Claire Danes to Star as Eliza in 'Pygmalion' Revival

Roundabout Theatre Company has announced that Claire Danes will make her Broadway debut as "Eliza Doolittle" opposite previously announced Tony Award winner Jefferson Mays as "Henry Higgins" in a new Broadway production of George Bernard Shaw's Pygmalion, directed by David Grindley at the American Airlines Theatre (227 West 42nd St). 

Pygmalion will begin previews on Friday, September 14th, 2007 and open officially on Thursday, October 11th, 2007.   This is a limited engagement through Sunday, December 16th, 2007.

Additional cast members will be announced shortly. The design team includes Jonathan Fensom (sets & costumes), Jason Taylor (lights), Gregory Clarke (sound) and Majella Hurley (dialect coach).

"George Bernard Shaw's famous play, Pygmalion, inspired the legendary and award winning musical My Fair Lady, written and composed by Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe. Based on the classical myth, Pygmalion plays on the complex business of human relationships in a social world. When Professor Henry Higgins (Mays) comes across a poor and uneducated Cockney girl named Eliza Doolittle, Higgins makes a bet that he can take Eliza from the gutters of London and pass her off as a society lady, by simply teaching her the right dialect in which to speak. Higgins soon discovers that this task involves much more than knowledge; it involves patience and most importantly, affairs of the heart," state press materials.

Roundabout Theatre Company has a long association with George Bernard Shaw's work, having staged over twenty productions since 1971. The most recent Shaw plays seen on Roundabout stages include Heartbreak House (2006-2007, dir. Robin Lefevre), Major Barbara (2000-2001, dir. Daniel Sullivan), Arms and the Man (1999-2000, dir. Roger Rees), You Never Can Tell (1997-1998) and Misalliance (1996-1997).  Pygmalion premiered on Broadway in 1914 at the Park Theatre and subsequently was revived on Broadway in 1927, 1938, 1945 and 1987. In 1956, Alan Jay Lerner and Frederick Loewe wrote My Fair Lady, a musical based on Shaw's classic play.

Danes has appeared onstage at PS 22 in the dance pieces Edith & Jenny and Christina Olson: American Model. She endeared herself to a generation of teenagers as Angela in the short-lived cult favorite "My So-Called Life" (for which she received an Emmy nomination), and made the transition to film. Her movie credits include How To Make an American Quilt, To Gillian on Her 37th Birthday, Baz Luhrmann's Romeo + Juliet, Les Miserables, Brokedown Palace, Igby Goes Down, The Hours, Terminator 3: Rise of the Machines, Stage Beauty and Shopgirl.  Upcoming films include Stardust.

Tickets will be available August 2007 by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212)719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org or at the American Airlines box office (227 West 42nd St.). 

Pygmalion will play Tuesday through Saturday evenings at 8:00PM with a Wednesday, Saturday and Sunday matinee at 2:00PM.  Ticket prices range from $51.25 - $86.25.

Photo by Walter McBride/Retna Ltd.