Photo by Joan Marcus

The two actresses in question just happen to be two of the most accomplished stage and screen veterans around today - four-time Tony nominee Laura Linney and two-time Tony winner Cynthia Nixon - so this experiment is certainly in capable hands. Congratulations to Ms. Nixon who also managed to take home her second Tony Award at this year's ceremony in the category of "Best Actress in a Featured Role in a Play."

Check out our exclusive interview with Cynthia Nixon HERE.

And read what Laura Linney had to say about the production HERE.

I, personally, have only attended the play once and saw the opening night cast of Linney as Regina and Nixon as Birdie. From what I hear, if you, like me, are only able to attend once, it doesn't really matter which cast constellation you encounter. According to critics, both Linney and Nixon bring their own unique nuances to the polar opposite characters and it must be an utter joy as an actor to be able to embody them and switch it up night after night.

The Little Foxes is a superbly structured three-act play about greed, deceit and sibling rivalry. Set in 1900 in a small town in Alabama, the narrative follows Regina Giddens and her two brothers Benjamin Hubbard and Oscar Hubbard as they attempt to close a family business deal that will make them all rich. Through treacherous twists and turns, we discover how willing they are to stab each other in the back for a larger share of the profits, even if it means breaking the law at the expense of Regina's dying husband Horace. Amidst the ruthless undertakings, the audience empathises with Regina's downtrodden and abused sister-in-law Birdie, an embodiment of exploited Southern Belle values, and Regina's teenage daughter Alexandra, who must escape a similar fate to Birdie.

Regardless of the intriguing cast switcheroos, this Manhattan Theatre Club revival is beautifully executed with a tight ensemble that comes together and circles the stage like vultures ready to pounce on any sign of weakness. Although the spotlight is squarely on the two leading ladies, there is excellent and well-cast support from the likes of Michael McKean as Ben, who gives an air of authority that sets him up as a worthy opponent to Regina, and Richard Thomas as Horace, who balances his performance well between softer, instant likeability and defiance in the face of his estranged wife.

This wondrous cast is complimented by Scott Pask's elaborate set design which reaches way into the back rooms of the stage, where we see family members dining in the dining room or servants walking through the pantry on the other side. So much attention has been paid to detail to convey the position of the family - neither rich nor poor, but drifting somewhere in the middle, as Regina sighs - and even the rain drizzling against the windows perfectly captures the pessimistic outlook for the family unit.

I applaud the Manhattan Theatre Club, as well as Laura Linney, Cynthia Nixon and the rest of the cast, for undertaking such a mammoth task at the top level of the theatre industry. But above all, I applaud them for staging a top calibre drama that ticks all the theatregoer's boxes.

Click here for tickets to The Little Foxes for performances through to July 2, 2017 at Broadway's Samuel J. Friedman Theatre.

- by Tom Millward