The Real Thing and The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy star Simon Jones will join the Broadway production of Farinelli and the King January 9, 2018.
Jones takes on the role of opera impresario John Rich, succeeding original cast member Colin Hurley, who was contracted to play a limited run in the New York production. Hurley’s final performance will be January 7.
The Broadway premiere of Claire van Kampen’s play with music opened December 17 at the Belasco Theatre. The production marks the return of Tony and Oscar winner Mark Rylance, who stars as an 18th century Spanish king on the brink of madness.
Rylance reprises his performance from the show’s West End run in 2015. The play transferred to London's Duke of York's Theatre following a sold-out engagement at Shakespeare’s Globe. John Dove directs.
Lit almost solely by candlelight, Farinelli and the King is presented with traditional baroque instruments played in a gallery above the stage. The play tells the story of King Philippe V of Spain, who, suffering with insomnia, enlists the castrato Farinelli to comfort him through song. As the king grows captivated, Farinelli is forced to choose between his fame as a singer and a life of solitude with the king.
The limited Broadway engagement of Farinelli and the King began performances December 5 and is scheduled to run through March 25, 2018.
