Samuel D. Hunter's Little Bear Ridge Road is currently in previews at the Booth Theatre on Broadway. Ahead of its opening night October 30, the production has released a first look at the new play starring Laurie Metcalf and Micah Stock, and directed by Joe Mantello. See new photos, as well as a teaser video, below.
The play 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) is making his Broadway debut with the work.
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
Little Bear Ridge Road made its world premiere at Chicago's Steppenwolf Theatre last year, also directed by Mantello.
The cast, who all transferred from the Chicago production, also includes 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: After 14 Years Away, Laurie Metcalf Is Back in Chicago Leading Little Bear Ridge Road
But perhaps the most noteworthy return the production is affording is 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 according to earlier reports, Rudin has more projects waiting in the wings.
Steppenwolf Theatre, a producer on the last season's Tony-winning Best Play Purpose and the institution that commissioned Little Bear Ridge Road, is not producing the Broadway transfer.
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.
