Theater News

Lee Hall’s Pitmen Painters to Play Broadway’s Friedman Theatre in September with Original British Cast

Christopher Connel, Deka Walmsley, and
David Whitaker in The Pitmen Painters
(© Keith Pattison)
Christopher Connel, Deka Walmsley, and
David Whitaker in The Pitmen Painters
(© Keith Pattison)

Manhattan Theatre Club will present the American premiere of Live Theatre, Newcastle/National Theatre of Great Britain’s co-production of The Pitmen Painters, written by Tony Award winner Lee Hall. Max Roberts will direct the production, which will play MTC’s Broadway house, the Samuel J. Friedman Theatre, in September 2010.

Inspired by a book by William Feaver, the play is set in 1934, and follows a group of Ashington miners who hire a professor to teach an art appreciation class and soon begin to paint.

The production will feature the original cast, who have been with the production since it premiered at Live Theatre in 2007: Christopher Connel (Oliver Kilbourn), Michael Hodgson (Harry Wilson), Ian Kelly (Robert Lyon), Brian Lonsdale (Young Lad & Ben Nicholson), Lisa McGrillis (Susan Parks), Deka Walmsley (George Brown), David Whitaker (Jimmy Floyd), and Phillippa Wilson (Helen Sutherland).

The creative team will include Gary McCann (scenic and costume design), Douglas Kuhrt (lighting design), and Martin Hodgson (sound design).

For more information, visit www.ManhattanTheatreClub.com.