Pillowman to Close on September 18

The Pillowman, Martin McDonagh’s critically acclaimed drama, will play its final Broadway performance at the Booth Theatre at 3pm on Sunday, September 18. That date marks the expiration of the cast members’ contracts. At the time of its closing, the production will have played 23 previews and 208 regular performances.

Directed by John Crowley, The Pillowman concerns a short story writer (played by Billy Crudup) in a totalitarian state who is accused by two policemen (Jeff Goldblum and Zeljko Ivanek) of being involved in the killing of three children. The writer soon discovers that his mentally challenged brother (Michael Stuhlbarg) may be responsible for the murders.

The production was nominated for six Tony Awards and won for its set design (Scott Pask) and lighting (Brian MacDevitt). Goldblum won the Outer Critics Circle Award for Best Featured Actor, and Stuhlbarg won the Drama Desk Award in that category.

“A tale so dire that it might have been invented by the Brothers Grimm, McDonagh’s play is fabulous in a couple senses of the word,” David Finkle wrote in his TheaterMania review of The Pillowman. “It’s a fable told with no end of inspiration — an extended sketch that includes a few stories movingly spun, vivid characters quickly conjured, and as many laughs as a dumbed-down Farrelly Brothers flick. The difference from the work of the Farrellys is that The Pillowman is smart and subtle. If some observers consider McDonagh’s intricate examination of storytelling and its sometimes unwanted consequences pretentious, they will have failed to respond to the playwright’s deliberately unresolved ambiguities.”