The Prisoner of Second Avenue - Jeff Goldblum stars
Preview by Lizzie Guilfoyle
HOLLYWOOD actor Jeff Goldblum, who made his West End debut in 2008 in David Mamet’s Speed-the-Plow alongside Kevin Spacey (Old Vic), returns to the London stage to star in Neil Simon’s 1971 Broadway comedy The Prisoner of Second Avenue.
The new production, directed by Terry Johnson, will run at the Vaudeville Theatre for a limited season – from June 30 to September 11, 2010 – and will be the Old Vic’s first West End production outside the Old Vic Theatre.
Set in the 1970s, The Prisoner of Second Avenue is a black comedy depicting a New York couple, Mel (Jeff Goldblum) and Edna Edison, enduring the trials and tribulations of city life.
Mel is made redundant and the stress of an economic crisis and urban life pushes him into having a nervous breakdown. The family gathers to offer support, with Edna stoically bearing the burden of his disintegration and self-pity.
Jeff Goldblum is best known for his numerous film credits which include The Tall Guy, The Fly, Into the Night, Independence Day, Jurassic Park, Annie Hall, The Big Chill and The Life Aquatic. For his appearance on TV’s Will and Grace he was Emmy nominated.
However, his Broadway credits include The Play What I Wrote, The Moony Shapiro Songbook and The Pillowman for which he won an Outer Critics’ Circle Award.
Neil Simon‘s numerous other Broadway credits include Barefoot in the Park, The Odd Couple, Plaza Suite, The Last of the Red Hot Lovers, California Suite and Brighton Beach Memoirs. He also wrote the books for the musicals Sweet Charity (currently at the Theatre Royal Haymarket), Promises Promises (currently on Broadway), They’re Playing Our Song and The Goodbye Girl.
Terry Johnson‘s West End work as director and/or writer includes The Rise and Fall of Little Voice, One Flew Over The Cuckoo’s Nest, Hitchcock Blonde, Entertaining Mr Sloane, The Graduate, Dead Funny, Hysteria, Elton John’s Glasses and The Memory of Water. His award-winning production of La Cage Aux Folles opened on Broadway earlier this year and has been nominated for 11 Tony Awards.
The Prisoner of Second Avenue originally premiered on Broadway in 1971, when it starred Peter Falk and Lee Grant. That production ran for two years and received a Tony Award nomination. In 1975, it was made into a film, with Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft in the lead roles. But it wasn’t until 1999 that it received its West End premiere, starring Richard Dreyfuss and Marsha Mason.
Presented by the Old Vic Theatre Company/Old Vic Productions plc and Sonia Friedman Productions, The Prisoner of Second Avenue will be designed by Rob Howell and have lighting by Neil Austin. Further casting will be announced shortly.