Samuel D. Hunter's Little Bear Ridge Road will take its final bow at Broadway's Booth Theatre December 21, cutting its originally announced run short by two months; the production had been slated to continue to February 15, 2026. The news was first reported by The New York Times and confirmed by Playbill.
The play opened October 30 after beginning previews October 7. Read what critics had to say here.
Tony winner Joe Mantello is at the helm of the new play, which made its world premiere at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre last year. The work follows the Fernsby family in rural Idaho as an estranged aunt and nephew reunite following the passing of a family patriarch. Playwright Hunter (The Whale) makes his Broadway debut with the work.
Also back from that premiere run are stars Laurie Metcalf as Sarah, Micah Stock as Ethan, John Drea as James, and Meighan Gerachis as Paulette. Understudies Jack Ball, Mary Beth Fisher, and Aubie Merrylees round out the company. Casting is by JC Clementz.
READ: Little Bear Ridge Road's Micah Stock Ponders, 'Is There Life After Laurie Metcalf?'
But perhaps the most noteworthy return the production brought was for producer Scott Rudin, who is producing the transfer alongside Barry Diller. Rudin has been largely absent from the industry since reports emerged of his abusive behavior to subordinates behind the scenes. Though such reports have been published periodically over his career, Rudin stepped away from his professional life following 2021 articles in The Hollywood Reporter and New York Magazine. Published in the wake of the #MeToo movement, both resulted in renewed calls for Rudin to be barred from the industry. Rudin ultimately announced that he would “step back” from Broadway productions and film projects and resign from The Broadway League, installing Kate Horton as executive producer of his then-developing Broadway revival of The Music Man. That revival would open at the Winter Garden Theatre in 2022 starring Hugh Jackman and Sutton Foster. Little Bear Ridge Road is Rudin's first official step back. And Rudin has more projects waiting in the wings. A revival of Death of a Salesman starring Metcalf and Tony winner Nathan Lane has already been announced for next spring.
Steppenwolf Theatre, a producer on last season's Tony-winning Best Play Purpose and the institution that commissioned Little Bear Ridge Road, is not producing the Broadway transfer.
READ: Samuel D. Hunter Is One of America's Most-Produced Playwrights. Now He's Finally on Broadway
Mantello has reassembled his Steppenwolf creative team for Broadway, including scenic designer Scott Pask, costume designer Jessica Pabst, lighting designer Heather Gilbert, and sound designer Mikhail Fiksel. William Joseph Barnes is production stage manager.
Micah Stock, Laurie Metcalf, and John Drea in Little Bear Ridge Road
Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock in Little Bear Ridge Road
Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock in Little Bear Ridge Road
Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock in Little Bear Ridge Road
Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock in Little Bear Ridge Road
Laurie Metcalf in Little Bear Ridge Road
