Theater News

Baker, Harold, Shipley, Walsh, Wilcox Complete Cast of Roundabout’s Suddenly Last Summer

Gale Harold
Gale Harold

Becky Ann Baker, Gale Harold, Sandra Shipley, Karen Walsh, and Wayne Wilcox will join previously announced stars Blythe Danner and Carla Gugino in the Roundabout Theatre Company’s revival of Tennessee Williams’ Suddenly Last Summer, October 20-January 21 at the Laura Pels Theatre. The production, to be directed by Mark Brokaw, will open officially on November 15.

Suddenly Last Summer focuses on the battle of wills between Violet Venable, a powerful widow, and Catharine, a troubled young woman who witnessed the brutal death of Mrs. Venable’s homosexual son, Sebastian. The play was first seen Off-Broadway in 1958 as part of a double bill with In The Garden District; the 1959 film version starred Katharine Hepburn, Elizabeth Taylor, and Montgomery Clift.

The creative team for the Roundabout production includes Santo Loquasto (sets and costumes), David Weiner (lights), and Peter Golub (sound and design). Among Brokaw’s credits are the recent Broadway revivals of The Constant Wife and Reckless. His Off-Broadway credits include How I Learned to Drive, The Long Christmas Ride Home, and This Is Our Youth.

Baker, who will play Mrs. Holly, has been seen on Broadway in Assassins, Titanic, and A Streetcar Named Desire; earlier this year, she appeared Off-Broadway in The House in Town. Harold, who will play Doctor Cukrowicz, starred Off-Broadway in Uncle Bob and is well known for his television work in Queer as Folk and the current series Vanished. Shipley, who will play Sister Felicity, has starred on Broadway in Arms and the Man, The Deep Blue Sea, and The Father. Walsh, who will play Miss Foxhill, has been seen in productions of The Flid Show and King Lear. Wilcox, who will play George Holly, was last seen Off-Broadway in The Great American Trailer Park Musical.

Danner, who will play Mrs. Venable, won a Tony Award for her performance in Butterflies are Free and received nominations for her work in A Streetcar Named Desire, Betrayal, and Follies. She is a two-time Emmy Award winner for Huff. Gugino, who will play Catharine, appeared on Broadway as Maggie in the Roundabout’s production of After the Fall. Among her many film and television credits are Spy Kids, Karen Sisco, Spin City, and Threshold.

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Suddenly Last Summer

Closed: January 20, 2007