UPDATED: C.J. Wilson to Join Marin Ireland, Richard Kind, Chip Zien and Bobby Cannavale in Broadway’s The Big Knife

UPDATED: C.J. Wilson (Glengarry Glen Ross) will replace Adam Rapp in the role of Hank Teagle. Rapp departed the production due to scheduling conflicts. Rehearsals for the production began February 19, and performances will still begin on March 22.

January 7, 2013 –

A host of theater veterans – including Richard Kind (Sly Fox), Chip Zien (Into the Woods), and Tony Award nominees Marin Ireland (Reasons to be Pretty) and Reg Rogers (The Dazzle) – will join Tony nominee Bobby Cannavale (currently of Glengarry Glen Ross) in Roundabout Theatre Company’s upcoming revival of Clifford Odets’ The Big Knife. Directed by Tony Award winner Doug Hughes (Doubt), the production will begin previews on March 22 at the American Airlines Theatre and officially open on April 16.

Cannavale leads the company as Charlie Castle, the most successful star of Hollywood’s Hoff-Federated Studio, an organization which saved his career by covering up a major mistake. But when a woman with inside information threatens to come forward, and with a studio determined to keep their leading man, it’s up to Charlie to decide how far he’s willing to go before leaving the industry for good.

Also starring will be Ireland as Charlie’s wife, Marion, Kind as studio head Marcus Hoff, Rogers as Hoff’s associate, Smiley Coy, Zien as agent Nat Danziger, Rachel Brosnahan (Coming Up Roses) as rising starlet Dixie Evans, Joey Slotnick (Almost an Evening) as Charlie’s old friend, Buddy Bliss, Ana Reeder (Top Girls) as Buddy’s flirtatious wife, Connie, Brenda Wehle (Pygmalion) as gossip columnist Patty Benedict, Billy Eugene Jones (The Mountaintop) as Russell, and Pulitzer Prize-nominated playwright Adam Rapp (Red Light Winter) as writer Hank Teagle.

The design team includes John Lee Beatty (scenic design), Catherine Zuber (costume design), James F. Ingalls (lighting design), David Van Tieghem (sound and original music).

This revival of The Big Knife will be the play’s first Broadway production since its debut, under the direction of Lee Strasberg, in 1949. A 1955 film adaptation starred Jack Palance, Ida Lupino, Rod Steiger, and Shelley Winters. Odets is currently represented on Broadway with Lincoln Center Theater’s revival of Golden Boy. His plays also include Awake and Sing!, Waiting for Lefty, and The Country Girl.

Click here for more information and tickets to The Big Knife.