Rupert Everett replaces Eddie Izzard in Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?

The Broadway revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf? will begin performances on March 3, 2020.

Two-time Golden Globe & three-time Olivier Award nominee Rupert Everett has joined the cast of the upcoming Broadway revival of Edward Albee's Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf?, which is set to begin previews at a yet-to-be-confirmed Shubert venue on March 3, 2020, ahead of an official opening on April 9.

Mr. Everett will take on the role of George, replacing previously announced two-time Emmy Award winner Eddie Izzard, who has had to withdraw from the production due to scheduling difficulties.

Mr. Everett previously made his Broadway debut in the 2009 revival of Noël Coward's Blithe Spirit, opposite Dame Angela Lansbury. He earned Olivier Award nominations in 1982 in the categories of "Best Actor in a New Play" and "Most Promising Newcomer of the Year in Theatre" for his performance in Another Country, and, more recently, he earned his third nomination for his portrayal of Oscar Wilde in The Judas Kiss in 2013. He reprised the latter at the Brooklyn Academy of Music (BAM) in 2016. He is perhaps best known for his career in film, earning Golden Globe nominations for his performances in "An Ideal Husband" in 2000 and "My Best Friend's Wedding" in 1998. Other notable screen credits include "The Happy Prince," "Miss Peregrine's Home for Peculiar Children," "Wild Target," "Stardust," "The Next Best Thing," "Shakespeare in Love," "The Madness of King George," and Dreamworks' "Shrek" franchize, among others.

He joins two-time Tony Award and three-time Emmy Award winner Laurie Metcalf, who will earn the rare distinction of having performed major starring roles on Broadway in five consecutive seasons next year when she takes on the iconic role of Martha, as well as Broadway alum Russell Tovey and 2019 Olivier Award winner Patsy Ferran as Nick and Honey, respectively.

Two-time Tony Award winner Joe Mantello is set to direct the strictly limited engagement.

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.