Americans Return for Tenth Art Cast, 29 June
Date: 15 June 1999
The West End production of Yasmina Reza's Art has announced its new cast - the production's second all-American cast and its tenth overall since opening at Wyndham's Theatre on 15 October 1996. From Tuesday, 29 June 1999, the Broadway team of Judd Hirsch (Marc), Joe Morton (Serge) and George Wendt (Yvan) will take over from Tom Mannion, Danny Webb and Gary Olsen as the trio of friends who feud over modern art.
The transfer is part of an initiative, worked out with British and American branches of the actors' union Equity, in which the show's producers are able to run a series of exchanges between actors within the Olivier Award-winning West End and Tony Award-winning Broadway productions. Wendt was part of the first all-American UK cast last year, playing Serge alongside Stacy Keach and David Dukes.
Hirsh, Morton and Wendt have played the roles together for four and a half months on Broadway. All three are familiar to American audiences for their film and television roles. Wendt is best known for his role as Norm Petersen in Cheers, for which he received six Emmy nominations. Hirsh is best known for his role in the series Taxi. He was nominated for an Oscar for his role in the film Ordinary People and he has won two Tony Awards for Best Actor. He last appeared on the London stage in Conversations with My Father in 1995. Morton's film credits include Speed, Forever Young and Lone Star.
The London production of Art - translated by Christopher Hampton and directed by Matthew Warchus - has long attracted top-notch actors for its short stints. The original cast starred Albert Finney, Tom Courtney and Ken Stott. Subsequent casts have featured the likes of Richard Griffiths, Henry Goodman, David Haig, Anton Lesser, Tom Mannion and Nigel Havers.
Last year, the Broadway production of Art, also directed by Warchus, opened to critical acclaim with a cast featuring Alan Alda, Victor Garber and Alfred Molina. Art won both the Evening Standard and Olivier Awards for Best Comedy. In New York, the play won the Tony and New York Critics Circle Awards for Best Play.
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