'The Pillowman' is to close on the 18 Sep 2005

Wed 3 Aug 2005 'The Pillowman' is to close on the 18 Sep 2005 Martin McDonagh's The Pillowman will play its final performance at the Booth Theatre on the 18 Sep 2005, after the conclusion of the current company's contracts. The play was booking to the 30 Oct 2005. When the show closes it will have played 23 preview and 208 regular performances on Broadway since its opening on the 10 Apr 2005. "We have rarely been prouder of a cast, a production and a play than we are of The Pillowman. The entire company raised the bar on Broadway for commitment and excellence. We thank everyone who contributed to this production for an extraordinary run," said Bob Boyett on behalf of all of the producers. Synopsis: A writer in a totalitarian state is interrogated about the gruesome content of his short stories and their similarities to a number of child-murders that are happening in his town. Directed by John Crowley and starring Billy Crudup, Jeff Goldblum, Zeljko Ivanek and Michael Stuhlbarg, The Pillowman began previews on the 21 Mar 2005 and opened on the 10 Apr 2005 to some of the Broadway season's strongest reviews. Ben Brentley of the New York Times said "...for all its darkness of plot and imagery, 'The Pillowman' dazzles with a brightness now largely absent from Broadway." Clive Barnes of the New York Post wrote "With Pillowman McDonagh stakes his claim to being the best English-speaking playwright of his generation." and Elysa Gardner of the USA Today praised the show saying that "Those who skip it will miss the best play of the season � a season that has included stellar efforts from the likes of August Wilson, John Patrick Shanley and Michael Frayn." Our own reviewer Polly Wittenberg said of the show "McDonagh puts us through the emotional wringer with this great evening in the theatre." You can read the rest of Polly's review and more of what the critics said here. Jeff Goldblum won an Outer Critics Circle Award, Michael Stuhlbarg and sound designer Paul Arditti won Drama Desk Awards and the play was chosen Best Foreign Play by the New York Drama Critics. The production received six Tony nominations - including Best Play, Best Director, Best Actor (Billy Crudup), Best Featured Actor (Michael Stuhlbarg) - and won two, for Scott Pask's set design and Brian MacDevitt's lighting. The Pillowman is produced by Boyett Ostar, Robert Fox, Arielle Tepper, Stephanie P. McClelland, Debra Black, DeDe Harris, Morton Swinsky, Roy Furman, Jon Avnet and Joyce Schweickert. The play received its world premiere in London at the National Theatre on November 13, 2003. The Pillowman, directed by John Crowley, stars Jeff Goldblum (Tupolski), Billy Crudup (Katurian), Zeljko Ivanek (Ariel), Michael Stuhlbarg (Michal), Ted Koch (Father), Virginia Louise Smith (Mother), Jesse Shane Bronstein (Boy) and Madeleine Martin (Girl). Martin McDonagh (playwright) has developed a reputation for writing dark comedies that explore violence and despair, in surprising and humouous way. In an interview he was once asked whether his plays would always be dark, to which he replied "One day I'll write a romantic comedy where hardly anyone gets murdered at all." McDonagh's previous plays include 'The Beauty Queen of Leenane' 'A Skull in Connemara', 'The Lonesome West,' 'The Cripple of Inishmaan,' and 'The Lieutenant of Inishmore'. (For tickets and more information click here)