Edward Hall to direct Roundabout's A Streetcar Named Desire

Roundabout Theatre Company (Todd Haimes, Artistic Director) announces Edward Hall will direct the new Broadway production of Tennessee Williams' drama A Streetcar Named Desire, starring Natasha Richardson, at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street). A Streetcar Named Desire will begin previews in March, 2005 and open in April 2005. This is a limited engagement through June 19th, 2005.

The cast and creative team will be announced shortly.

Set against the steamy backdrop of New Orleans' gritty French Quarter, A Streetcar Named Desire is the dramatic story of Blanche Du Bois, a faded Southern belle driven to madness by her animalistic brother-in-law, Stanley Kowalski.

The Broadway premiere of A Streetcar Named Desire was at the Ethel Barrymore Theatre on December 3, 1947. The cast included Marlon Brando as "Stanley Kowalski" and Jessica Tandy as "Blanche Du Bois" (1948 Tony Award, Best Actress). This Roundabout Theatre Company production will be the fifth Broadway revival of A Streetcar Named Desire. The most recent revival opened on April 12, 1992 starring Alec Baldwin as "Stanley Kowalski" and Jessica Lange as "Blanche Du Bois". A Streetcar Named Desire won the 1948 Pulitzer Prize for Drama.

Biography:

Edward Hall (Director). Theatre includes: A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To The Forum (National Theatre), Calico (Duke of York's), Edmond (National Theatre), A Midsummer Night's Dream (Comedy Theatre, Watermill Theatre, UK Tour - TMA Award for Best Touring Production), The Hinge of the World (Guildford), Macbeth (Albery Theatre), Rose Rage adapted with Roger Warren from Henry VI parts I, II and III (Haymarket Theatre,Watermill Theatre, UK/International Tour and Chicago Shakespeare Theatre - Olivier Award Nomination for Best Director and TMA Award for Best Touring Production), The Constant Wife (Apollo), Putting It Together (Chichester), Julius Caesar (RSC), Tantalus (Denver Centre and UK Tour), Henry V (RSC - The South Bank Show Award for Theatre for "The Histories"), Twelfth Night (Watermill - Winner of the TMA/Barclays Theatre Best Director Award), Sacred Heart (Royal Court Theatre Upstairs), Celaine (Hampstead Theatre), The Two Gentleman of Verona (RSC), The Comedy of Errors and Henry V (Watermill, Pleasance Theatre London, RSC, The Other Place, Stratford and International Tour), That Good Night (Yvonne Arnaud Tour), Othello (Watermill and the Tokyo Globe), Richard III (Tokyo Globe), Cain (Minerva Studio, Chichester), Bare Knuckle Selling (Edinburgh Festival). His production of A Midsummer Night's Dream which played in London at the Comedy Theatre in 2004, went on to play at the Brooklyn Academy Of Music in New York in early 2005, where both he and the production were nominated for Drama Desk Awards. His production of Rose Rage which he directed for the Chicago Shakespeare Theatre in 2004, transferred to the Duke's Theatre in New York in September of this year. It recently won four Jeff Awards including Best Play, Best Director and Best Ensemble Cast. Television includes: "Safari Strife" (Cutting Edge, Channel 4) and "Richard III" (NHK in Japan). His radio productions include Dear Exile, Eveline, Into Exile (all for Radio 4).

Ticket Information:

Tickets will be available in early 2005 by calling Roundabout Ticket Services at (212) 719-1300, online at www.roundabouttheatre.org, or at the box office of at Studio 54 (254 West 54th Street).

Roundabout Theatre Company is one of the country's leading not-for-profit theatres. The company contributes invaluably to New York's cultural life by staging the highest quality revivals of classic plays and musicals as well as new plays by established writers. Roundabout consistently partners great artists with great works to bring a fresh and exciting interpretation that makes each production relevant and important to today's audiences.

The 2004-05 season marks an extraordinary time in Roundabout's history. The theatre has finally secured three permanent theatres each of which is designed specifically to enhance the needs of the Roundabout's mission. The off Broadway home, the Harold and Miriam Steinberg Center for Theatre's Laura Pels Theatre with its simple sophisticated design is perfectly suited to showcasing new plays while the grandeur of its Broadway home, American Airlines Theatre, sets the ideal stage for the classics. Roundabout's Studio 54 provides an exciting and intimate Broadway venue for its musical and special event productions. Together these three distinctive venues serve to enhance the work on each of its stages.

Roundabout Theatre Company productions are made possible, in part, with public funds from the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation; New York State Council on the Arts; National Endowment for the Arts; and New York City Department of Cultural Affairs. American Airlines is the official airline of Roundabout Theatre Company. The Westin Hotel is the official hotel of the Roundabout Theatre Company.

www.roundabouttheatre.org