Production History
The play premiered at Duke University's Reynolds Theater on October 6, 1986. Simon has indicated that the smaller premiere venue took pressure off trying to please the critics.
The play opened on Broadway at the Broadhurst Theatre on December 4, 1986 and closed on September 25, 1988 after 756 performances. Produced by Emanuel Azenberg and directed by Gene Saks, the cast starred Linda Lavin as Kate, Jonathan Silverman as Eugene, Jason Alexander as Stanley, Phyllis Newman as Blanche and John Randolph as Jack. Joan Rivers took over the role of Kate for the play's final months on Broadway.
The play received four Tony Award nominations, including Best Play, Linda Lavin (Lead Actress, Play), Phyllis Newman (Featured Actress, Play), and John Randolph (Featured Actor, Play). Linda Lavin won as Best Actress in a Play and John Randolph won as Best Featured Actor in a Play. It received four nominations for the Drama Desk Award, with Lavin and Randolph winning.
It also was a 1987 finalist for the Pulitzer Prize for Drama.
A Broadway revival, directed by David Cromer, was scheduled to open in November 2009 (previews) at the Nederlander Theatre, running in repertory with Brighton Beach Memoirs. The announced cast included Laurie Metcalf as Kate Jerome, Dennis Boutsikaris as Jack Jerome, Santino Fontana as Stanley Jerome, Jessica Hecht as Blanche, Josh Grisetti as Eugene Jerome and Allan Miller as Ben. However, Brighton Beach Memoirs closed on November 1, 2009 due to weak ticket sales and the planned production of Broadway Bound was canceled.
Read more about this topic: Broadway Bound
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