Audra McDonald and Michael Shannon to Lead Frankie and Johnny… on Broadway

In celebration of four-time Tony Award winner Terrence McNally's 80th birthday, producers Hunter Arnold, Debbie Bisno, and Tom Kirdahy have announced a new Broadway production of McNally's Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune, starring six-time Tony winner Audra McDonald (Shuffle Along…, Lady Day at Emerson's Bar & Grill) and two-time Academy Award nominee Michael Shannon (Long Day's Journey Into Night, The Shape of Water). Arin Arbus will direct in her Broadway debut.

The strictly limited 16-week Broadway engagement will be part of the 2019-20 season, beginning previews in May at a Shubert theater to be announced. The two-character play offers a "portrait of a lonely waitress and a short order cook whose first date turns into a one-night stand — and maybe more."

The production's creative team will include Riccardo Hernandez (sets), Emily Rebholz (costumes), Natasha Katz (lighting), Nevin Steinberg (sound), J. Jared Janas (hair, wig, and makeup), Laurie Goldfeder (production stage manager), and 101 Productions, Ltd. (general manager).

Frankie and Johnny in the Clair de Lune was first produced off-Broadway in 1987 and came to Broadway in an acclaimed production in 2002 (starring Edie Falco and Stanley Tucci). The play was also turned into a 1991 feature film titled Frankie and Johnny.

McNally has earned Tony Awards for his plays Love! Valour! Compassion! and Master Class, as well as his books for Kiss of the Spider Woman and Ragtime. He is currently represented on Broadway by Anastasia, for which he penned the book.