Laurie Metcalf & Eddie Izzard to star in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? on Broadway

The Broadway revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will begin previews on March 2, 2020, ahead of an official opening on April 9.

Two-time Tony Award and three-time Emmy Award winner Laurie Metcalf will earn the rare distinction of having performed major starring roles on Broadway in four consecutive seasons next year when she takes on the iconic role of Martha in Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? She'll be joined on stage by a trio of Brits who make up the complete cast as British comedy legend and two-time Emmy Award winner Eddie Izzard will star as George, whilst Broadway alum Russell Tovey and recent Olivier Award winner Patsy Ferran take on the roles of Nick and Honey, respectively.

Two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello is set to direct the strictly limited Broadway revival which is set to begin previews at a yet-to-be-confirmed venue on March 2, 2020, ahead of an official opening on April 9.

Synopsis: Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? explores the tensions and the complex nature of the marriage of a middle-aged couple named Martha and George. The play is set late one evening, following a university faculty party, as they invite a younger, unsuspecting couple, Nick and Honey, back to their house and draw them unwillingly into their frustrated and bitter feud.

The creative team also features scenic design by Tony Award nominee Miriam Buether, lighting design by nine-time Tony Award winner Jules Fisher & three-time Tony Award winner Peggy Eisenhauer, and costume design by Tony and Academy Award winner Ann Roth.

Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virgina Woolf? first premiered on Broadway in the fall of 1962 and went on to pick up a total of 5 Tony Award at the 1963 ceremony, including "Best Play." New York audiences were stunned with its "radical, provocative, and unflinching portrait of a marriage," which allowed Edward Albee to be instantly celebrated as the most important American playwright of his generation. After an acclaimed 1966 film adaptation, starring Elizabeth Taylor and Richard Burton, subsequent Broadway revivals were staged in 1976, 2005, and 2012, with this 2020 production marking the play's fourth Broadway revival.

Laurie Metcalf can currently be seen on Broadway in the world premiere of Lucas Hnath's Hillary and Clinton. She has won back-to-back Tony Awards in 2017 and 2018 for her performances in Edward Albee's Three Tall Women and Hnath's A Doll's House, Part 2, and had previously earned three further Tony Award nominations for Misery, The Other Place, and November. On screen, she is perhaps best known for her Oscar-nominated performance in "Lady Bird" and her three-time Emmy Award-winning role as Jackie Harris on "Roseanne" (which she reprises on "The Conners").

Eddie Izzard made his Broadway debut in A Day in the Death of Joe Egg in 2003, earning a Tony Award nomination and winning his first Drama Desk Award. He returned to the Great White Way in the summer of 2010 to star as Jack Lawson in Race. He won Emmy Awards in 2000 for "Eddie Izzard: Dress to Kill" and his most notable screen credits include "Ocean's Twelve," "Ocean's Thirteen," "Victoria & Abdul," "My Super Ex-Girlfriend," "Across the Universe," "Mystery Men," "Hannibal," and "Powers".

Russell Tovey was last seen on Broadway as Rodolpho in the 2015 revival of Arthur Miller's A View from the Bridge and he made his Broadway debut in the 2006 premiere of The History Boys. He is perhaps best known for his TV roles as Kevin Matheson in HBO's "Looking," as werewolf George Sands in the BBC's "Being Human," as Henry Knight on the BBC's "Sherlock," as Harry Doyle on ABC's "Quantico," and as Ray Terrill (aka The Ray) on The CW's "The Flash" and "DC's Legends of Tomorrow".

Patsy Ferran will make her Broadway debut in 2020. She won an Olivier Award in 2019 for her performance as Alma Winemiller in Summer and Smoke and her other West End credits include Blithe Spirit, Treasure Island, As You Like It, and Speech & Debate. Her film credits include "Darkest Hour" and "God's Own Country" and she was a series regular on "Jamestown".