In London Debut, Ruehl Joins Goldblum in THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE, 6/30 - 9/11

Following a highly successful career on Broadway, Oscar and Tony award-winning actress Mercedes Ruehl joins Jeff Goldblum in THE PRISON OF SECOND AVENUE at the Vaudeville Theatre. Directed by Terry Johnson, Neil Simon's hit comedy THE PRISONE OF SECOND AVENUE will mark Mercedes' London stage debut and will open for previews on June 30th and run until September 11th.

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 made redundant and the stress of an economic crisis and urban life pushes him into having a nervous breakdown. The family gathers to offer support, with Edna stoically bearing the burden of his disintegration and self-pity.

Mercedes Ruehl came to prominence in Jonathan Demme's film Married to the Mob. She earned an Academy Award, as well as Golden Globe, 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, Lost in Yonkers, What's Cooking, The Amati Girls, For Rosanna, and The Minus Man. Her career was launched in regional repertories in the works of Shakespeare, Moliere, Shaw, Chekov 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), Coming of Age In Soho, 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.

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.

THE PRISONER OF SECOND AVENUE is produced in the West End by The Old Vic Theatre Company/Old Vic Productions plc and Sonia Friedman Productions. The Vaudeville Theatre is located at 404 Strand. The box office can be reached at 0844 412 4663 and on the website, www.nimaxtheatres.com

The performance schedule is evenings: Monday - Saturday at 7:30 p.m. and matinees: Thursday & Saturday at 2:30 p.m. There will be no matinee performances on Thursday, July 1st or Saturday, July 3rd.

Regular ticket prices for the stalls are £49.50 and £39.50, for the dress circle are £49.50 and £35, for the upper circle are £35 and £25, and for the boxes are £49.50. Premium seats are available; please call the box office for more information. Preview ticket prices from Wednesday, June 30th through Thursday, July 15th are £10 off regular £49.50 tickets and £5 off all other ticket prices (not including Premium seats). All prices include a £1 Restoration Levy. 

Photo Credit: Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.