To Be Or Not To Be plays its final performance on Broadway
The Manhattan Theatre Club's (MTC) world premiere production of Nick Whitby�s To Be Or Not To Be plays its final performance on Broadway on 16 Nov 2008. The show played 32 previews and 40 regular performances.
To Be Or Not To Be, the first production of MTC�s 2008-2009 season, opened at the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre on 14 Oct 2008, following previews from 16 Sep 2008.
The comedy opened to mostly poor reviews: "Walking corpse of a comedy." (NY Times); "yield diminishing returns." (NY Daily News); "A shabby little play." (NY Post); "Shabby, pinched little production." (Record), "The lumpy sluggishness of a fatigued road show." (Variety)
The comedy, based on the 1942 motion picture To Be Or Not To Be is set at the Polski Theatre in 1939 Warsaw, where Josef and Maria Tura are about to open yet another smash with their theatrical troupe. As the German invasion gets underway, the theatre is closed by the censors, forcing the troupe to face desperate times. But when a handsome young bomber pilot enlists their help to catch a spy, what is a group of actors to do? This hilarious black comedy is an ingenious commentary on the World War II era and an inspired tribute to the timeless joys of the theatre.
Directed by Casey Nicholaw, To Be Or Not To Be features Peter Benson, Robert Dorfman, David Rasche, Steve Kazee, Jan Maxwell, Michael McCarty, Peter Maloney, Kristine Nielsen, Brandon Perler, Rocco Sisto, Jimmy Smagula and Marina Squerciati.
The creative team includes Anna Louizos (Scenic Design), Gregg Barnes (Costume Design), Howell Binkley (Lighting Design) and Darron L West (Sound Design).
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