Three-time Tony Award winner and Academy Award nominee Frank Langella plays a man falling into the grip of dementia in the American premiere of Florian Zeller's The Father on Broadway, beginning previews March 22 at the Manhattan Theatre Club's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.
Scheduled to officially open April 14, the production is directed by Doug Hughes.
The production marks Langella's first Broadway appearance since his Tony-nominated 2011 performance in Man and Boy. His most recent New York appearance was King Lear at the Brooklyn Academy of Music in 2013.
Tony Award nominee Kathryn Erbe, who has been a regular on "Law & Order: Criminal Intent," is his co-star. She earned a Tony nomination for Best Featured Actress in a Play for The Speed of Darkness (1991).
The cast also includes Brian Avers (Rock 'n' Roll, The Lieutenant of Inishmore), Charles Borland (A Man for All Seasons), Drama Desk Award nominee Hannah Cabell (Pumpgirl, Grounded) and Kathleen McNenny .
The play has no connection to August Strindberg's 1887 drama The Father other than the title. Coincidentally, Langella also starred in that other The Father on Broadway in 1996, winning a Drama Desk Award for his performance.
This new The Father (Le Père) debuted in Paris in 2012, winning the Molière Award, the national theatre award of France. Two-time Tony Award winner Christopher Hampton translated the play into English. London's The Guardian newspaper gave the fall 2014 West End production of the drama a rare five-star review, calling it "a savagely honest study of dementia," and named it best play of the year.
According to production notes, The Father "offers a fascinating look inside the mind of Andre (Frank Langella), a retired dancer living with his adult daughter Anne and her husband. Or is he a retired engineer receiving a visit from Anne who has moved away with her boyfriend? Why do strangers keep turning up in his room? And where has he left his watch?"
Langella won the 2007 Tony Award for Best Actor in a Play for playing President Richard Nixon in Frost/Nixon, a role he created to widespread acclaim at London’s Donmar Warehouse, and later recreated on film, earning him an Oscar nomination as Best Actor. Langella won his two other Tonys for Best Featured Actor in a Play for Fortune’s Fool and Seascape. In addition, he received Tony nominations for Match and Dracula. He collaborated with director Doug Hughes previously on A Man for All Seasons.
The creative team for The Father includes Scott Pask (scenic design), Catherine Zuber (costume design), Donald Holder (lighting design), Fitz Patton (original music and sound design) and Jim Steinmeyer (illusion consultant).
For more information on MTC visit ManhattanTheatreClub.com.
Tickets can be purchased by phone at Telecharge, (212) 239-6200, online by visiting www.Telecharge.com or by visiting the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre Box Office (261 West 47th Street). Tickets cost $70-$150.
