal Joey, starring Stockard Channing, Matthew Risch & Martha Plimpton, directed by Joe Mantello; Lisa Loomer’s Distracted featuring Cynthia Nixon, directed by Mark Brokaw; Henrik Ibsen’s Hedda Gabler, starring Mary-Louise Parker, Michael Cerveris, Paul Sparks and Peter Stormare, directed by Ian Rickson; and Samuel Beckett’s Waiting for Godot, starring (in order of speaking) Nathan Lane, Bill Irwin, John Goodman, David Strathairn, directed by Anthony Page. Roundabout’s sold out production of The 39 Steps made its second Broadway transfer to the Helen Hayes Theatre on January 21, 2009.
www.roundabouttheatre.org
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