Clayburgh Replaces Lahti in 'The Busy World is Hushed'

Christine Lahti has withdrawn from headlining in the world premiere of The Busy World is Hushed at Playwrights Horizons.  Jill Clayburgh will now assume the role.

According to a production statement, Lahti stepped down "due to family matters that necessitate her returning to the West Coast."

Clayburgh will complete her run as Mrs. Banks in Barefoot in the Park at the Cort Theatre opposite Patrick Wilson until closing, May 21.   Clayburgh, who is also a former Academy Award and Emmy nominee, was most recently seen on Broadway last winter in A Naked Girl on the Appian Way/>.  Clayburgh is not unfamiliar with the material, having headlined the play's first reading at New York Stage and Film.

Keith Bunin's The Busy World Is Hushed, currently in rehearsals, has moved back its production dates to allow for the cast change.  The limited engagement will now run from June 2 to July 9, with an opening night scheduled for June 25.

The show, directed by Mark Brokaw (Reckless, The Constant Wife), will also star Hamish Linklater as Brandt and Luke MacFarlane as Thomas.  The creative team includes Lewis Flinn (sound design and original music), M.L. Geiger (lighting design), Michael Krass (costume design), and Allen Moyer (set design).

According to Playwrights Horizons, the play focuses on "Hannah, a minister and bible scholar, finds her faith at odds with that of Thomas, her estranged, wayward son.  But when an inquisitive young writer hired to assist Hannah with her latest publication learns painful secrets from Hannah's past, she spies a risky, unconventional opportunity for reconciliation."