RIALTO CHATTER: Are Walken, Rockwell, Mackie, and Kazan Bound for Broadway's 'BEHANDING' Bow?

The world premiere of A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE, by Academy Award®- winning playwright Martin McDonagh will open on Broadway on Thursday, March 4, 2010. The production will be playing at the Schoenfeld Theatre, but there has been no official announcement regarding a venue for the play.

The Daily Mail's Baz Bamigboye is once again breaking big Broadway news with his revelation today that Christopher Walken, Sam Rockwell, Anthony Mackie and Zoe Kazan will star in 'BEHANDING' on Broadway. Rockwell and Kazan have been whispered for months as being cast, but Walken and Mackie are surprise names when it comes to the casting. No official word on casting has been confirmed at this time. To read more of Baz's theatre news click here.

Directed by John Crowley (A Steady Rain), A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE will be McDonagh's first play to originate on Broadway. The title is just the starting point; take a man searching for his missing hand, two con artists out to make a few hundred bucks, and an overly curious hotel clerk, and the rest is up for grabs. A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE is Martin McDonagh's hilariously black comedy, a world premiere which marks McDonagh's first American-set play. An all-star cast of four will be announced shortly, although Chris Rock, Sam Rockwell and Zoe Kazan have all been rumored for roles in the production.

Martin McDonagh's plays include, Broadway: The Beauty Queen of Leenane, The Lonesome West, The Pillowman (directed by John Crowley) and The Lieutenant of Inishmore, all of which received Tony Award® nominations for Best Play; and Off-Broadway: The Cripple of Inishmaan. He received the Academy Award for Best Live Action Short in 2006 for his film Six Shooter and his most recent film, In Bruges, received an Oscar nomination for Best Original Screenplay.

John Crowley received a Tony Award® nomination for his direction of The Pillowman which he also directed at the National Theatre in London. Other London credits include Love Song, On an Average Day and Macbeth (West End), Tales From Hollywood, Juno and the Paycock, The Maids, How I Learned to Drive and Into The Woods (Donmar Warehouse). His films include Is Anybody There?, Boy A and the television film of Harold Pinter's "Celebration." He is currently directing A Steady Rain for Broadway starring Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig.

A BEHANDING IN SPOKANE will be produced by Robert Fox.

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.