A Time To Kill arriving on Broadway in Sep 2013
Tony Award-winning playwright Rupert Holmes' stage adaptation of A Time to Kill, John Grisham's best-selling novel, will open at the John Golden Theatre on 20 Oct 2013, following previews from 28 Sep 2013.
This new Broadway play, to be directed by Ethan McSweeny, is the first-ever John Grisham property to be adapted for the stage. Additional information, including the complete casting and creative team, will be announced shortly.
John Grisham said,
For almost a quarter of a century, A Time to Kill has captivated readers with its raw exploration of race, retribution and justice. It was my first book and the first that I have allowed to be adapted for the theatre. Rupert Holmes did an excellent job of translating it from the page to the stage, and I am happy that not only my loyal readers, but a whole new audience will be able to experience this story in live theatre. I am looking forward to opening night on Broadway!A Time to Kill, a courtroom drama, tells the story of a young, idealistic lawyer, Jack Brigance, defending a black man, Carl Lee Hailey, for taking the law into his own hands following an unspeakable crime committed against his young daughter. Their small Mississippi town is thrown into upheaval, and Jake finds himself arguing against the formidable district attorney, Rufus Buckley, and under attack from both sides of a racially divided city.
Producers Daryl Roth and Eva Price said,
John Grisham's endlessly gripping, perfectly-plotted storytelling is so well suited for the live theater, and we are thrilled to be bringing this first-ever stage adaptation of one his novels to Broadway. Rupert Holmes has written an adaptation that masterfully replicates for theatergoers the page-turning thrill of reading a Grisham novel, while also honoring the powerful intimacy of its exploration of the injustices of our not-so-distant past. We look forward to audiences of all ages experiencing its essential message of equality, justice, and compassion for all.John Grisham (novelist) is a best-selling author of legal thrillers, beginning in 1988 with Time to Kill. Since then, he has written a novel a year, amassing 275 million books in print worldwide, which have been translated into 40 languages. Nine of his novels have been turned into films (The Firm, The Pelican Brief, The Client, A Time to Kill, The Rainmaker, The Chamber, A Painted House, The Runaway Jury, and Skipping Christmas), as was an original screenplay, 'The Gingerbread Man.'
Rupert Holmes (playwright) won the 1986 Tony Award for Best Book and Best Score for 'The Mystery of Edwin Drood.' He has also received Tony nominations for 2003 Best Play for 'Say Goodnight Gracie' and 2007 Best Book of a Musical and Best Score for Kander & Ebb's 'Curtains.' His other Broadway credits include 'Solitary Confinement' and 'Accomplice.'
Director Ethan McSweeny made his Broadway debut with the revival of Gore Vidal's 'The Best Man,' which received a 2001 Tony Award® nomination for Best Revival of a Play. His other notable New York credits include the premieres of Kate Fodor's 'Rx' (Primary Stages) and '100 Saints You Should Know '(Playwrights Horizons), and Jason Grote's '1001' (P73). McSweeny directed an earlier version of A Time to Kill at the Arena Stage in Washington, D.C.
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