Dennehy
Gugino
Pablo Schreiber, Brian Dennehy and Carla Gugino will move to Broadway with Chi’s Goodman Theater production of 'Desire Under the Elms.'
The Goodman Theater revival of Eugene O’Neill’s “Desire Under the Elms” has booked its much-discussed Rialto run, with the Chicago production transferring to the St. James Theater in April.
Chi cast -- led by Brian Dennehy, Carla Gugino and Pablo Schreiber -- will return for the Gotham incarnation of the show, which is helmed by Goodman a.d. Robert Falls.
Broadway stint will be produced by Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Steve Traxler, the team behind such Rialto offerings as “Speed-the-Plow,” “You’re Welcome America. A Final Night With George W Bush” and “August: Osage County,” another play that originated in Chicago. (Both “Speed-the-Plow” and “You’re Welcome America” recently recouped their capitalization costs, according to Richards.)
Dennehy won a 2003 Tony for his performance in O’Neill’s “Long Day’s Journey Into Night,” also helmed by Falls. Thesp and director have collaborated on O’Neill plays “The Iceman Cometh,” “A Touch of the Poet” and “Hughie,” as well as on the Goodman production of “Death of a Salesman” that moved to the Rialto in 1999 and also won Dennehy a Tony.
“Desire” will be the second Broadway outing this season for Falls, who directed the short-lived revival of “American Buffalo” that opened in November. He also helmed the 2007 Broadway staging of “Talk Radio,” another play produced by Richards, Frankel and Traxler.
“Desire,” first published in 1924, centers on the marriage between Ephraim Cabot (Dennehy) and his new young wife (Gugino), who has an affair with Ephraim’s son (Schreiber).
Show, which began perfs at the Goodman in January and earned favorable press, runs through March 1 in Chi.
Gotham engagement of “Desire” will be a limited run, with exact length to be determined. Show begins previews at the St. James April 14, with official opening set for April 27.
Contact Gordon Cox at
gordon.cox@variety.com