Gate's artistic director Michael Colgan told the trade mag that following its Feb. 21, 2006 opening, the Jonathan Kent-directed revival will be New York-bound that April.
Faith Healer centers on Frank Hardy, a supposed traveling faith healer, his long-suffering spouse and loyal manager. The play debuted on Broadway in 1979 starring James Mason, Clarissa Kaye and Donal Donnelly.
Fiennes is known to American audiences for his film roles in "Schindler's List," "The English Patient," "Red Dragon," "The End of the Affair" and "Quiz Show." The English actor has amassed a number of stage credits in his native country including Brand, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Romeo and Juliet, Six Characters in Search of an Author, Fathers and Sons, King John, The Man Who Came to Dinner, Playing with Trains, The Talking Cure and the Almeida Theatre Company’s production of Hamlet, which transferred to Broadway and earned him a Tony Award. He will next star opposite Simon Russell Beale and Fiona Shaw in Deborah Warner's staging of Julius Caesar at the Barbican Theatre.
The Gate in Dublin is currently premiering Friel's first full-length drama in eight years, The Home Place. Adrian Noble will direct the work starring Hugh O'Conor, Tom Courtenay and Derbhle Crotty which will transfer to London's Comedy Theatre in May.
The Northern Ireland-born Friel has also penned The Enemy Within, Philadelphia, Here I Come!, The Loves of Cass McGuire, Lovers, Crystal and Fox, The Mundy Scheme, The Gentle Island, The Freedom of the City, Volunteers, Living Quarters, Aristocrats, Translations, The Communication Cord, Making History, Dancing at Lughnasa, The London Vertigo, Wonderful Tennessee, Molly Sweeney and Give Me Your Answer, Do! His Dancing at Lughnasa won three 1992 Tony Awards including Best Play.