The resulting co-production, One Arm, begins performances at Steppenwolf's Downstairs Theatre beginning Dec. 2. Kaufman, the director of I Am My Own Wife, will direct his own stage adaptation. Williams wrote "One Arm," about a military boxer who loses a limb, in 1945. It was published in 1948 and Williams converted it into a screenplay in 1967. The script was never filmed, however. In the tale, boxer Ollie, crippled in a car accident, turns to hustling, a road that eventually leads to prison. A press account describes it as "an erotic fever dream of an American nightmare."
The cast of One Arm includes Marilyn Bielby, Josh Bywater, Jason Denuszek, Steve Key, Sandra Marquez, John McAdams, David Parkes, Reynaldo Rosales, Kelli Simpkins, Michael Stahl-David, Joe Van Slyke, Eltony Williams and Shané Williams.
The designers are Mike Baldassari (lights), Derek McLane (set), Andre Pluess (music and sound), and Janice Pytel (costumes).