Nick Offerman-Led Confederacy of Dunces Aiming for Broadway
(© T. Charles Erickson)
Jeffrey Hatcher's stage adaptation of Confederacy of Dunces, the Pulitzer Prize-winning novel by John Kennedy Toole, may be on its way to Broadway with Nick Offerman (Parks and Recreation) in the lead role. According to published reports, the show's creatives are readying it for a run on the Great White Way next year.
Directed by David Esbjornson, Confederacy of Dunces had its world premiere last winter in a production presented by Boston's Huntington Theatre Company. Offerman starred as the larger-than-life character Ignatius J. Reilly — an overweight, arrogant, eccentric man living in his mother's New Orleans home in the 1960s. Called the Don Quixote of the French Quarter, his farcical odyssey includes visits to a department store and a strip club, and stints working at a pants factory and as a hot dog vendor.
The cast also included Anita Gillette (30 Rock) as Offerman's mother Irene Reilly, Philip James Brannon (Bootycandy) as Burma Jones, Arnie Burton (39 Steps) as Dorian Greene and Mr. Gonzales, Stephanie DiMaggio (All My Sons) as Lana Lee and Myrna, Lonnie Farmer (Guess Who's Coming to Dinner) as Mr. Watson, Julie Halston (On the Town) as Miss Trixie, Paul Melendy (Ryan Landry's "M") as Officer Mancuso, Talene Monahon (The Wild Party) as Darlene, Ed Peed (The Importance of Being Earnest) as Claude Robichaux, Steve Rosen (Guys and Dolls) as Gus Levy and Sergeant, Lusia Strus (50 First Dates) as Santa Battaglia, Stacey Yen (Eager to Lose) as Mrs. Levy and George, Wayne Barker (Peter and the Starcatcher) as cop and music director, and David L. Harris as Clyde and trombonist.
The creative team for that production featured scenic design by Ricardo Hernandez, costume design by Michael Krass, lighting design by Scott Zielinski, sound design by Mark Bennett and Charles Coes, original music by Mark Bennett, and projection design by Sven Ortel.
