RIALTO CHATTER: West End PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE to Transfer to Broadway?

The New York Times reports that Neil Simon's THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE, currently playing the West End's Vaudeville Theater in an extended run through September 25, may see a Broadway transfer.

Producer Sonia Friedman, who also brought Terry Johnson's LA CAGE AUX FOLLES to Broadway, said time will tell: "If this revival is hitting our theatergoers where they live, I have to imagine the characters and the dialogue would hit very close to home in America right now." The production's stars (Jeff Goldblum, Tony Award-winner Kevin Spacey, and Tony Award-winner Mercedes Ruehl) are reportedly all on board for a New York run.

Directed by Terry Johnson and starring Jeff Goldblum and Mercedes Ruehl, The Prisoner Of Second Avenue is the first West End production to be staged by The Old Vic Theatre Company.

Set in the 1970's, The Prisoner of Second Avenue is a black comedy depicting a New York couple, Mel (Jeff Goldblum) and Edna Edison (Mercedes Ruehl), enduring the trials and tribulations of city life. Mel is maderedundant and the stress of an economic crisis and urban life pushes him into having a nervous breakdown. Thefamily gathers to offer support, with Edna stoically bearing the burden of his disintegration and self-pity.

The Prisoner of Second Avenue originally premiered on Broadway in 1971, starring Peter Falk and Lee Grant, where it ran for two years and received a Tony Award nomination. It was subsequently made into a film in 1975, starring Jack Lemmon and Anne Bancroft.Jeff Goldblum (Mel) previously appeared in The Old Vic's critically acclaimed production of David Mamet's Speed The Plow directed by Matthew Warchus and co-starring The Old Vic's Artistic Director Kevin Spacey.

He recently appeared in The Pillowman on Broadway (Outer Critics' Circle Award, Drama Critics' Award, nominationsfor Drama Desk and Drama League Awards). Films include Fay Grim, The Life Aquatic, Igby Goes Down, California Split, Nashville, Jurassic Park, Independence Day, The Lost World: Jurassic Park, The Prince Of Egypt, Powder, Mrs Frost, Annie Hall, The Adventures of Buckaroo Banzai, The Big Chill, Silverado, The Fly, Deep Cover, TheRight Stuff, Between The Lines, Invasion of the Body Snatchers, Into The Night, Next Stop - Greenwich Village, The Tall Guy and Adam Resurrected. Goldblum was nominated for an Emmy Award for his television appearanceon Will and Grace, and served on the jury on the 1999 Cannes Film Festival.

Mercedes Ruehl (Edna) makes her West End stage debut in The Prisoner of Second Avenue. Ruehl came to prominence in Jonathan Demme's film Married to the Mob. She earned an Academy Award, as well as GoldenGlobe, L.A. and Chicago Film Critics Society Awards for her performance in The Fisher King. Other films include Warriors, Big, Heartburn, Slaves of New York, Another You, Last Action Hero and Lost in Yonkers. Her career was launched in regional repertories in the works of Shakespeare, Moliere, Shaw, Chekhov and Euripides, and she went on to receive Tony, Drama Desk, Outer Critics Circle and the Helen Hayes Awards for her role in Neil Simon's Lost in Yonkers, later reprising her role in the film. Other Broadway credits include The American Plan, The Goat or Who Is Sylvia (Outer Critics Circle Award, Tony nomination), The Rose Tattoo, Shadowbox (Tony nomination) and I'm Not Rappaport. Off-Broadway includes The Occupant, Woman Before A Glass (Obie Award), Other Peoples' Money (Clarence Derwent Award), The Marriage of Bette and Boo (Obie Award), The Vagina Monologues and Who's Afraid of Virginia Woolf at the Guthrie Theatre. Among her television credits are the Emmy Award winning Indictment: The McMartin Trial, HBO's Gia, Hallmark's The Lost Child, Court T.V.'s Guilt by Association, and Showtime's North Shore Fish, and CBS's Loving Leah, as well as the Lifetime Television films Mom At Sixteen and A Girl Like Me. Her television series appearances include her recurring roles on Frasier and HBO's Entourage.

Fiona Gillies (Pauline) has appeared in some of the UK's most popular television series including Casualty, Law & Order, Waking The Dead, Holby City and Bad Girls. On stage she has appeared in Richard Eyre's La Grande Magia, Doctor's Dilemma, A Midsummer Night's Dream, Beaux Stratagem, Comedy Of Errors and Hamlet. Linal Haft (Harry) has worked extensively in theatre both in the UK and Australia including Laughter on the 23rd Floor with Gene Wilder, Oliver, Henry V, Coriolanus, Pentecost, After The Fall, The Changeling and Happy Birthday Brecht. His television credits include Vanity Fair, Great Expectations, East Enders, Casualty and New Tricks.Pattie Love (Jessie) has appeared in Sir Peter Hall's Lysistrata, Serious Money, Three Birds Alighting On A Field, Uncle Vanya, Jenufa, Ambulance and Caritas. Her film credits include Long Good Friday and Mrs Henderson Presents and on television she has appeared in Middlemarch, Moll Flanders, The Commander and Doctors.