Glengarry Glen Ross - McDonald replaces Flanagan
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
ANTHONY Flanagan who was to have played office manager John Williamson in the revival of Glengarry Glen Ross at the Apollo Theatre, has withdrawn from the production for “personal reasons”.
The role now goes to Peter McDonald whose previous theatre credits include Exiles and The Aristocrats (National Theatre), Resurrection Blues (Old Vic), Days Of Wine And Roses and A Lie Of The Mind (Donmar Warehouse) and The Lieutenant Of Inishmore (Garrick Theatre).
He has also appeared frequently on television in series such as Spooks and Green Wing.
Flanagan’s departure has delayed opening night – scheduled for Wednesday, October 10 – until Friday, October 12, 2007.
Previously Posted: Joining Jonathan Pryce and Aidan Gillen in the cast of Glengarry Glen Ross which opens at the Apollo Theatre on October 10, 2007 (previews from September 27), will be Matthew Marsh (as Dave Moss) and Paul Freeman (George Aaronow).
Marsh previously appeared with Pryce in the 2004 UK premiere of Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who is Sylvia? which transferred from the Almeida to the Apollo. His other recent theatre credits include The Lightning Play, Conversations After a Burial, The Overwhelming, Copenhagen, Little Foxes and US and Them.
His screen credits include Beyond Friendship, Spy Game and Dirty Weekend (film); and Spooks, The Commander, Hawking and Wall of Silence (TV).
Freeman’s theatre credits include Art, Orpheus Descending, Plenty, The Women, A Fair Quarrel, Hamlet, Cymbeline, No End of Blame and The Cutting. While on screen he has appeared in Hot Fuzz, The Long Good Friday, Raiders of the Lost Ark, Stroke of Genius and The Dogs of War (film); and New Street Law, Death of a Princess and Life of Shakespeare (TV).
Also making up the seven-strong, all-male cast will be Shane Attwooll (as Baylen), Anthony Flanagan (as John Williamson) and Tom Smith (as James Lingk).
Previously Posted: Jonathan Pryce is to star as Shelly Levene in a major revival of David Mamet’s 1984 Pulitzer prize-winning Glengarry Glen Ross which opens at the Apollo Theatre on October 10, 2007 (previews from September 27).
Mamet’s modern classic is set in an office of cut-throat Chicago salesmen. Pitched in competition against each other, they will do anything, legal or otherwise, to sell the most real estate. In this world of high stakes and hard sell, the mantra is simple – close the deal and you’ve won a Cadillac; blow the lead and you’re f***d.
Glengarry Glen Ross received its world premiere at the National Theatre in 1983. In 1992, it was adapted for film by Mamet and starred Jack Lemmon, Kevin Spacey, Ed Harris, Alan Arkin, Al Pacino (who was nominated for an Academy Award) and Alec Baldwin, as well as Jonathan Pryce who played James Lingk.
It was last performed in London at the Donmar Warehouse in 1994. 2008 will mark the 25th anniversary of the original London premiere.
Pryce was last seen in the West End in Edward Albee’s The Goat, or Who Is Sylvia?. His other theatre credits include Hamlet, Miss Saigon (as the Engineer), Oliver! (as Fagin), My Fair Lady (as Professor Higgins) and the Broadway production of Dirty Rotten Scoundrels.
His numerous screen credits include the Pirates of the Caribbean trilogy, The Brothers Grimm, Tomorrow Never Dies, Evita and The Adventures of Baron Munchausen (film); and Victoria and Albert, HR and Selling Hitler (TV).
In Glengarry Glen Ross Pryce will be joined by Aidan Gillen (as Richard Roma) of Queer As Folk fame. His theatre credits include The Caretaker (Roundabout Theatre, New York); Platonov, The Tempest and Playboy of the Western World (Almeida Theatre Company); Mojo (Royal Court); Marvin’s Room (Hampstead Theatre); and Drama at Inish (Abbey Theatre Dublin).
His screen credits include Shanghai Nights, My Kingdom, The Low Down, Mojo and Some Mother’s Son (film); and The Wire, Lorna Doone and In Suspicious Circumstances (TV).
Mamet’s other works as a playwright include Oleanna, American Buffalo, A Life in the Theatre, Sexual Perversity in Chicago, Speed-the-Plow and Romance. As well as translations and adaptations his other writing includes five volumes of essays, children’s books, poems and novels.
His films as a writer include The Postman Always Rings Twice, The Verdict, House of Games, Oleanna, The Spanish Prisoner, State and Main and Heist, plus The Untouchables and The Winslow Boy as writer/director.
Glengarry Glen Ross will be directed by James McDonald, with designs by Anthony Ward and lighting by Howard Harrison; and is produced in the West End by Mark Rubinstein, Ron Kastner, Patrick Myles, Jeffrey Richards, Jerry Frankel and Jam Theatricals.
Kean is playing at the Apollo Theatre until July 14, 2007 and will be followed – from August 28 to September 8, 2007 – by Satisfaction.
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